China's Huaiyang Cuisine Museum

China Huaiyang Cuisine Museum

The Huaiyang cuisine has a long history. As early as the Tang Dynasty, the cuisine of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in the southeast was referred to as Huaiyang flavor. By the Qing Dynasty, it flourished immensely, becoming one of China’s four major cuisines — the renowned Huaiyang cuisine — and developed its own unique and distinctive style. The China Huaiyang Cuisine Museum offers a comprehensive display of this culinary tradition.

The China Huaiyang Cuisine Museum is situated within the Kangshan Cultural Park in Yangzhou. It has a total construction area of 7,084 m² and consists of two parts: the main exhibition area and the auxiliary experience area. The main exhibition area is located in Building 6 of Kangshan Cultural Park, covering an area of 2,800 m², while the auxiliary experience area is housed in the Lu Family Ancient Residence, spanning 4,284 m².

The museum exhibition is divided into three sections. The first section, "Culinary Virtue and Roots in Yangzhou," showcases the origins and development of Huaiyang cuisine along with its unique culinary techniques. The second section, "Exquisite Dishes in a Gentle Breeze," uses historical reenactments to illustrate the relationship between Huaiyang cuisine and emperors, salt merchants, literati, and common people. The third section, "Drawing from the Past to Shine in the Present," displays achievements in Yangzhou’s culinary education, research, exchange, and competitions. The museum features rich historical materials, an extensive collection of exhibits, lifelike dioramas, and widely employs artistic techniques such as sculpture, dough modeling, steel modeling, and wood carving. It also makes full use of sound, light, electricity, control systems, 3D imagery, and IT technology to vividly recreate the historical connection between Huaiyang cuisine and Yangzhou, as well as Yangzhou’s irreplaceable status in the development of Huaiyang cuisine.

The museum’s experience area is the Lu Family Ancient Residence, which consists of two large banquet halls, one à la carte dining area, and sixteen private rooms. Each private room has a theme closely tied to the salt merchants of Yangzhou. Each room centers around a key figure (a prominent salt merchant) and showcases their scholarly lifestyle, banquets, and entertaining activities, forming a complete system and immersive experience of salt merchant culture. Additionally, based on documented historical accounts, the rooms use poetry and paintings to depict historical anecdotes or stories, highlighting the culinary charm of Huaiyang cuisine.

Currently, the interpretation methods at the Huaiyang Cuisine Museum include fixed staff guides, recruited volunteer guides, and cooperation with Lianjing Travel, where visitors can use an app to scan QR codes and access audio guides on their mobile phones as they walk through the museum. The entire museum’s commentary has also been translated into English to cater to both domestic and international visitors. Since 2014, the museum has collaborated with the Yangzhou Evening News Young Reporters program, organizing bi-monthly activities for students and their parents. These include museum tours and demonstrations of the “Wensi Tofu” dish, providing deeper insight into the museum, the history of Huaiyang cuisine, and its preparation methods. Today, the Huaiyang Cuisine Museum also serves as a research base for culinary teaching in related colleges and universities, as well as a forum for learning and exchanging ideas about famous restaurants, chefs, and banquets. The China Huaiyang Cuisine Museum is the city’s national-level professional museum. Since its trial opening on January 15, 2010, it has attracted numerous experts in history, culture, and the culinary field. Visitors have praised the museum’s layout, style, and exhibition content.