Sweet and sour carp is a famous dish from Dongping County, with a history of over two hundred years. The carp is one of the main wild fish species in Dongping Lake. The lake has excellent water quality and is rich in aquatic plants, providing ideal conditions for the breeding and growth of the carp. The lake carp grow quickly, have tender and fatty meat, and a delicious flavor. It is a top choice for locals during festivals or when entertaining guests…
The wicker products produced in Dongping County were once renowned worldwide for their fine craftsmanship, exquisite designs, wide variety, and high quality. Dongping is crisscrossed by rivers, dotted with mountainous areas, and abundant in tidal flats and sloping lands—all highly suitable for the growth of shrub plants. There are many small shrubs such as willow and privet, resulting in rich resources and high yields of wicker materials, which provided...
In Sun Village, Shakouzhen Town, all 185 households are engaged in bamboo weaving production, and the bamboo products they make are famous within a hundred-mile radius. In 1992, the village was awarded the title of “Specialized Bamboo Weaving Village” by the Tai’an Municipal People’s Government. The development of bamboo weaving in Sun Village began in the 1930s. Legend has it that a bamboo weaver from Zhejiang named Li Luojiang...
Fengzhuang Yang Lian, fully known as “Fengzhuang Yang Family Blue Steel Sickle,” was created by Yang Shunxing from Fengzhuang Village, Shahezhan Town. Yang Shunxing lived during the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty and was originally from Lishui County, Jiangsu Province. According to the inscription on the Yang family tombstone: “During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, due to unrest in the south,” he “fled to Fengzhuang Village in Dongyuan to escape the chaos.” Yang was skilled in forging techniques. After arriving in Fengzhuang Village, he continued his blacksmithing trade...
Spine date trees are common plants growing in the mountainous and hilly areas of our county. In the vast mountainous regions north of the Daqing River, almost every hill is covered with spine date trees, making the area rich in spine date seeds with reserves exceeding 20,000 kilograms. It serves as an excellent source for supplying medicinal spine date seeds to society. Spine date seed, also known as jujube seed, wild jujube, or spine date kernel. Sp...
Dandelion, also known as yellow-flowered dandelion, dandelion thistle, yellow-flower boy, wood yam, or milkweed, is a plant of the genus Taraxacum in the Asteraceae family. It grows on grassy slopes, beside ditches, and along cliffs, and is distributed across most areas of the county. The annual harvest amounts to approximately 10,000–15,000 kilograms. Dandelion is a perennial herbaceous plant, growing 10–25 centimeters tall, and contains white latex. …
Also known as "Old Crow’s Pillow." It is the whole herb with roots of the Rosaceae plant Potentilla discolor, mainly distributed in the mountainous areas north of the Daqing River in our county, with the highest concentration around Yashan in Jieshan Township and Baifo Mountain in Dongping Town. In the 1960s, some farmers in Xiatao Village, Jieshan Township, collected this medicinal herb to sell for their children’s school fees, harvesting up to over ten kilograms per day. The county’s medicine…
Our county is rich in river sand resources, with abundant sand found in many rivers such as the Daqing River, Xiaowen River, and Longgong River, among which the Daqing River has the most concentrated deposits. The upper reaches of the Daqing River are formed by the famous Dawen River. The Dawen River originates from the southern foothills of Songgu Mountain in Yiyuan County, flows through the Tai-Lai mountainous area, and enters our county to the east of Zhangcheng Village in Jieshan Township. Below the Daicun Dam, it is referred to as...
Whole-Scale Fish is a dish created by fishermen from Shanzhao Village in Yinxian Town. Shanzhao Village is located at the foot of Lashan Mountain, a famous scenic area by Dongping Lake, and is a typical fishing village where every household is skilled in preparing fish-based dishes. The standout feature of this dish is that the whole fish, including its scales, is used in the cooking. In the past, people would discard fish scales when eating fish, which is quite a waste. According to nutritionists...
Geese belong to the order Anseriformes, family Anatidae, and genus Anser, having been domesticated from wild geese. Legend has it that they were the first type of poultry to be domesticated by humans. Chinese geese are world-renowned, with the largest population in the world. Based on body size, they can be divided into large, medium, and small varieties. In terms of feather color, they come in white and grayish-brown. Geese generally live longer than other types of poultry, with weights ranging from 4 to 15 kilograms. …
Old County Township sweet potato vermicelli is a traditional product of Old County Township. It features a white color, tender yet tough texture, fine and even strands, long cooking time without clouding the soup, and unchanged color and flavor. Due to its crystal-clear transparency, it is praised by locals as “glass vermicelli.” The vermicelli is made from high-quality sweet potato starch. Sweet potatoes, also known as “yams,” are a widely cultivated crop in the mountainous areas of our county. The mountainous regions of our county…
The pure mung bean sheets produced in Shihewang Village, Timen Township, Dongping County, have a history of over 500 years. According to the genealogy of the Wang family in the village, they were first made during the Ming Dynasty by a person surnamed Wang. Shihewang Mung Bean Sheets are beautifully shaped, round with a diameter of about 30 centimeters, and feature radial patterns. They are pure in color, clear and transparent, as well as thin and even...
Pickled vegetables are a new type of preserved food first created in 1962 by the supply and marketing cooperative of Sparrowtown Town. With over forty years of production history, they have become a well-known and influential local specialty. Sparrowtown pickled vegetables are primarily made from high-quality flour, as well as lettuce, seedless cucumbers, and loofah, drawing on the essence of traditional fermentation techniques and crafted according to a new...
Braised pigeon in soy sauce is a popular local delicacy that has gained prominence in Dongping in recent years. It is available at hotels, restaurants, and eateries throughout the county. Pigeons belong to the class Aves, order Columbiformes, family Columbidae. The pigeon is one of the earliest bird species domesticated by humans. Egyptian recipes dating back to 3000 BC already recorded dishes made with pigeons. In China, it is said that pigeon breeding began as early as the Qin and Han dynasties...
Muskmelon, commonly known as "foreign muskmelon" or thick-skinned sweet melon, belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family, Cucumis genus, and is a vining climbing plant. Its rind is thick and tough, making it suitable for storage and transport. The fruit is sweet, fragrant, tender, juicy, and refreshing. In 1996, our county’s Dongping Town began introducing foreign muskmelons for trial planting in solar greenhouses, with an initial cultivation area of just 100…
Guinea Fowl Store Town is bordered by the Yellow River to the west and Dongping Lake to the east. It boasts vast, fertile soil and abundant water resources, making it highly suitable for garlic cultivation. Garlic has been grown here since the early days of the People's Republic of China. Since the 1990s, the planting scale has expanded year by year. To date, the town has over 40,000 mu of garlic fields, typically yielding 20,000 tons of garlic sprouts and 80,000 tons of garlic bulbs annually. …
River Ditch Lotus Root gets its name from the village where it is grown—River Ditch Village. The village is located in the northern part of Daotun Marsh, which lies about 4 kilometers west of the county town. Covering a total area of 66.1 square kilometers, Daotun Marsh is a waterlogged depression formed by small rivers and slope runoff in the surrounding hilly region. In the past, the area had vast waters with excellent water quality, thick fertile mud at the bottom, making it highly suitable for the growth of aquatic...
Shepherd’s purse, also known as “Ji Cai” or “Husheng Cao,” is an annual herbaceous plant of the Brassicaceae family. Its basal leaves grow in tufts, are either pinnate or not, and are covered with fine hairs. In spring, it produces small white flowers, and when mature, it forms short seed pods containing seeds. Shepherd’s purse is quite cold-resistant and in our county, it mostly grows wild in wheat fields during early spring. The tender shoots of shepherd’s purse are used as a vegetable, with wild ones being…
Purslane, scientifically known as Portulaca oleracea, is commonly called "horse bee vegetable" in our region due to its extremely strong vitality, and is also known as the "longevity vegetable." It belongs to the Portulacaceae family, is an annual succulent herb, usually creeping, hairless, and often has purple stems. The leaves are opposite, broadly ovate to wedge-shaped. It blooms in summer with small yellow flowers. The fruit is conical and dehiscent with a lid. It grows...
Songhua Eggs from Dongping Lake are a famous local specialty of our county. They are produced using high-quality duck eggs from Dongping Lake’s Ma ducks, combining traditional processing techniques with modern food production standards. These eggs have won numerous awards, including the 1987 Shandong Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award, the 1988 “Silver Medal” at the First China Food Expo, the 1995…