As dusk falls, people wander in the twilight, stomachs empty, hearts aching from hunger. Approaching the end of the workday, I glance at my watch again and again, straining to catch any sounds in the hallway—no one’s announcing the end of the shift. Might as well check some food info, perhaps that’ll spark an idea. But the more I look, the hungrier I get, my mouth watering nonstop. I swallow hard…
The aroma of sizzling barbecue
Pulling Stones with a Leather Strap When it comes to the dish "Pulling Stones with a Leather Strap," there is a legend passed down among the Hui people: long ago, on the second day after a new bride joined her husband’s family, she was expected to cook for the entire household. To test whether the bride was virtuous and capable of managing a home, some mothers-in-law would ask for tricky or unusual dishes. This served not only to assess the bride’s intelligence but also to evaluate her cooking skills. If she performed well, she would be praised by her mother-in-law. On one such occasion, early on the morning after a new bride had arrived, after greeting her in-laws, the mother-in-law said she wanted to eat “Pulling Stones with a Leather Strap.”
In fact, this kind of dish was a common soup meal eaten by poor families over half a century ago. At that time, when food was scarce, people would take a small handful of flour, knead and roll it into thin sheets, sprinkle some salt, add chopped green onions and lentils, and cook them in the broth to be eaten with the noodles. It was a staple family dish, also known as “the poor man’s meal.” Nowadays, in the fast-paced…
Yanchi Large White Melon Seeds are a specialty product of the Yanchi Basin. They feature a clean white color, long and wide kernels, high oil content, thin shells, plump seeds, and a delicious aroma, making them an ideal nutritional snack. The unique terrain and landforms create a distinctive climate, where during the growing period of the melon seeds, elements such as light, heat, and water are well-balanced. The special saline-alkali loam soil, abundant...
Yanqi County’s Baohai Township, known as the "Hometown of Chinese Fennel," produces Anxi fennel—one of the region’s key specialty cash crops that contributes significantly to local farmers’ income. It is cultivated across all 11 towns (and farms) in the county, with an annual planting area exceeding 20,000 mu, accounting for about 10% of the total sown area. The yield per mu exceeds 50 kilograms, and over the years…
Geographical Scope: The Kaidu River Basin within the Yanqi Basin, an intermountain basin at the southern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, including Yanqi County, Hejing County, Heshuo County, and various regiment farms of the Second Agricultural Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in the Yanqi Basin. Unique Qualities: It is understood that large-scale cultivation of red chili peppers in the Yanqi Basin began in the late 1990s. Currently, the chili planting area exceeds…
Located in Wusitara Township, Hetian County, Xinjiang, close to Bosten Lake, this area boasts abundant water resources, ample sunshine, a long frost-free period, and significant day-night temperature variations—ideal conditions for growing fruits and vegetables. It is a key production region for processing tomatoes in Hetian County. Locally grown tomatoes have fewer pests and diseases, high yields, and excellent product qualities including high viscosity, rich red pigment content, and high solid content. The mold...
The climate conditions in Heishui County, Xinjiang, are similar in latitude to those of Bordeaux, France — known as the “wine capital” — featuring a temperate continental arid climate with long hours of sunshine and significant temperature variations, making it suitable for cultivating a variety of wine grape varieties. Heishui County in Xinjiang is surrounded on three sides by branches of the Tianshan Mountains and borders China’s largest inland freshwater lake — Bosten Lake…
Heishui Wine is a specialty of Heishui County in Bayingolin, Xinjiang. Xinjiang's Heishui County is an ancient and magical land. Here, visitors are greeted by the majestic Tianshan Mountains, the vast Bosten Lake, and endless desert oases. The clear meltwater from the Tianshan Mountains, abundant sunlight, and gravelly sandy soil from the Tianshan alluvial fans provide ideal conditions for grape...
Dingding Spicy Sauce is a specialty of Heshuo County in Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. The green food product Dingding Spicy Sauce, produced by Heshuo Dingding Food Factory, is exported annually to over ten countries including the Commonwealth of Independent States and Southeast Asia. The "Dingding Brand" spicy sauce and tomato sauce produced by Heshuo County Dingding Food Co., Ltd. are in high demand and very popular in the Central Asian market...
Mongolian milk wine is clear in color, sweet in taste, and has a warming effect on the body. Its alcohol content generally does not exceed 30 degrees. The reason this Mongolian milk wine tastes so good is because it is the essence of 0. To make milk wine, fresh milk is not used; instead, defatted yogurt or the leftover whey from making milk tofu and other dairy products is used. The whey is usually stored in wooden barrels or leather bags and kept at an appropriate...
“Uctouluga,” meaning “sheep’s head and tail spine” in Mongolian, refers to boiled hand-grabbed lamb. It is a dish served at Mongolian weddings and when receiving honored guests. The preparation of Uctouluga preserves the traditional method: freshly slaughtered and cleaned lamb is placed in a pot and simmered. Sometimes only pepper and ginger slices are added, without any salt. The meat is cooked until it is about seventy to eighty percent...
In Mongolian households, a type of giant flatbread is almost always baked, known in Mongolian as "Khesen Borsg." Typically, the bread is as large as the pot it’s baked in, usually requiring 2–3 kilograms of flour. This bread uses leavened dough but no alkali. When mixing the dough, milk, butter, or milk skin and a little salt are added. After the dough is prepared, it is slightly scalded, …
Qieqian Jade, also known as Qiemo Jade, has been celebrated since the pre-Qin period as the “jade of Kunshan.” Stretching hundreds of kilometers from Ruoqiang to Taxkorgan, it encompasses a full range of varieties including white jade, sapphire jade, blue-white jade, floral jade, and jasper jade, among which white jade is the most prized for its bright color and fine texture, making it highly valuable. Qiemo is abundant in white jade, pink jade, sapphire jade…
Skewered grilled meat, a traditional Uyghur dish from Xinjiang, is both a popular street snack and an elegant dish fit for entertaining guests. Authentic skewered grilled meat, like roasted whole lamb, boasts a glossy, golden-brown color, with a flavor that is mildly spicy yet savory, not greasy or gamey, and the meat is tender and delicious. While the selection of ingredients is not as strict as for roasted whole lamb, the difference between the two lies mainly in the scale and specific methods of cooking.
Xinjiang’s Luntai County has a long history of cultivating white apricots, dating back over 1,300 years according to the *Great Tang Records of the Western Regions*. Known for their pale yellow, translucent skin, yellowish-white juicy flesh, high sugar content, and rich array of organic compounds as well as essential vitamins and minerals, these apricots offer notable medicinal benefits and have earned widespread acclaim across the region…
It is a wild plant, and Bayingolin Prefecture is one of China's main ephedra-producing regions. The Heshuo County Ephedrine Factory has been established, which is currently the largest ephedrine production facility in China, with an annual production capacity of 100 tons—about half of the national output—all of which is exported. (Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture)…
Pond smelt is a euryhaline, carnivorous, sub-cold water fish. It has delicious, tender meat that is rich in nutrients, low in fat, and high in protein, with the entire fish being edible. As a green food product, pond smelt boasts high nutritional and economic value, making it especially popular among customers both in China and abroad, particularly in Japan. Deep-processed pond smelt has become highly sought-after in the Japanese market…
Heshuo County is under the jurisdiction of Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang. It is located in the central part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on the southern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, in the northeastern part of the Yanqi Basin, with the Tianshan Mountains to the north. Heshuo has a mid-temperate continental arid climate, featuring long sunshine hours, abundant heat, and large diurnal temperature variations. The region’s rich water, soil, light, and thermal resources make it highly suitable for growing grain, industrial...