Bayi Market Lamb Soup is a local specialty of Bayi Market Town, Pizhou City, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province. The lamb soup from Bayi Market in Pizhou is known for its milky white color, delicious and rich broth, high nutritional value, absence of gaminess or off-odors, and an exceptionally rich flavor. The preparation of Bayi Market Lamb Soup is meticulous, with great attention paid to the meat (all sourced from locally free-range small goats), cooking process, ingredients, and more...
Pizhou Chestnuts are produced in the administrative regions of four towns currently under the jurisdiction of Pizhou City, Jiangsu Province: Pauche Town, Chenlou Town, Tiefu Town, and Guanhu Town. The request for the declaration and delineation of the protected geographical indication product "Pizhou Chestnuts" was submitted by the Pizhou Municipal People’s Government in the document Pizheng Report [2012] No. 64. Jiangsu Provincial Local Standard: "Pizhou Chestnuts" (draft)...
Stir-fried Small Fish with Chili is one of the most popular home-cooked dishes in Pizhou. Whenever children from Pizhou who have been away for long periods return home, their families will surely prepare a colorful and flavorful plate of Stir-fried Small Fish with Chili to treat them. As the name suggests, the main ingredients are chilies and small fish. Among chilies, green jalapeños are the best...
Pizhou’s signature dish that we simply must mention is the vegetable pancake. In fact, the vegetable pancake isn’t an ancient creation; it originally started as a home-cooked meal where families would put vegetables or eggs inside a pancake and cook it on a flat griddle. It has now evolved into a popular street food.
Pizhou’s cold noodles are a completely different concept from those in other regions. In most places, cold noodles are a summer dish, but in Pizhou, they remain popular all year round. The most irresistible parts are the soup and the condiments like chili — in winter, hot soup is served, while in summer, it’s cold. The chili is pan-fried and then ground together with peanuts and sesame seeds, topped with hot or sesame oil...
Noodleskin—no Pizhou native is unfamiliar with it. Many Pizhou people working away from home always make it their first stop upon returning to eat a bowl of their hometown’s noodleskin. But how exactly is it made? Here’s an introduction to its specific preparation method: Use an appropriate amount of high-quality…
This is a tree species that appeared in Pizhou 4,000 years ago. According to the "Tribute of Yu," Mount Yiyang was covered with solitary paulownia trees. Mount Yiyang is today's Jugong Mountain (known as Geji Mountain in the Han Dynasty). At that time, this type of paulownia tree, which grew all over the mountain, had excellent wood quality. When used to make musical instruments such as guqin, the sound produced was particularly clear and resonant. Therefore, historical records refer to it as prime material for making musical instruments. It became a tribute product offered to the king,…
Tagan, also known as Pei County Tagan, enjoys widespread fame and is one of the major commodities from Pei County that are sold across the country and to places such as Hong Kong. It is mainly produced in towns like Yitang, Tushan, Balu, and Xinhe. The Tagan from southern Pei County and the lettuce from northern Pei County belong to the same family but are two different varieties. Lettuce has short and thick stems (20–30 cm long), whereas Tagan features long and slender stems (70–110 cm long). According to...
Pizhou has a long history of ginkgo cultivation. The ancient ginkgo tree in Baima Temple, Sihu Town, was planted during the Zhengguang era of the Northern Wei Dynasty, with an age of over 1,500 years. In 2007, the area of contiguous ginkgo orchards reached 260,000 mu, with a total of 10 million ginkgo trees planted. The annual production of ginkgo fruit reached 1,100 tons, and the annual output of high-quality dried green ginkgo leaves reached 1,200…
Pizhou white-skinned garlic has been cultivated for thousands of years and is known as the “Chinese White Garlic.” Renowned far and wide for its white skin and large size, this variety is both edible and medicinal, rich in vitamins, amino acids, protein, allicin, and carbohydrates. It offers high medicinal and nutritional value, serving as both a seasoning and…
Jujube apricots are large, have thin skins, pure color, authentic taste, abundant flesh, and are pleasant to eat. They also have cancer-preventing and health-enhancing properties. Rich in various amino acids and vitamins, these pollution-free green foods are as renowned as Dangshan crisp pears and usually come to market around June 5th each year.…
Pine and Cypress Fish Rice Ingredients: 1 sea bass (about 400g), 30g each of cypress seeds (platycladi seeds) and pine nuts. Method: 1. Clean the sea bass, slice off the flesh, remove bones and skin, then dice. Marinate the fish cubes with seasonings and set aside. 2. Heat several tablespoons of oil in a pan, add pine nuts and fry over low heat until golden brown. Remove and set aside. (If using raw cypress seeds, fry them as well.)
Aishan Melon is a specialty of Xuzhou. Historically, Aishan watermelons were highly renowned — large in size and excellent in quality, so much so that a single porter could usually carry only two per shoulder-load. There were generally four types of melons: one with a black rind, black seeds, and red flesh, called Heigangpi; another with a mottled rind (green base with black stripes), also black seeds and red flesh, known as Jieyi; one with a white rind, white seeds, and white flesh, called...
The green-skin pomegranate has a smooth fruit surface that is greenish in color, with slightly reddish-brown hues on the sun-exposed side. It is a late-maturing variety, typically growing on tall trees about 4–5 meters high, with a canopy usually wider than 4 meters. The tree has a semi-spreading growth habit and often naturally develops into a single or multi-trunked, rounded crown. It has moderate budding ability but strong branch-forming capacity. Its characteristics include: resistance to...
Xuzhou is the hometown of Zhang Daoling, the founder of Taoism, and one of the birthplaces of Taoist culinary culture. Taoist dietary culture aims at longevity and health preservation, with two major schools—vegetarian and non-vegetarian. However, during festivals, rituals, and Taoist ceremonies, only vegetarian dishes are served. Vegetarian food, also called temple food, uses ingredients such as tofu, wheat gluten, bamboo shoots…
Although Xuzhou Shá Soup and Shandong Rice Ginseng Soup share the same name, they are written differently and differ in preparation and flavor. The Shá Soup here has a rich mix of ingredients — shredded chicken and wheat kernels are essential. Its thickness is somewhat similar to spicy soup, likely made from bone broth, and it’s very aromatic. The version from Mashijie is the most famous, and you’ll always find a line when you go. Of course, it’s not the long, snaking kind you’d see in Shanghai, but you still have to wait your turn for each bowl. Some people bring eggs to poach in the soup, which also tastes great. The usual staples are steamed buns and deep-fried dough sticks. The eight-strand youtiao here is quite unique — small but wide, with eight strands twisted together, giving it a somewhat pancake-like shape, yet each strand remains distinct. It's made fresh on the spot. I really love the old wooden tables and chairs, all greasy and lively. In the past, you had to queue separately for the soup and the buns, which was a bit inconvenient, but I’m not sure how it is now. I kind of miss those days — it’s been a while since I’ve had spicy soup with youtiao or Shá Soup with pan-fried buns.
Winter peaches are one of the rare late-ripening varieties among fruits. They are called "winter peaches" because they ripen in winter. These peaches are fragrant, crisp, and sweet, with a slight hint of rock sugar flavor. They have thin skins, small pits, and fine, tender flesh that easily separates from the pit. Juicy and delicious, freshly picked winter peaches—with the snow gently brushed off—offer a refreshing taste that lingers on the palate and leaves a lasting impression. They are primarily produced in Tongshan District, Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province…
Chen Xingmin, from Huangji in Tongshan, has been engaged in the art of dough figurines since graduating from junior high school. In 1995, he became a disciple of the nationally renowned "King of Dough Figurines," Mr. Li Fangqing, and is an outstanding representative of Tongshan’s dough figurine artists in recent years. His representative works include Figures from the Three Kingdoms, The 108 Heroes of Water Margin, and Characters from Dream of the Red Chamber. These works feature unique designs and lifelike images...
Mr. Sibao Liang, from Dapeng Town, Tongshan. Since childhood, he has had a passion for calligraphy, and his works have won numerous awards in domestic and international competitions, and have been collected by various memorial halls, art galleries, and friends. Sibao Liang Glass Carving, its technique breaks away from traditional methods by employing the artistic approach of facing-copying on the front of the glass while carving in reverse on the back, resulting in works with strong three-dimensionality, classic…
Mr. Yue Ximing, from Maocun in Tongshan, has been engaged in arts and crafts for over 20 years and is renowned for his stone carving art. He was jointly awarded the title of “Master of Art” by five organizations including the Sculpture Art Committee of the China Folk Literature and Art Association, and served as an executive member of the first Sculpture Art Committee of the China Folk Literature and Art Association. For over twenty years…