New Changfa Sugar Roasted Chestnuts

New Changfa Sugar Roasted Chestnuts

　　New Changfa sugar roasted chestnuts are a specialty of Shanghai. The roasted chestnuts have a brownish-red shell that is glossy and smooth, tender and glutinous flesh with a rich aroma, and a crispy shell with loose skin—characterized by their fragrance, tenderness, and sweetness. Sugar roasted chestnuts have a history of a thousand years in China and were already a famous tea-time snack as early as the Northern Song Dynasty. "New Changfa" has been producing sugar roasted chestnuts for over 70 years. Company Introduction: Shanghai New Changfa Chestnut Food Co., Ltd., established in 1935, is a "China Time-Honored Brand" enterprise, a renowned specialty shop in Shanghai, and a well-known trademark in the city.

　　 Specialty Culture: In 1931, Mr. and Mrs. Qian Fusheng opened a "Xin Faxing Fruit Shop" on Beijing Road in Shanghai. Due to poor management, the business suffered losses and soon went bankrupt. However, the couple was not willing to give up. After much effort, they renamed the shop "New Changfa" and reopened. By early autumn, they launched their carefully developed signature product—osmanthus sugar roasted chestnuts—which became an instant hit, and business gradually flourished. Within a few years, when their only daughter got married, the elderly couple did everything they could to find a location for their daughter and son-in-law at the intersection of Chengdu North Road and Yan’an Middle Road to set up a "New Changfa" branch, leaving the business operations to their son-in-law. At that time, there was another fruit shop called Xin Yuanchang right next to the New Changfa branch, also selling sugar roasted chestnuts. But after several rounds of competition, the osmanthus sugar roasted chestnuts from the New Changfa branch ultimately won the market with their shiny appearance and appealing color, aroma, and taste. Even more remarkably, the branch’s ever-growing business eventually surpassed that of the main store. Around this time, nearby entertainment venues such as Guanghua Theatre, Jiuxing Theatre, Golden Gate Theatre, Paris Theatre, Cathay Cinema, and even dance halls saw an increasing number of customers coming to buy chestnuts every autumn and winter, a trend that continued until around the liberation of Shanghai. After the public-private partnership in 1956, New Changfa merged with "Xin Yuanchang" but retained the name "New Changfa." Thanks to the hard work of its employees, this workshop-style store consistently ranked among the top in the industry. According to historical records from that time, in terms of chestnuts alone, New Changfa won first place in the citywide competition in 1982, standing shoulder to shoulder with Fengshi on Xizang Road and Gongtai on Shaanxi Road, collectively known as the "Three Golden Flowers" of Shanghai’s sugar roasted chestnuts. This reputation was celebrated among Shanghai residents for a long time.

　　 Specialty Benefits: Sweet and delicious chestnuts have since ancient times been regarded as a precious fruit and are among the finest of dried fruits. Chestnuts are not only a gourmet delight but can also be used medicinally. Their nourishing properties are comparable to those of ginseng, astragalus, and angelica. Chestnuts are sweet and warm in nature, affecting the spleen, stomach, and kidney meridians. They help nourish the stomach, strengthen the spleen, tonify the kidneys, fortify the waist, strengthen the tendons, activate blood circulation, stop bleeding, and reduce swelling. They are suitable for symptoms caused by kidney deficiency such as soreness and weakness in the lower back and knees, difficulty in walking, frequent urination, as well as chronic diarrhea due to coldness in the spleen and stomach, external injuries, fractures, bruising and swelling, skin sores, and muscle and bone pain. The unsaturated fatty acids and various vitamins contained in chestnuts have benefits in combating conditions such as high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and arteriosclerosis.