Have you ever heard of or seen this special tropical plant — sugarcane?
If you’ve been to China, you may have spotted it sold in fruit shops or by street vendors.
It’s tall, thick, with hard green or purple skin, and looks like a long straight bamboo stick.
The sugarcane season runs from September through March, with the sweetest and highest-quality harvest between October and December.
Autumn sugarcane is crisp and juicy, while winter sugarcane packs more sugar and tastes even sweeter.
How do Chinese people eat it?
Vendors peel the tough outer skin, cut the juicy stalk into small sections, and you chew it to extract the sweet juice, then spit out the pulp.
You can also find freshly pressed sugarcane juice at juice shops.
A symbol of good fortune
In Chinese culture, sugarcane is more than just a snack — it symbolizes a "sweeter and rising life" (节节高, jié jié gāo), because each segment grows upward.
It is often eaten during the Lunar New Year to wish for a year of continuous progress and happiness.
In southern China, people eat sugarcane on the first day of the new year, hoping for a "sweet beginning to a sweet year.
Next time you visit China, give it a try.
It's not just a fruit — it's a simple, authentic taste of everyday Chinese life and culture.
Want to learn more about Chinese culture? Check out our other cultural news posts.
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