Dong Bei Da Ban popsicles sit in a freezer waiting to be eaten. Photo: IC

Having grown tired of easy to get ice cream in various colorful flavors, people are starting to get back to the basics. The trend this summer when it comes to trying to cool off is nostalgic and simple. On social networks, people have started showing off pictures of themselves beating the summer heat by indulging in a taste from their childhoods - cheap but tasty old fashioned popsicles.

The most popular of these popsicles in Chinese cities this summer just might be Dong Bei Da Ban (lit. northeastern big block). Coming in simple white or transparent plastic packaging, the legendary popsicle can be bought for just three yuan ($0.5). A report on huxiu.com points out that searches for this popsicle brand on Baidu have been steadily increasing since May. Meanwhile, over 20,000 Dong Bei Da Ban popsicles are sold daily in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, while other brands range around daily sales of 2,000-3,000; figures in Hefei, Anhui Province, have even reached 80,000 sold in a day. Even high technology is getting in the mix, as some life service apps are providing information to help people find stores selling this tasty treat.

Different from other common popsicles that can be found in large supermarkets, Dong Bei Da Ban can only be found in the traditional red and green decorated fridges found in tiny mom and pop stores that lie along the many streets in China. According to a report by the Beijing Times, when their reporter headed out to get a picture of these nostalgic local popsicles, he ended up running around to numerous small shops along Beijing's Chaoyang North Road, only to be told each time that all these icy desserts had been sold out.

Since the 1950s, many State-owned factories (in nearly every industry) around the country have opened up their own popsicle production departments every summer to help their workers beat the seasonal heat. During a time before air conditioners became ubiquitous in China, the sound of enterprising vendors walking around shouting out the name of these cheap and simple treats was music to the ears for children around the nation. The simple taste and refreshing feeling of biting into one of these popsicles on a hot day is a memory people born during the 1960s to the 80s share nationwide. Now people of the 21st century are once again making this snack popular.