Yao Gang Media Ducks

Yao Gang Media Ducks

　　Yao Gang Media Ducks

　　The Yao Gang Village, located northwest of Laozhou and Laowan, is a large settlement with a population of over 3,000, where 90% of the residents share the Yao surname. Legend has it that during the late Ming Dynasty, the ancestors of the Yao family, skilled in setting up nets to catch ducks, drifted down the river on a small boat. Unfortunately, they encountered danger in the waters of Laozhou Bay, so they moored the boat, went ashore, and sought shelter. Seeing the vast sandy islet, sparse population, towering trees, marshy weeds, endless reeds on the lakeshore, and birds soaring in the sky, the Yao ancestors chose to settle here and made a living by catching wild ducks. The skill of duck catching was a unique expertise of the Yao family, passed down to sons but not to sons-in-law. Moreover, because the Chenyao Lake area served as a natural wintering ground for birds, and wildlife was abundant and inexhaustible, the Yao Gang wild ducks gained fame throughout the region.

　　Wild ducks are distant relatives of domesticated ducks. They are about 60 centimeters long, with bluish-white feathers, short beaks, long tails, small feet, and red webbed toes. Their shape is similar to that of domestic ducks. The wise ancestors of the Yao family raised the surplus wild ducks they caught and sold, domesticated them, and hatched their eggs. After a century of evolution, these ducks were tamed into a unique local breed in Yao Gang, initially called “media ducks.” This type of duck is more docile than wild ducks, does not fly away, and shares the wild duck’s love for water, feeding mainly on plant seeds, shellfish, and worms. These ducks are easy to breed, raise, and keep alive, with ducklings maturing in just three months. Male media ducks offer the authentic flavor of wild ducks—rich but not greasy, and when served hot, the broth is never scalding. Consuming this duck is believed to have health benefits such as clearing heat and detoxifying, reducing swelling, and suppressing or fighting cancer.

　　The villagers of Yao Gang possess nearly a century of experience in raising media ducks and benefit from unparalleled natural resources (to the north of the village lie hundreds of acres of Qiaohu Lake, tidal wetlands, and the adjacent ten-mile-long Yadianchi River). Duck rearing is widespread—every household raises ducks, and the sound of quacking fills the air. Yao Gang media ducks are not only well-known in the surrounding areas but also renowned across the nation.