Bingtang hulu, which everyone is familiar with, is sour and sweet, suitable for people of all ages. It's not only delicious but also very attractive. The red hawthorn fruits are arranged in size and pierced on bamboo skewers, then coated with a transparent and glossy sugar coating. Those who sell it often insert the strings of hulu into special wooden sticks, resembling a small tree full of fruit, very tempting.

In the early years, during the Spring Festival temple fairs in Beijing, such as in the Changdian area, long strings of hulu were often seen. A small colored flag was pasted at the top, and each string could have over a hundred hawthorns. The bamboo skewers, bent by the weight of the red fruits, would tremble in one's hand, adding to the festive atmosphere. To talk about the origin of Bingtang hulu, we need to mention Emperor Song Guangzong of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Song Guangzong, whose name was Zhao Ting (1147–1200), was the third son of Emperor Xiaozong Zhao Shen. In 1187, Emperor Xiaozong made him the crown prince and appointed him the governor of Lin'an. In October 1187, he succeeded to the throne after the abdication of his father, and the next year he changed the era name to "Shaoxi."

Zhao Ting had long lived in the palace and was not well-versed in worldly affairs. When he ascended the throne, he was 43 years old but already had white hair. His ministers offered him He Shou Wu, which could make his hair black again, but he refused to take it, saying, "My hair is already white; let the whole world know I am mature." After ascending the throne, he was influenced by Empress Li, dismissed pro-war ministers such as Zhou Bidu and Xin Qiji, and appointed Liu Zheng as prime minister, allowing the court to be controlled by the peace faction.

The relationship between Zhao Ting and the retired Emperor Xiaozong was long strained. After Emperor Xiaozong's death, Zhao Ting did not attend the mourning ceremony, causing the funeral to be unable to proceed, leading to great turmoil in the court. Zhao Ruyu, the head of the Secretariat, and Han Zhaizhou, the head of the Gate of Heavenly Mandate, submitted a petition suggesting that the Grand Empress Dowager issue an edict ordering Zhao Ting to abdicate and pass the throne to his son Zhao Kuo, who would preside over the funeral of Emperor Xiaozong. The Grand Empress Dowager agreed to Zhao Ting's abdication, and he became the Great Retired Emperor, living in the Shoukang Palace. Whenever he recalled events from his reign, he would curse himself aloud, sometimes even crying.

In the spring of 1200, Emperor Zhao Kuo returned from a sacrifice outside the city, and the sound of music reached deep into the palace. Zhao Ting asked what was happening, and the attendants replied that it was the people in the streets playing music and having fun. Zhao Ting became extremely angry and said, "You scum also deceive me like this!" He punched someone, lost control, and fell to the ground, never to recover. He died in the Shoukang Palace in Yang'an in the eighth month of the same year. He was buried in the Yongchong Mausoleum (located 35 miles southeast of Shaoxing County, Zhejiang Province).

During the Shaoxi period, the emperor's most beloved concubine, Lady Huang, was sick. She looked pale and thin, with no appetite. Doctors used many expensive medicines, but they had no effect. Seeing his beloved wife grow weaker every day, the emperor was constantly worried. Eventually, he posted a notice offering a reward for medical advice. A wandering doctor took the notice and entered the palace. After examining Lady Huang, he said, "Just use ice sugar and hawthorns to cook, and eat five to ten pieces before each meal. Within half a month, her illness will surely be cured." At first, people were skeptical, but since this method suited Lady Huang's taste, she followed it and indeed recovered within the time frame. Naturally, the emperor was very happy and smiled again.

Later, this method spread to the people, and they began to sell it by threading them together, thus creating the Bingtang hulu. Originally, hawthorn has many medicinal effects. It can eliminate food stagnation, disperse blood stasis, expel tapeworms, stop dysentery, especially helping digestion. Since ancient times, it has been an essential medicine for eliminating food stagnation, particularly effective for meat accumulation. Perhaps Lady Huang's illness was caused by excessive rich foods, and the small hawthorn relieved her pain. The outstanding pharmacologist Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty once said, "When boiling tough chicken meat, adding several hawthorns makes it tender, showing clearly the power of hawthorn in eliminating food stagnation."

Modern research has shown that hawthorn also has the effect of lowering blood lipids and serum cholesterol. Therefore, it has become even more popular, and hawthorn food has become increasingly diverse. However, the sour and sweet, fragrant, and crisp Bingtang hulu remains a favorite snack to this day.