When you visit the small city of Ningde, you must try wontons, mixed noodles, pork meatballs and beef balls. You should also taste konjac, pearl blood clams, sword razor clams, mandarin duck noodles and sesame flatbread.

In addition, if you come between late September and early October, do not miss the late-ripening longans. Cultivated in Ningde for 800 years, these longans feature big fruit with crisp white flesh and yellow peel. They have juicy, sweet pulp and tiny pits, making them an excellent nourishing treat.

It is made from a wild fern root found in the mountains. The tuber is rich in starch, glucomannan and various alkaloids. After processing, it turns into springy delicacy, perfect for stir-frying or cold salad.

With thin shells and plump tender meat, pearl blood clams are nutritious and a staple dish for banquets.

These clams have thin shells and crisp meat with outstanding freshness. They taste great no matter stewed, stir-fried, steamed or boiled.

The noodles are translucent, smooth and refreshing with a unique local flavour.

Also known as Jiguang Cake. According to legend, it was the field ration for General Qi Jiguang’s army while fighting Japanese pirates along Fujian and Zhejiang coasts. It is a small baked bun made from flour, salt, sesame seeds and chopped green onions, crispy and tasty.

Pingnan County in Ningde is known as the Hometown of Mandarin Ducks and is home to many distinctive local snacks, including Mandarin Duck Noodles, originally called Kuizhui Noodles. Amber in colour, the noodles are smooth and elastic. Dried wild oak nuts are first boiled, soaked and rinsed until softened, then drained and stir-fried with chicken fat and shrimp meat. The noodles stay intact without breaking. Simmered with pork bone soup and houttuynia cordata, the dish is refreshing and helps relieve the discomfort of haemorrhoids. Cooked together with pork ribs and houttuynia cordata, it serves as a nourishing medicinal food good for haemorrhoids, tooth decay and high blood pressure.

These specially dried tofu strips are soft yet tough. Air-dried slowly, they can be stored for a long time without spoiling. They are sliced into pieces as thin as cicada wings. Suitable for meat or vegetable dishes, they taste mild, soft and lightly salty.

Round in shape, about the size of a small bowl, with a tiny hole in the centre so they can be strung up on thread. During the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, coastal Fujian and Zhejiang suffered frequent pirate raids. General Qi Jiguang led troops to set ambushes along the coast of Fu’an. Locals baked large quantities of these hanging cakes for soldiers to carry around their necks as rations, helping the army defeat the pirates. The emperor later named the cake after the general. The crust is golden purple with a thin crisp shell, while the inside is fluffy like steamed bun. Freshly baked cakes have crispy crusts and soft crumbs with a light salty flavour.

Made from rice batter, fresh oysters and green onions. Pour a thin layer of rice batter into a round ladle, add oysters and green onions as filling, cover with more batter and deep-fry until golden brown.

Japonica rice is ground into flour, poured into wooden cup moulds and steamed. Brown or white sugar is placed in the middle and sprinkled on top