Jiuting pickles, a time-honored brand from Jiuting in Songjiang — known as the root of Shanghai — are famed across the city for being “refreshingly clean and pleasantly lingering on the palate.” Along with “Songjiang Orchid Herb” and “Songjiang Orchid Eggplant,” they are hailed as one of the “Three Treasures” of Songjiang’s local cuisine. These pickles are made using traditional craftsmanship and a scientifically informed recipe, enhancing their original flavors with an even more pronounced “aroma…”
It is understood that Huangpu River hairy crabs originally came from the upper reaches of the Huangpu River in Songjiang. Known for their distinctive appearance—“green back, white belly, golden claws, and yellow hairs”—and their deliciously sweet and fragrant meat, they have long been a renowned local specialty of Songjiang. However, after the 1980s, due to reasons such as the construction of locks in the waterway and water pollution, the farming of Huangpu River hairy crabs was discontinued. …
"Sheshan Orchid Bamboo Shoots" gained widespread fame after winning the favor of Emperor Kangxi, and Sheshan was thus bestowed the name "Orchid Bamboo Shoot Mountain." Since the inaugural Sheshan Orchid Bamboo Shoots Cultural Festival in 2002, six editions have been held to date, generating tremendous public response and enthusiastic participation. Since then, the "Orchid Bamboo Shoots Cultural Festival" has become a distinctive annual event in Sheshan every April...
Four-Spined Perch of Songjiang “The west wind brings the four-spined perch ashore, its flesh as tender and flaky as silk.” The four-spined perch described by Southern Song poet Fan Chengda comes from the Songjiang River, a tributary of the Huangpu River. Though small in size and with limited yield, the Songjiang perch enjoys great fame mainly because of its delicate, plump, snow-white flesh free of fine bones, and its...
According to the *Songjiang Prefecture Records*, as early as the Ming and Qing dynasties, there was a place called Caochangbang in Yancun, northwest of Songjiang City. This area, with its low-lying land and numerous waterways, had clean water and was abundant in water chestnuts. They came in two colors, red and green. One variety, known as “Parrot Green” and commonly called “Waist Water Chestnut,” and another called “Wild Goose Red,” which matures early and is suitable for eating raw, could be enjoyed as a fruit…
Cangqiao Crystal Pears are a new generation of pears known for their juicy, sweet flavor and refreshing fragrance. They are a specialty of Songjiang District in Shanghai, meticulously cultivated by the Forestry and Fruit Tree Research Institute of the Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences. These pears have tender, white, fine-textured, and crisp flesh that is rich in nutrients. Testing has shown they contain various trace elements and inorganic salts. Regular consumption can help promote saliva production, benefit the lungs, soothe coughs, regulate qi, moisten the throat, and enhance beauty...
“Laolaiqing” Rice is grown along the water conservation area of the upper reaches of the Huangpu River, thriving in an environment that is “triple-clean”—clean water, clean land, and clean air. Branded under the name of the rice variety “Laolaiqing,” cultivated by China’s veteran rice expert Chen Yongkang, it has been jointly developed over the years through collaboration between the Suzhou and Songjiang regions. This rice boasts an enticingly rich aroma, …
Ingredients: Flour, black dates
Mochi is a food made from glutinous rice, quite soft and sticky, and usually appears nearly round in shape. The outer layer of mochi is primarily made from round glutinous rice or glutinous rice flour, using heated water mixed with wheat starch as a binding agent, so it is generally white. There are also mochi that use food coloring or other ingredients to create variations in color. Mochi…
Shanghai Gu Embroidery, also known as "Luxiangyuan Gu Embroidery." History: Gu Embroidery originated in the Ming Dynasty. Legend has it that during the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty, a scholar named Gu Mingshi from Songjiang Prefecture built a garden in Shanghai’s Jiumu Di area for his retirement, naming it "Luxiangyuan." The descendants of the Gu family excelled in embroidery with unique techniques. Their embroidered works were used for display or given as gifts to friends, and “Gu Embroidery” got its name from this. The Gu family’s embroidery techniques were passed down from the imperial court, with threads finer than hair and stitches as delicate as a hair’s tip. The color combinations were exquisite and ingeniously devised. The embroidered landscapes, figures, and flowers and birds were all vivid and exquisitely detailed, which greatly boosted the fame of “Gu Embroidery.” Local chronicles from the late Ming Dynasty noted: “A single piece of fine embroidery could be worth several taels of silver, and larger, full-sized pieces could be worth even more than a few gold pieces.” This shows how precious Gu Embroidery was. At that time, embroidery products from Suzhou and Hangzhou, as well as those from official silk weaving institutions, even labeled their own works with the name “Gu Embroidery.”
The Chinese Perch is found only beneath the Xiuye Bridge outside the west gate of Songjiang County in Shanghai. It is a specialty of Songjiang and has been famous throughout China since the Wei and Jin dynasties. Its flesh is tender and plump, delicious without any fishy smell, free from fine bone spines, and has an extraordinarily exquisite taste — making it one of the most delicious wild fish and one of China’s Four Famous Fish. The Chinese Perch has a spindle-shaped body, about twelve centimeters long…
Chongming Cake is a specialty of Chongming, made with ingredients such as dates and white sugar. It has a fragrant, fluffy texture that is soft yet not sticky, and is popular both on and off the island, making it a distinctive local delicacy of the treasure island of Chongming. …
Chongming Island covers an area of over 1,200 square kilometers. The county’s cauliflower planting area alone reaches 5,360 hectares, with an annual output value exceeding 150 million yuan, making it one of the largest cauliflower production bases in East China. Cauliflower has become a truly flagship agricultural product of Chongming. Currently, the county has established 10 pollution-free standardized production demonstration bases…
This is one of the most common dishes in Shanghai, yet it's not easy to find locally. The filling of the large wontons includes lean pork, choy sum, and more. The wonton wrappers are tender, smooth, and elastic—firmer than the Guangdong-style wontons. The broth is simmered for over six hours using pork and chicken bones. …
Sliced Chicken in Royal Concubine Style is a unique Sichuan-style dish created by a famous Shanghai chef. It uses tender female chicken as the main ingredient, flavored with wine, resulting in a rich and intoxicating aroma that evokes the elegance of a royal concubine. In Xi'an, there's also another version called "Sliced Chicken in Royal Concubine Style." It features dumplings stuffed with chicken breast, chopped scallions, cooking wine, mushrooms, and more, shaped like plump wheat ears…
Xu Xing straw weaving, produced in Xu Xing, Jiading, boasts a long history. As early as over 1,000 years ago during the Tang Dynasty, woven products made from yellow straw had already become one of the tributes to the imperial court. In the early 20th century, cultural exchanges and development began between Eastern and Western straw weaving traditions. In 1914, the Italian trading firm Scorzelli & Co. hired local Xu Xing residents Wang Jihé and Zhu Shilin as...
In the mid-1980s, Jiading introduced the world-renowned American King pigeon breed. Through scientific breeding, these pigeons have grown to be large in size with delicious meat, containing over 22% protein (squabs can weigh 500–700 grams 25–28 days after hatching). Nowadays, the Squab Company of Shanghai HuiNong Industrial Corporation can...
Jiading White Broad Beans are produced in Shanghai, China. They have many uses and can be processed into spiced beans, crispy fried beans, and bean flour. They are mainly used as a vegetable dish or for making various bean-based foods. Fresh broad beans stir-fried with scallion oil are especially sweet and fragrant; dried broad beans that sprout, commonly known as sprouted beans, offer a delightful combination of four flavors: fragrant, sweet, crispy, and soft. In addition, dried broad beans can also be ground into flour to steam cakes, or used as raw materials for making soy sauce, paste, candies, vermicelli, milk powder substitutes, and biscuits.
Jiading White Garlic is a highly nutritious vegetable that strengthens the body. In addition to containing carbohydrates, it also includes protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamins B and C, as well as trace elements such as selenium. It is mainly used for stir-frying, seasoning, and processing. Garlic is also a potent medicinal ingredient, capable of inhibiting and killing various bacteria, and is effective against protozoal and fungal infections...
Xuxing Township in Jiading District, Shanghai, is world-renowned as the home of rush weaving. The rush produced here is smooth, soft, and durable. Woven items made from this rush are not only elegant and refined but also lightweight and practical, making them a traditional specialty of Shanghai. …