Delicious Food in Chizhou – Local Cuisine Guide

Jiuhua Mountain is a renowned Buddhist sacred mountain. Since ancient times, monks and nuns have strictly observed precepts banning meat and only eating vegetarian food. Local villagers and tourists were also prohibited from consuming meat, a custom passed down for thousands of years. This tradition gave birth to the distinctive and widely celebrated Jiuhua Mountain Vegetarian Feast.

This wine originates from Huanggong Tavern in Xinghua Village, Chizhou Prefecture of the Tang Dynasty. Huang Guangrun, a master winemaker of that era, brewed the wine with secret techniques using water from Fragrant Spring Well (also known as Huanggong Well, which remains well-preserved to this day). Clear and pure in color, the wine delivers a mellow aroma, authentic taste and lingering aftertaste, making it an exceptional fine wine favored by officials and common folks across the Jiangnan region.

Blessed with abundant natural ingredients and simple rustic food customs, Chizhou locals skillfully combine rural raw materials to create a rustic flavor profile marked by balanced saltiness and freshness. Representative dishes include braised pork with dried cowpeas and more.

Ruanqiao Preserved Duck boasts a long processing history. Authentic Ruanqiao Preserved Duck comes from ducklings raised each spring, slaughtered at the Start of Winter, cured with ancestral recipes for over a month, and air-dried naturally through more than a dozen elaborate procedures. It tastes rich yet not greasy, tender and palatable with perfectly balanced saltiness and a fresh, mellow aroma that whets the appetite. Hailed as an unparalleled delicacy of Chizhou, genuine Ruanqiao Preserved Duck is purely handcrafted green food free of any additives, only hitting the market every winter near the Lunar New Year. It is made from the local Qimao duck, a cross between wild geese and wild ducks. Raised freely in farmlands without artificial feed, the ducks feed on river snails, fish, shrimp, insects, frogs and grains. They rarely fall ill and boast higher nutritional value than ordinary domestic ducks.

Bisheng Chestnuts are produced in Bisheng Village, Meicun Town, Guichi District, locally nicknamed Beichong King Chestnuts. They ripen around the Mid-Autumn Festival, earning them the moniker "Mid-Autumn Chestnuts". A tribute to imperial courts through successive dynasties, they first gained nationwide fame as a Chizhou tribute during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty. Today, most chestnuts grow wild with an annual output of around 25 tons. The nuts are large, plump, glossy and full, with crisp, tender and sweet flesh. Professor Zhang Liangfu, a distinguished forestry expert, tasted them and praised: "They feature unique quality, rich smooth flavor and delicate texture."