Dan Dun Fans

Dan Dun Fans

　　【Dan Dun Fans】 Chenliang Town’s Danjiadun is located one kilometer east of the town center and belongs to Yongtong Village. The local farmers have a long-standing tradition of making fans (vermicelli), and hundreds of households have consistently engaged in this as a side business. The produced fans are dry, white, fine, even, and long—affordable yet high-quality. When cooked, they don’t turn mushy, and the resulting broth remains light, making them a homely dish that never tires the palate. The name “Dan Dun Fans” quickly gained popularity and was widely sold throughout the Yanfu region even before the Cultural Revolution. In the 1970s and 1980s, the market expanded across China—from the north to the south of the Yangtze River—becoming a renowned product in vegetable markets and a common household purchase. Originally, the main ingredients were locally grown broad beans (peas) and fava beans from the water-rich Chenliang area. As demand grew, sweet potatoes (yams), abundant in the dry grain-producing western part of Funing County, were introduced. The resulting yam-based fans offered a different flavor from the bean-based ones. Through the meticulous craftsmanship of the people of Dan Dun, both types gained favor among homemakers and restaurant chefs alike. Funing residents not only consumed “Dan Dun Fans” year-round but also paired them with Funing Dagu, Shuojixian Baiye (bean curd sheets), and Yilin Soy Sauce to form a “four-item” gift set, which they proudly presented to distant relatives and friends as a specialty of Funing. “This is our Funing specialty,” they would say. In the 1990s, the production of Dan Dun fans declined, and the number of households making them dwindled. Even during holidays, it became difficult for out-of-town relatives visiting Dan Dun farmers to get their hands on a few kilograms of the authentic product. As for markets outside the county, the presence of “Dan Dun Fans” had all but disappeared. In early 2009, Zhou Qiliu, the village committee director of Yongtong Village (where Danjiadun is located) in Chenliang Town, called a meeting. Using the remaining 28 fan-making households as role models, he motivated the community to revive their traditional craft. New technology was introduced to shift from manual to semi-mechanized production, and the “Green Treasure” trademark was registered for Dan Dun Fans. After several years of restorative development, by 2009, the number of fan workshops in Yongtong Village had reached nearly 100, with an annual output of over 200 tons. The authentic “Green Treasure” brand Dan Dun Fans are now making their way into the supermarkets of major cities.