Tianzhuangtai has a large Muslim population, so Muslim food is especially diverse, and sticky rice cake is one of its typical dishes. Among the well-made sticky rice cakes that have been passed down to this day, Wang’s Sticky Rice Cake stands out. The inheritor of Wang’s Sticky Rice Cake, Wang Fenglin, inherited his ancestors’ craft of making the cake. Now in his eighties, he has passed the skill on to his second daughter. Not long ago, both the CCTV news team and the CCTV-2 program "Consumption Advocates" filmed the entire process of making Wang’s Sticky Rice Cake.
Among the traditional and distinctive foods of Tianzhuangtai Town, many are named after their family surnames, such as Old Hu’s Roast Chicken, Ha’s Bean Buns, Zhou’s Noodles, and Luan’s Rice Cake, all of which continue to this day. Old Yu’s Handmade Dumplings are also a craft passed down through the family and represent the town’s signature dumpling offering. The reason why Old Yu’s Handmade Dumplings have long enjoyed a great reputation is mainly due to their meticulous selection of ingredients, careful preparation...
Scallion pancakes and box cakes are classic snacks in the ancient town of Tianzhuangtai, made using the traditional family recipe from Wei Family Pancake Shop. While scallion pancakes are something almost every housewife can make, the appearance, texture, and flavor vary greatly. Once you've tried Wei Family Pancake Shop's scallion pancakes, you'll find yourself craving them...
Tianzhuangtai Fengqiao Distillery is one of the few currently preserving traditional brewing techniques. It is the only distillery in Panjin City that maintains traditional methods, producing nearly 10 varieties including rice liquor, grain liquor, locust flower liquor, and fruit wine. Its predecessor was the Tianzhuangtai Daohuaxiang Old Distillery, which has a history of nearly 60 years. In recent…
The people of Panjin love braised delicacies, but those in Tianzhuangtai love them even more. When it comes to where you can find the best braised delicacies, Tianzhuangtai takes the crown. For any major celebration or event in a Tianzhuangtai household, the banquet table is always graced with a few signature braised dishes to impress the guests. That’s why Tianzhuangtai’s braised delicacies have long enjoyed a stellar reputation. Nowadays, the braised spider crabs, braised green shrimp, and braised crabs at Yixiangyuan Restaurant…
The Wang family’s delicious sticky treats are not limited to rice cakes. Their glutinous rice balls, mung bean jelly, and more have been bestsellers in the town for decades. Their New Year cake and mung bean jelly are stamped with characters such as “Good Fortune,” “Wealth,” “Longevity,” and “Joy,” each carrying meaningful symbolism. The texture is delightful — fragrant, sticky, yet not greasy — leaving everyone who tries it wanting more. …
The development and utilization of Gongchangling mineral water resources date back over 1,300 years. In 2005, the Liaoning Provincial Hydrological Monitoring Station conducted a resource survey. Comprehensive data indicated that the Tanghe mineral springs are dynamically stable, with abundant reserves and rich in beneficial elements for human health such as radon, strontium, and metasilicic acid, ranking among the best of their kind nationwide. In 20…
The Fresh Fish from Tanghe River Street is a dining area specializing in fresh fish from the Tanghe River. All varieties of fish come from the Tanghe Reservoir—the only unpolluted reservoir in Liaoning Province. The main types include: silver carp, crucian carp, old man fish, common carp, grass carp, island fish, spotted steed, dace, sharpbelly, minnow, blackfish, and over 30 other kinds. Annually, nearly...
Triple Star Lamb Soup is the colloquial name for the Triple Star Whole Lamb Set Menu. The set includes nearly 20 signature dishes, such as braised lamb leg, grilled lamb face, stir-fried pork, quick-fried lamb blood, dried sautéed lung, boiled lamb liver, lamb chops, and authentic lamb soup. The lamb used in these dishes is finely prepared from northern goats, offering a delicious taste, unique flavor, crispy outside and tender inside…
The Banana Plum was selected from the Zhusha Plum. Although it has only been cultivated for a little over 40 years, its quality and flavor surpass those of the Zhusha Plum, making it one of the fine fruits of Liaoning. It is mainly distributed along the Liaodong Peninsula, with the most cultivation in Fuxian County. The fruit is nearly round and slightly flattened, relatively large in size — about eight to ten can make up one jin (500 grams). The largest single fruit can weigh up to...
Locally known as hashima. It belongs to the class Amphibia, order Anura, and family Ranidae. The body length ranges from 40 to 70 millimeters. The body is relatively slender, with a slightly raised head, and a blunt, slightly pointed snout. The canthal ridges are distinct, the eardrum is round, the fingertips are blunt and rounded, and the webbing between the toes is well developed. The skin is fairly smooth, with a light grayish-brown or earthy yellow back, and scattered rounded or elongated warts on the spine and sides of the body. …
Locally known as the Tower Swift. Belongs to the class Aves, order Apodiformes, family Apodidae. A summer migrant. The crown, upper body, and tail are entirely dark brownish-black, with the crown and upper back exhibiting a metallic sheen. The tail is deeply forked, and the wings are long and pointed, sickle-shaped. The tertials have narrow white edges. The chin and throat are dirty white, while the belly is dark brownish-black with narrow white edges. Juveniles: Most feathers on the body have narrow white edges, particularly prominent on the crown, wing edges, inner flight feathers, wing coverts, and lower limbs. Iris dark brown; beak black; feet purplish-brown. Arrives every year at the beginning of summer and departs in late autumn. Diet consists entirely of flying insects. Nests are built on high tower eaves or in wall crevices. The nest is made of mud mixed with stems, leaves, rags, scraps of paper, etc., and lined with soft debris such as broken feathers. Clutch size is 2–3 eggs per brood, pure white.
There are currently three coalfields in Liaoyang–Haicheng, Yantai, and Hanling, mainly distributed in areas such as Ximafeng, Xidabao, Jiantai Zi, Huazi, Xidayaoyao, Zhangtaizi, Hanling, and Xuwangzi. The total proven reserves exceed hundreds of millions of tons, ranking fifth in the province. The coal is primarily anthracite, but also includes coking coal, fat coal, lean coal, meager coal, and stone coal. …
Iron ore is an advantageous mineral resource in Liaoyang, with 21 mining sites and a total reserve of 2.1 billion tons, ranking second in the province. The ore grade ranges between 26-35%. There are six types of ore-forming deposits: one late-magmatic iron ore site, three mineralized sites distributed in Longchang, Beizhuang, Xiaobeihe, and Helan areas. Longchang features a vanadium-titanium magnetite deposit…
Liaoyang specialty — Mountain Grapes. Mountain grapes are a specialty of Liaoyang City. They are a type of perennial deciduous vine plant. The vines can grow up to 15–20 meters in length. The main stem’s bark is dark brown, while the branch bark is brown, featuring flaky longitudinal cracks. The leaves are large, dark green on the surface with slight fuzz, and have large serrated edges. The flowers are small and numerous, yellow-green, and…
Chestnuts: One of the specialties of Liaoyang County. Chestnuts are perennial deciduous fruit trees, also known as large chestnuts or king chestnuts. Native to China, they have been cultivated in the country for at least 2,000–3,000 years. …
Fragrant Pear: One of the specialties of Liaoyang County. The Fragrant Pear has a long cultivation history, is delicious when eaten fresh, and is easy to store. Rich in nutrients, it contains citric acid, malic acid, glucose, fructose, and various vitamins. Eating it can help relieve stress and dryness, moisten the lungs, and promote saliva production. It is an affordable, nutritious, and therapeutic delight...
The Nanguo Pear belongs to the Qiuzi Pear variety group, with its primary production area located in Haicheng, Liaoning Province. This variety is renowned both domestically and internationally for its brightly colored fruit, delicate flesh, refreshing juiciness, and richly aromatic flavor. Among the pears currently cultivated in China, it stands out as a premium fruit comparable to fragrant pears, tribute pears, and crystal pears. l 、Morphological Characteristics Young Nanguo Pear trees have branches and trunks that are dark yellowish-brown with relatively sparse lenticels. Mature trees have grayish-brown bark that is smooth and glossy, with long oval-shaped lenticels that are medium to large, grayish-white, and unevenly distributed. Buds are precocious, with leaf buds being slender and conical with sharp tips. Some buds may sprout 2–3 clustered lateral shoots. Terminal buds often grow adpressed, while lower bud cushions are raised, and lateral buds are distinctly free. Leaves are obovate or elliptical, with acute tips, medium size, flat surfaces, and serrated margins with regular bristle-like teeth. The leaves are dark green, smooth, and glossy. Leaf petioles are 5–6 cm long, slightly purplish-red, and stipules fall off early. Flower buds are mixed buds, forming corymbs. Terminal flower buds typically produce 8 flowers per inflorescence, though some may have 6–7. Axillary flower buds usually produce 7 flowers per inflorescence. The flower corolla is small and triangular, reflexed and light green in color. Petals are nearly elliptical with relatively neat edges, pale red in the bud stage, pink when first blooming, and white when fully open. There are 20–25 stamens arranged in two whorls along the inner wall of the hypanthium. Outer whorl filaments are slightly longer than inner ones, with smaller anthers that are peach-red in color. Pollen is moderately abundant. The staminal column has 3–5 stigmatic lobes, usually 4, with the style base separating into varying lengths. Fruits are flattened round to nearly spherical. Typically, the vertical diameter is 4.7–5.2 cm, and the horizontal diameter is 5.5–5.8 cm. Average single fruit weight is about 50–75 grams, with the largest fruits reaching up to 170 grams. The skin is moderately thick, tough, not very shiny, with a base color of yellowish-green and a red blush on the sun-exposed side, giving it a bright and attractive appearance. The lenticels are relatively large, nearly round, and unevenly distributed. The stem cavity is small, nearly flat, with grooves; the stem cavity is deeper and more uniform, with most sepals fallen off and a few remaining. The fruit stalk is short and thick, the core is small, and the flesh is milky white. When freshly harvested, the flesh is slightly firm, sweet, and crisp. After 10–15 days of ripening, the flesh turns yellowish-white, becomes fine-textured, soft, juicy, with fewer stone cells. The skin is thin, the taste is sweet and slightly acidic, and the aroma is rich, melting easily in the mouth, indicating top-quality fruit. The fruit is highly resistant to transport and storage, and under controlled atmosphere cold storage conditions, can be kept for 5–7 months. 2、Phenological Period In the Haicheng region, the phenological periods of the Nanguo Pear are as follows: bud swelling begins in early April, initial flowering in late April, peak flowering from late April to early May. Flower drop occurs in early May. Fruit drop happens from mid-May to early June. Leaf bud swelling occurs in mid to late March, leaf unfolding in early May. New shoot growth begins in late April, with vigorous growth from mid-May to early June, and cessation of new shoot growth in early June. Flower bud differentiation starts in mid-June. Fruit harvesting takes place in mid to late September. Leaf fall occurs in mid-October. 3、Growth and Fruiting Habits The tree is quite robust. Young trees have an upright growth habit with relatively dense branch distribution. Mature trees are tall, vigorous, with an open canopy, sparse branches, and a drooping habit. Trees generally begin flowering around 2 years after planting. They start bearing fruit at 3–4 years old and enter a phase of heavy fruiting after 10 years. They have a long lifespan and are highly productive, typically living 80–120 years. The canopy of fruit-bearing trees takes on a natural open-center shape. Under good management, annual shoot growth can reach about 3 cm. Under natural growth conditions, 20-year-old trees can reach 5 meters in height, with a canopy spread of 6–7 meters; trees over 60 years old can reach up to 8 meters in height, with a canopy spread exceeding 10 meters. Bud vigor is strong, and shoot-forming ability is related to tree age, vigor, and pruning practices. Young trees have very strong shoot-forming ability, with each branch producing 4–7 new shoots. Early fruiting trees produce 3–4 new shoots per branch, while heavily fruiting trees produce 2–5 new shoots per branch. Fruiting mainly occurs on short fruiting spurs and spur clusters, with some fruit also forming on medium to long fruiting branches, mostly on 3–5 year-old wood. Axillary buds have strong fruiting capability, and on healthy plants, axillary bud fruiting rates can reach 30–40%. Short fruiting spurs have a long lifespan, usually over 10 years, and high fruit-setting capacity. Most flower clusters set fruit, with an average of 2–4 fruits per cluster. The Nanguo Pear has a low rate of self-pollination, so when establishing orchards, it’s advisable to select highly compatible pollinizer varieties (such as Huagai Pear, Bai Xiaoli Pear, or Jianbali Pear). 4、Market Situation Since 1996, amid a downturn in the apple market, the Nanguo Pear — known for its strong resilience and premium quality — has gained popularity and become a sought-after product, with an average market price of 3,000–5,000 yuan per ton of fresh fruit. Since 1999, the Haicheng Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government have prioritized the development of Nanguo Pear production as a leading industry. They have established industrialized Nanguo Pear production bases (with Datun Town becoming a designated high-quality Nanguo Pear production base by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1998), produced green fruit (Nanguo Pears from Jiewen Wangjiabao have been named green fruit of Liaoning Province), developed household-based controlled-atmosphere preservation businesses, and built medium to large juice processing plants (currently, two juice plants with an annual planned production capacity of 50,000 tons each have been completed). These efforts have laid a solid foundation for expanding the depth and breadth of Nanguo Pear production. In recent years, the Nanguo Pear has been gaining a strong reputation and carving out a niche in the pear markets north of the Yellow River with its distinctive quality and flavor. (Wafangdian)
Hawthorn, also known as red fruit, belongs to the Rosaceae family and is a deciduous tree. Its leaves are broadly ovate or triangular-ovate, with 5–9 pinnate lobes. The veins are covered with short soft hairs. The flowers are white and grow in corymbs. The fruit is red, nearly spherical, with a slightly sweet and sour taste. It can be made into canned goods or eaten fresh. Hawthorn also has medicinal properties, helping to eliminate food stagnation, resolve blockages, and remove blood stasis. Drinking it as a tea can help treat high blood pressure. …
Korean-style grilled beef involves tenderizing fresh beef by removing sinews and fat, slicing it into thin pieces, and marinating them in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, minced garlic, sugar, pepper, MSG, and sesame oil. Additional seasonings such as soybean paste, chili flakes, sugar, white vinegar, chopped cilantro, and minced garlic are prepared in small bowls. A charcoal brazier is placed in the center of the table with an iron grill on top. Using chopsticks, the beef slices are placed on the grill to be barbecued, then dipped in the seasonings before eating. The result is a dish that is crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and bursting with savory, spicy, and salty flavors.