Text/Xiao Fei Xia

A few days ago, UNESCO approved 66 cities in the world to join its Creative Cities Network. Among them, Nanjing was named the "World Capital of Literature", while Yangzhou was named the "World Capital of Gastronomy".

Yangzhou has become China’s fourth “World Food Capital” after Shunde, Chengdu and Macau.

The canals are crisscrossed, so the capital is magnificent and the legacy of Guangling is large. Why did Yangzhou become the "Gourmet Capital of the World"?

There is more than enough for grass and snakes. Perhaps, those snacks, bowls of noodles, and stretches of teahouses that are spread throughout the old streets and ancient geography, hidden in the prosperous times, are the most convincing evidence of the world’s gourmet capital.

"Wucheng-Han, connecting Jianghuai."

Yangzhou's predecessor was Hancheng, which was built two thousand years ago Five hundred years ago. Since then, the city has become a stage and a long song in the long river of history.

The successes and failures of various historical figures, the thrills of various historical events, and the joys and sorrows of various historical echoes are interpreted into a magnificent and majestic symphony.

In fact, this small town in Jiangbei with the most Jiangnan temperament has long been the "city of food" in the hearts of many foodies: Yangzhou has been prosperous since ancient times, and Huaiyang cuisine has emerged here, thanks to the blessing of thoroughfares and the contribution of salt merchants , so that Yangzhou’s food culture always has a refined and sophisticated background. In Yangzhou, the delicious aroma of a piece of lion head, the leisurely taste of a morning tea, the romantic aftertaste, and the exquisiteness have always affected Yangzhou's daily food life.

Taiwanese philosopher Zhang Qijun commented on Huaiyang cuisine in "Principles of Cooking": Huaiyang cuisine, if Shandong cuisine has the word "expensive" , Huaiyang cuisine has the word "rich".

Huaiyang cuisine is centered on Yangzhou. The prosperity of Yangzhou began with the opening of the canal by Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty. After the opening of the canal, Yangzhou became the intersection of the Yangtze River and the canal, allowing commercial ships from Guanshan and Sichuan in the west, to Zhuojun in the north, and from all over the Yangtze River in the south to gather here. At its peak, it was equivalent to modern New York, Tokyo, and Paris.

During the Five Dynasties, Yangzhou was once robbed, but after the disaster, it finally returned to its grandeur due to transportation and commerce. Later, salt merchants gathered here, adding even more icing on the cake.

This grand occasion continued into modern times. Due to the opening of maritime transport, the status of the Yangtze River throughput was replaced by Shanghai: the Jinpu Railway was built, the shipping value of the canal was no longer what it was before, and Yangzhou has since declined.

However, thousands of years of prosperity have finally made Yangzhou the center of southern life enjoyment, and its cuisine has become the representative of Jiangnan cuisine and even southern cuisine.

What many people are curious about is, when a city experiences its heyday and then declines, what kind of mentality should the city's residents have to adapt to the gap?

Perhaps Yangzhou people’s attitude towards morning tea has become the best example.

Yangzhou people have never given up the tradition of morning tea. This lifestyle has deeply penetrated into the bones of Yangzhou people. It is about the magnanimity and dignity of literati, the decent lifestyle and the exquisite food culture, all of which embody the life concept of Yangzhou people to the extreme.

Interestingly, when it comes to breakfast, everyone will think that delicious and down-to-earth breakfasts are always hidden in the streets and alleys. But Yangzhou is different. A formal morning tea often takes one or two hours.

Whether it is a large, time-honored teahouse such as Yechun or Quyuan, or an ordinary "social teahouse", it is grand but casual and leisurely. Revealing sophistication, Yangzhou people’s sense of dependence and superiority on having morning tea is fully revealed.

The exquisite taste and exquisite rituals are not only the face of Yangzhou people, but also the heritage accumulated over the years.

How good are Yangzhou people at eating?

In the old days, Yangzhou people ate five meals a day:

Early in the morning, from morning tea to breakfast, it was counted as one meal;

Here we are At noon, the food in the morning has not yet been digested, but you still have to eat it, so lunch is simply called "small lunch";

Have another afternoon tea in the afternoon, which is called "eating afternoon";

Dinner is as formal as breakfast. You should eat more meat, drink wine, and eat big dishes;

Let’s have some midnight snacks before going to bed at night! It doesn’t mean to skip two bites, but it is also an indispensable meal.

At the teahouse, you have a cup of tea after ordering.

The tea is not high-end green tea, but green Yangchun produced in Yangzhou and Yizheng areas. When brewed with boiling water, the tea leaves will curl up with fine foam, which is the beginning of the morning;

A small plate of pickles is already on the table. After placing them, hot shredded shredded buns, steamed buns, Sanding Shaomai, Thousand Layer Oil Cake, and Diamond Navel are served one after another;

There are also noodles, the simplest is a bowl of Yangchun noodles, soy sauce, lard, and shrimp. Seeds, pepper, boil the water, scoop out the noodles, and bury your head deep into the bowl against the heat.

The prosperous years are fading day by day, and the old alleys of the ancient city have become intertwined with the high-rise buildings in the city, indistinguishable from each other. The murmuring "history" and the unbridled legend seem to have been robbed by time in a few years.

However, we will still look for the taste and memories of the old days in food. That is the legend of Wensi Tofu cut one by one, the attitude of the complicated production process of lion head, the brilliance of Yangzhou fried rice called "broken gold rice", and the true taste of this city that Yangzhou people maintain in morning tea and restaurants. soul.