Shanghainese food
Pear-syrup candy (梨膏糖, lígāotáng) is a kind of candy made with pear syrup. Wei Zheng (魏征) is said to have first made it as a medicine for his mother's cough in the year 634 during the Tang Dynasty. Shanghainese pear-syrup candy began in three shops in the city's old walled city during the Qing Dynasty: Zhupinzhai (opened 1855), Yongshengtang (opened 1882), and Deshengtang (opened 1904). These shops joined together in 1956 to form the Shanghai Pear-Syrup Candy Food Factory (上海梨膏糖食品厂), which makes its candy at a factory in Pudong but still sells it from a store in the market around Shanghai's City God Temple. It remains a common souvenir for visitors to the city. Now, it is usually flavored with fruit or pinenuts, but it is also made with mint, ham, or rose. In traditional Chinese medicine, the candy is used for easing coughs and sore throats, reducing mucus, and increasing appetite.