What Delicious Food Can You Try in Zhangjiakou?
North of the Great Wall, Zhangjiakou’s cuisine blends flavors from Northeast China and Inner Mongolia. Smoked meat and local mushrooms are two must-taste specialties here. Sipping mare’s milk wine and feasting on whole roasted lamb on the Bashang Grassland will make you feel as if you are wandering the vast Mongolian steppe. Local snacks such as silk thread pastries, fried glutinous cakes, potato fish and hand-held lamb deliver an unforgettable feast for your taste buds.
Smoked meat is a signature product of Chaigoubu Town in Huai’an County, an ancient frontier town with a history of more than 200 years. Legend has it that during the Gengzi Incident, the Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu stopped over in Chaigoubu while fleeing west. After trying the smoked meat, they praised it as an exquisite delicacy.
Chaigoubu Smoked Meat
The Guo Xi brand smoked meat of Chaigoubu originated in the early 19th century, boasting a history of over 200 years and an entry in the National Food Dictionary. It was first created by Zhao Fuquan, a local resident of Chaigoubu during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty. Later, Guo Xi refined the smoking techniques of his predecessors and developed a unique production process.
His smoked cooked meat features tender skin and soft flesh with consistent flavor throughout. Fatty portions taste rich without greasiness, while lean cuts are tender and never stringy. Boasting a mellow, fresh aroma, it has won widespread acclaim.
Buckwheat Noodles (Hele)
Pronounced “He Le”, the name symbolizes “a joyful family reunion”. Thanks to its auspicious meaning, rich nutrition, fresh taste and health benefits, buckwheat hele noodles have been a staple traditional dish for major ceremonies in Yu County, including weddings, harvest prayers and festivals.
The noodles stay untangled in boiling soup and remain light when mixed with meat gravy. Thin, resilient and full-bodied, they are easy to digest. They contain abundant vitamins, organic acids and minerals essential to the human body, with the highest fiber and copper content among all grains. Notably, buckwheat helps alleviate diabetes symptoms, making it an increasingly popular staple on dining tables.
Yu County Eight Great Bowls
The Eight Great Bowls are iconic traditional dishes of Yu County, as the name suggests comprising eight signature courses. The set includes:
- Colorful Mixed Shred Stew
- Braised Pork (rich yet not greasy)
- Steamed Layered Pork
- Tiger-skin Meatballs (meat wrapped in vegetable skin)
- Pan-Fried Chicken with Mixed Fat and Lean Meat
- Chunky Mixed Meat Stew
- Steamed Meatballs with Exquisite Seasoning
- Silver Shredded Tripe (light and fragrant)
The first five bowls are thick gravy dishes with strong, savory flavors that satisfy hearty appetites; the last three are light broth dishes that refresh the palate and boost appetite.
The Eight Great Bowls have endured through generations not only for their delicious taste, but also for their distinctive cooking techniques. Their meticulous preparation and unique flavors stand far above ordinary dishes.
Bashang Naked Oat Noodles
Naked oat noodles rank first among the “Three Treasures Beyond the Great Wall”. They are processed from naked oats, an annual herb also known as oil oats. Originating in Central Asia, naked oats were first introduced to Europe before arriving in China over 2,000 years ago. They are widely cultivated in northwest China, northern North China and Inner Mongolia.
Naked oats hold high nutritional and economic value. Their stalks and husks are rich in protein, fat and B vitamins, making premium livestock feed and raw material for papermaking. The flour can be made into food or animal feed. Local people treasure naked oat noodles as a priceless staple.
Whole Roasted Lamb
Castrated rams or plump lambs under one year old are chosen as the main ingredient. After slaughter, the sheep’s hooves and internal organs are removed. A paste made of fine flour, salt water, eggs, turmeric, pepper and cumin powder is evenly spread over the entire carcass. The sheep is skewered on an iron-nailed wooden pole from head to tail and placed in a special clay oven, which is tightly sealed. The lamb is turned frequently for observation and fully roasted in roughly one hour.
Roast Lamb Chops
When eating this dish, you cut individual ribs off the rack with a Tibetan knife and pick them up by hand to gnaw. The outer skin is exceptionally crispy and aromatic, while the lamb meat is tender, free of gamey odor. Fatty sections are not cloying, and lean parts are never dry.
Milk Tea
To make milk tea, tea leaves are crushed and boiled in clear water. Once the tea turns dark and concentrated, the leaves are strained out, and the liquid simmers a while longer. Constantly ladle and pour the tea to thicken it, then add fresh milk. Continue lifting and pouring until the tea and milk blend fully, then bring it to a boil once more to create fragrant milk tea.
In most regions, a pinch of salt is added, though some places serve salt on the side for guests to add according to personal taste.
Milk tea relieves fatigue, lifts spirits, boosts appetite, aids digestion, lowers blood pressure and prevents arteriosclerosis. Abaqa milk tea offers all these benefits and additionally eases cold symptoms, making it a top-tier nourishing beverage.
Yuzhou Yellow Millet Cake
Eating cake is central to Yu County people’s diet; locals feel empty without it for a single meal. The “cake” referenced is white sorghum cake. Outsiders have long nicknamed Yu County the “Land of Cakes” and its residents “cake eaters”, as the locals grow up relying on this staple.
The local “hairy cake” refers to unhusked broomcorn millet cake, ground from whole millet grains. Yet for centuries, residents living on Yu County’s barren land could rarely afford millet cake. Most families relied on white sorghum cake, sometimes mixed with bran.
Life in Yu County has vastly improved today; locals now eat far better meals than wealthy landlords of the old days. Still, the deep-rooted fondness for cake passed down through ancestors remains unchanged, and yellow millet cake is a daily staple in every household across urban and rural Yu County.
Shangyi Local Snacks
Shangyi’s unique frontier cuisine took shape through the integration of nomadic and farming cultures.
- Mongolian-style staples: fried millet, milk tea
- Lamb specialties: hand-held lamb, lamb hot pot, whole roasted lamb
- Full beef feast
Signature grain dishes include block oat paste, hollow oat rolls, potato fish, crystal steamed dumplings, potato paste noodles, and naked oat nests in lamb broth. In recent years, Uyghur Muslim Maimaiti barbecue and Zhang Kuan smoked meat have also become well-known local snacks.
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