![Mianguo, or \](http://www.ecns.cn/hd/2018/10/12/bb1ee43be50d47338ad2d1e51d0e6cee.jpg)
Mianguo, or "flour-based fruits", made by pastry chef Wang Zhiqiang. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
One could be fooled into thinking we were looking at a plate of fresh fruit - a strawberry, apple, pear, persimmon and carambola - each one invites you to bite into their juicy flesh, but they are all made from flour. They are called mianguo, or "flour-based fruits".
Dubbed the "King of pastry", 70-year-old Wang Zhiqiang - who became a pastry chef for Chinese state banquets in his 20s - created mianguo, with his apprentices in 1990s. It took him over 20 years to perfect mianguo, and a whole decade just to figure out the perfect solution to creating the colors.
Currently, Wang and his team are working on designing a new Chinese pastry set that replicates more than 20 classic traditional Chinese pastries but presents them in a smaller and more modern way.
![Mianguo, or \](http://www.ecns.cn/hd/2018/10/12/efea20cb166a4d71a1ab50403ccfc197.jpg)
Mianguo, or "flour-based fruits", made by pastry chef Wang Zhiqiang. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
![Mianguo, or \](http://www.ecns.cn/hd/2018/10/12/9c5531fb2cf44647b48241136e86c308.jpg)
Mianguo, or "flour-based fruits", made by pastry chef Wang Zhiqiang. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
![Mianguo, or \](http://www.ecns.cn/hd/2018/10/12/5bfbfcb37bb54847bc5b6200e38c0a63.jpg)
Mianguo, or "flour-based fruits", made by pastry chef Wang Zhiqiang. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
![Mianguo, or \](http://www.ecns.cn/hd/2018/10/12/0e591a555f5142ec84bce92563a06a37.jpg)
Mianguo, or "flour-based fruits", made by pastry chef Wang Zhiqiang. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
![Mianguo, or \](http://www.ecns.cn/hd/2018/10/12/359bb3b5931f45a1b6911d12cf6475cf.jpg)
Mianguo, or "flour-based fruits", made by pastry chef Wang Zhiqiang. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
![Mianguo, or \](http://www.ecns.cn/hd/2018/10/12/088ca479cca84f6ea3c06d9a4f86c92d.jpg)
Mianguo, or "flour-based fruits", made by pastry chef Wang Zhiqiang. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
![Mianguo, or \](http://www.ecns.cn/hd/2018/10/12/ce1fda50817e4c54a053a2ed72b296ac.jpg)
Mianguo, or "flour-based fruits", made by pastry chef Wang Zhiqiang. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
![Mianguo, or \](http://www.ecns.cn/hd/2018/10/12/538ce3192b614ca7ba61184a25977e02.jpg)
Mianguo, or "flour-based fruits", made by pastry chef Wang Zhiqiang. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
![Mianguo, or \](http://www.ecns.cn/hd/2018/10/12/768264eb74da4bf09abfbebff29ec376.jpg)
Mianguo, or "flour-based fruits", made by pastry chef Wang Zhiqiang. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
![Mianguo, or \](http://www.ecns.cn/hd/2018/10/12/a5bda27f7a1146fcaefccb6122c5c3fe.jpg)
Mianguo, or "flour-based fruits", made by pastry chef Wang Zhiqiang. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)