Chestnut Tree Bay Village in Lixi Town, Dongbao District, Jingmen City, Hubei Province, is located on the foothills of the Jingshan Mountain Range. The village has a population of 875 people, with 1,151 mu of arable land and 23,000 mu of forested area. Shiitake mushroom cultivation is the pillar industry of Lixi Town. The village began growing shiitake mushrooms in the 1980s, starting with autumn bag mushrooms and now producing spring bag mushrooms...
Xiao Lizhi Artemisia selengensis is a specialty of Lishi Town, Shayang County, Jingmen City, Hubei Province. Shayang Lishi Artemisia selengensis is a beloved green health food. When cooked, it remains bright green, crisp, tender, and refreshing, with effects such as stimulating appetite, regulating qi, and invigorating the spirit. It also helps dispel rheumatism, strengthen the spleen and stomach, resolve phlegm, aid digestion, and enhance the body’s immune function…
Hongsen Rice is a specialty of Shayang County, Jingmen City, Hubei Province. The “Hongsen” series of rice has been ranked among the Top Ten Famous Rice Varieties in Hubei and is well-known throughout the province. The “Hongsen HONGSEN & Device” trademark of rice products from Hubei Hongsen Industry Co., Ltd. has been recognized as a “China Well-Known Trademark.” Hubei Hongsen Grain and Oil Group Co., Ltd. (formerly known as Jingmen City…)
The origins of Shayang Changhu Bighead Carp are not documented in writing. According to local fishermen, the tradition of farming Bighead Carp in Shayang Changhu dates back to the Ming Dynasty. This freshwater fish is a local specialty of Changhu Lake, and fish enthusiasts love to visit the lakeside to try the famous “Three Delicacies of Bighead Carp,” especially the carp head, which never fails to delight. The Jingmen…
Shayang Changhu River Crab is a specialty of Changhu Lake in Shayang County, Jingmen City, Hubei Province. Located at the junction of Jingzhou, Jingmen, and Qianjiang cities, Changhu is the third largest lake in Hubei Province. The lake area boasts a sound ecological environment, rich in aquatic products such as fish, shrimp, water chestnuts, and lotus roots, and serves as a natural habitat for various waterfowl. Shayang Changhu River Crab has been awarded the title of National Agricultural Product...
Found in the crevices of rocks extending from Ma Liang Mountain into the bed of the Han River, the "Ten Thousand Rocks Supporting the Slope, Fish Cave" — one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Ma Liang — refers to the habitat of this fish. Legend has it that in ancient times, Bai Yi and the Yellow Emperor fought fiercely in what is now the Ma Liang area. One used water as a weapon, the other defended with rocks, resulting in an intense stalemate. The battle caused the river to become blocked, leading to…
Lu Jiuyuan was a renowned Neo-Confucian scholar and educator of the Southern Song Dynasty, equally famous as the well-known Neo-Confucian scholar Zhu Xi of the time, historically referred to as "Zhu-Lu." In the second year of the Shaoshing era (1191 AD), he was appointed as the military governor of Jingmen (which then governed areas including present-day Shayang, Dongbao, Duodao, and Dangyang), where he achieved remarkable political accomplishments and fostered a positive social atmosphere. Prime Minister Zhou Bida praised the governance of Jingmen...
Zhu Zhen was not only a renowned statesman of his time but also a celebrated philosopher. During the transition between the Northern and Southern Song dynasties, his academic endeavors bridged past and future traditions while forging a unique path. By annotating and interpreting Confucian classics and synthesizing the achievements of earlier scholars in the field of Xiangshu (a blend of cosmological numerology and symbolic interpretation), he articulated his own philosophical ideas. As a master synthesizer of the Xiangshu school, he played a significant role in the long tradition of Xiangshu studies...
Pickled ginger strips, also known as “Jielong Pickled Ginger,” are prepared using a unique curing method. They are bright in color, delicious in taste, appetizing, and leave a lingering aftertaste. With a long history, they are one of the traditional dishes of Jingmen. Zhao Zilong (154–229 AD), from Zhending in Changshan, stood eight feet tall, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a broad face with prominent cheeks. When Liu Bei traveled to Eastern Wu to marry, …
【Lard Flatbread】The dough is made from fermented flour, kneaded into a ball, then mixed with lard from pig intestines and chopped scallions before being shaped into round flatbreads. These are baked until golden and cooked on a flat griddle or in an oven. The flavor is fragrant and soft, with traditionally griddle-cooked versions offering an even richer taste.…
【Oil Pancake Tips】Flour is mixed with an appropriate amount of salt, alum, and water, then kneaded into a dough, pressed into sheets, cut into strips, and deep-fried in boiling oil until golden. The outside is crispy while the inside remains soft. Sold by weight, they are widely popular at docks along the Han River.…
【Shayang Rice Noodles】Sticky rice is soaked in water, ground into a thin paste, then placed in a sieve-like mold. A wooden press is used to squeeze the mixture into thin strands, which are dropped into boiling water to become rice noodles. The cooked noodles are then removed and placed in cold water to keep them fresh. Meanwhile, flour is stirred in water, salt and MSG are added, and the mixture is boiled until it becomes a paste, which is also set aside. When serving, the noodles are placed in a bamboo basket, …
【Clay Pot Pancake】Fermented dough mixed with extra flour is rolled into pancake-sized discs about the size of a bowl. These are first partially baked on a flat griddle, then placed in the stove pit and roasted with hot embers and ashes for about an hour before being taken out. The surface turns golden and crispy, while the inside remains soft, fluffy, and sweet—making it very popular. During busy farming seasons, to save time and not miss planting or harvesting schedules,…
【Bean Cake】Also known as bean strips, it is made by grinding equal parts of mung beans and rice into a paste to form the cake skin, which is then cut into thin strips. The soup is made by boiling the filtered water from seed sauce (wheat sauce) with salt, and each bowl of bean cake is topped with chopped scallions, diluted chili, and lard. It has a spicy and fragrant taste, with the bean strips remaining unbroken and not turning into a mush. Shayang Bean Cake was best made by Liu Zuxiang fifty years ago...
【Wonton Wrappers】In other regions, they may be called wontons, clear soup dumplings, yuntun, or huntun. In Shayang, they are commonly referred to as 包面 (bāomiàn), whether for breakfast or late-night snacks. They are made with extremely thin dough wrappers filled with meat. There are specialty wonton shops, as well as vendors who carry portable stoves and walk through the streets, knocking bamboo tubes to announce their presence—making them very convenient for locals. Depending on the filling, they go by different names, such as…
【Aizi Pastry】 was created by brothers Li Yanfu from Caimiao in Zengji Town, Shayang County. The pastry uses high-quality flour as the main ingredient, along with plant oil, brown sugar, various nuts, and other supplementary ingredients, to form small, cup-lid-sized pastries that are then baked in an oven. The pastries are crispy, flaky, soft, sweet, and delicious. After being introduced to the market, they quickly gained popularity among customers across the country, with demand far exceeding supply...
【Glutinous Rice Shaomai】“Shaomai wrapped in ash-colored dough” is a common local saying in Shayang that vividly depicts the characteristics of shaomai. The method involves wrapping an appropriate amount of soaked glutinous rice along with pork fat, winter melon strips, raw lard, osmanthus sugar, red and green candied threads, and orange cake in unleavened dough, shaping it into an oval form, with the top pinched into an open petal shape, then steaming it upright in a bamboo steamer. There are many types of shaomai, with various fillings—sweet fillings are sweet and fragrant, while savory ones are salty, fresh, and crisp. The wrappers are thin and the fillings generous (as the saying goes, “shaomai so plump it won’t burst”), resembling plum blossoms, hence also called “Mei” (plum) shaomai.
Dragon and Phoenix Harmony is a traditional famous dish from the Shayang Changhu area. During the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, Wang Sanjian from Jingmen was known for his integrity in office and was called “Wang the Upright Judge” by the people. In December of the Year of the Horse (1654 AD), when Zheng Chenggong attacked Zhangzhou, in June of the following year, Wang Sanjian fled to the capital to escape the war and sought refuge under Prince Jingnan Geng Jimao. It happened that Geng Jimao’s son, Geng Jingzhong, was getting married,...
The Shexiang Jade Hairpin was originally called Fried Rhinoceros Horn. It is made primarily with lean pork and deep-fried with ingredients such as white-shell chili peppers. It gets its name from its resemblance to a jade hairpin—tender inside, crispy outside, and spicy and delicious. Legend has it that during the Ming Dynasty, local officials in Shayang once served this dish to envoys sent by the Ming emperor to negotiate a surrender. Since chili peppers had only recently been introduced to China at the time…
Chu Yu Catfish Slices are produced by Chu Yu Food Co., Ltd., which is located in the Shaya County Economic and Technological Development Zone, covering an area of 50 acres with a total investment of 60 million yuan. The company mainly engages in the deep processing and export of freshwater aquatic products and vegetables. Its products include frozen cooked crayfish meat, frozen cooked whole shrimp for soup base, frozen cooked whole shrimp with spicy powder, refined individually quick-frozen...