Little Flower Fish

Little Flower Fish

　　Little Flower Fish

　　Around the Qingming Festival, if you visit the banks of the Daying River in Lianghe County, your hospitable hosts will surely serve you a bowl of delicious little flower fish as part of the banquet. People often say, “Lianghe County, such a lovely place, white rice paired with flower fish soup.”

　　　The little flower fish are about as thick as a pinky finger, over an inch long, with greenish skin adorned with beautiful patterns. This type of fish has soft bones, rich fat, and a sweet flavor. Whether pan-fried, deep-fried, or boiled, they leave a lasting impression and earn endless praise. Locals often preserve and sun-dry the little flower fish with spices, turning them into treasured gifts to send to relatives and friends far away. It is said that Cao Yixiu, a local expert rat-catcher from Jiubao in Lianghe County, after being received (at a meeting) by Chairman Mao in Beijing, once sent a pound of personally preserved and dried little flower fish to the Chairman and even received a reply from the Chairman’s office.

　　The little flower fish are found among the rocks and sand in the middle section of the Daying River (from Xiaohe Di in Tengchong County to Dahua Bridge in Lianghe County), where they feed on insects. When the spring river water warms up, the little flower fish swim in schools to the shallow waters near the riverbanks to spawn. During the fishing season, as night falls, you can see fishing boats dotting both banks of the Daying River, their lights twinkling and fishing songs echoing—truly a scene of “fishermen’s songs answering each other, what boundless joy!”