Beijing - Traditional Beijing snacks are expected to be included on the city's intangible cultural heritage list as part of its bid to better protect and promote the disappearing ancient delicacies.

Snacks like ludagun (Rolling Donkey), a sticky sweet dough stuffed with bean paste or brown sugar, and wandouhuang (Pea Flour Cake), made from a mixture of white peas and sugar, date back to Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and are already listed as intangible cultural heritage in several districts in Beijing, including Xicheng and Xuanwu.

The Beijing Traditional Brands Association and the Beijing Snack Food Development Association nominated the traditional snacks for the city list and the municipal commission of commerce is backing their inclusion.

"We hope the application for the city's intangible cultural heritage list will promote the overall brand value of traditional Beijing snacks and help pass on the craftsmanship," Li Weiwei, deputy director of the municipal commission of commerce, said at a conference on Wednesday. Research will be carried out, as part of the bidding campaign, to assess the current situation of the traditional Beijing snacks.

According to statistics by the Beijing Snack Food Development Association released last year, traditional Beijing snacks have declined sharply from 600 varieties at their peak to about 100 today, and the average age of authentic inheritors of their craft are mostly over 70 years old.

That traditional Beijing snacks are disappearing is confirmed by many traditional snack store owners, including Zhang Zi'an, the fourth generation owner of Baodu Zhang, a quickly boiled tripe store that dates back over 120 years.

According to Zhang, all the snacks in his store are made by his 74-year-old mother. He said the craft is likely to die out as its financial prospects are diminishing.

"Young people are unwilling to learn the craftsmanship, as they cannot make enough money," Zhang told China Daily in his store in Beijing's Shichahai area, northeast of the Forbidden City.

Zhang said it took time to make a ludagun, which are then sold for just 2 yuan (31 cents) a piece.

However, the most severe challenge to Beijing's culinary classics, according to Zhang, is the increasing number of non-traditional stores, which pose a threat to the reputation of traditional Beijing snacks.

"Some of the vendors or stores who claim they are time-honored Beijing snack maker just copy the ingredients and don't know the right way to make the snacks," Zhang said.

Meanwhile, traditional Beijing snack chain stores are proliferating citywide.

The Judehuatian Holding Co Ltd, has 16 Huguosi stores citywide that sell over 100 varieties of traditional Beijing snacks, according to Liu Jian, the director of the company's executive office.