County China Online Tour
thirteen
Ningxia chapter
(Part 2)
( Ningxia • Wuzhong )
Leaving Lingwu and driving southwest for 31 kilometers and 42 minutes, we came to Qingtongxia City, which is under the jurisdiction of Wuzhong City.
Wuzhong is located in central Ningxia, formerly the city of Guling prefecture and the seat of Jinji County. Since ancient times, Wuzhong has been an important passage of the Silk Road, an important node city of the New Silk Road Economic Belt, and a regional commercial and trade city along the New Eurasian Land Bridge. The domestic road network is dense and the transportation is convenient, 4 railways and 5 highways run through the city, and the scenic spots such as Haba Lake, Luoshan National Nature Reserve and the Yellow River Grand Canyon, Bird Island in the reservoir area, as well as the Yellow River Temple and the Yellow River Tower in China are unique. Wuzhong City administers Litong District, Hongsibao District, Qingtongxia City, Yanchi County, and Tongxin County.
Qingtongxia City is located in the northwest of Wuzhong City, and in 2011, its comprehensive economic strength ranked 32nd among the top 100 counties (cities) in western China, and it was known as the "Pearl of Plugging". It is the first batch of national agricultural sustainable development experimental demonstration areas; in 2011, it was named the national sanitary city (district); in 2019, it was selected as the second batch of water-saving social construction standard counties (districts); and in 2020, It is one of the top 100 counties and cities in China's summer leisure. The total area of Qingtongxia City is 2,525 square kilometers, with a permanent population of 244,300 people, and 1 subdistrict and 8 towns under its jurisdiction.
In Qingtongxia, the author's birthplace, we will visit the Qingtongxia Yellow River Grand Canyon Tourist Area, the Yellow River Tower, the Yellow River Tan Scenic Area, the Yellow River Cultural Park, the One White And Eight Pagoda, the Ten Mile Long Gorge, the JinshaWan Tourist Area, the Bird Island, the Pigeon Mountain Ruins, the Niushoushan Temple Group, the North Fork Great Wall, the Miaoshan Lake, the Sanguan Ancient Great Wall, the Four-Eye Well Rock Painting, the Four-Eye Well Xixia Ruins, the Qingtongxia Barrage Dam, the Bronze Ancient Town, the Hanyan Canal, the Huinong Canal and other attractions; taste the haggis, the sheep's neck stewed astragalus, the powder soup dumplings, the hun wine stir-fried meat, the chicken artemisia, the pigeon fish , perfume pear, sea buckthorn, daqing grape, Qingtongxia watermelon, Qingtongxia tomato, Ningxia safflower and other food specialties.
23 minutes east of 14 km from Qingtongxia, we came to Litong District, where Wuzhong City is located.
Litong District is located in the middle of the Ningxia Plain, which is the essence of Ningxia's Yellow Irrigation District. Litong District Bazaar has a long history of trade, is the traditional material distribution center in the northwest region, known as "water and drought wharf", "commercial port powerhouse", "the world's large collection" is called. There is JinjiBao built in the Ming Dynasty and Dongfu during the Qing Guangxu period. It is the main production area of beef and mutton and national specialty food in the country and the development of textile industry. The total area of the district is 1384 square kilometers, under the jurisdiction of 8 towns, 4 townships, the permanent population of 460,700 people. In 2011, it was named "National Ethnic Unity Model Area" by the State Nationalities Commission, and in 2014, it was awarded the title of "National Model Collective of National Unity and Progress" by the State Council.
Wuzhong City has the Yellow River National Wetland Park, Ningxia Immigration Museum, Dongfu, Yellow River Cultural Park, Qinqu Park, MingWang Mausoleum, Yunqing Temple, Gucheng Bay Tourist Area, Wuzhong Mosque, Zhongyingbao Lake, Banqiao Daotang, Ma Yuebo Zhaizi, Wuzhong Museum and other scenic spots; and Halal whole sheep table, Wuzhong lamb, mutton goji sprouts, waterlogged river bridge lamb, hand-caught lamb, mutton steamed buns, mutton powder soup, yellow braised lamb, lamb skewers, spicy fried chicken, roast chicken, roast beef, haggis, oil aroma, twist flower, dry grain steamed buns, sugar crispy buns, pot helmet, Wontons, Wuzhong milk, Biantangou apples, Jinyintan plums, Majiahu watermelon, Tan widow rice wine and other food specialties.
Leaving Wuzhong City and driving south for 71 kilometers and 1 hour, we came to the Hongsibao District of Wuzhong City.
Hongsibao District, formerly known as Hongsibao Development Zone, is the main battlefield of the national large-scale water conservancy project - Ningxia Poverty Alleviation and Yanghuang Irrigation Project ("1236" Project), and is the largest ecological poverty alleviation immigration concentration area in China. The total area of the area is 2,767 square kilometers, the permanent population is 197,600 people, and there are 1 subdistrict, 2 towns and 3 townships under its jurisdiction. In 2019, Hongsibao District was named a national demonstration county of "Four Good Rural Roads"; in 2020, Hongsibao District withdrew from the sequence of poor counties.
Hongsi Fort has ten major landscapes such as Luoshan Diecui, Zen Forest Yunqing, Longyue Ganyuan, Zizhu Xianghai, Qianyuan Juqing, Immigrant Yuyun, Fushu Immigrant, Purple Light Spring Dawn, Qingyun Xizhao, Ancient Temple Chonghui, etc.; and stir-fried lamb, hand-grabbed lamb, cold skin, steamed dumplings, dumplings, noodles, braised snacks, haggis, mutton noodles, mutton noodles, fried paste dumplings and other special delicacies.
Driving 138 kilometers east from Hongsibao District for 1 hour and 47 minutes, we came to Yanchi County, Wuzhong City, the easternmost part of Ningxia.
Located in the eastern part of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Yanchi County is a famous Ningxia Tan sheep production area and a historical junction between Chinese farming peoples and nomadic peoples. From southeast to northwest, the county is a vast dry grassland and desert grassland, which is famous for its abundant production of "salty salt, fur and sweet licorice". The well-known Ningxia tan sheep at home and abroad is the main economic source of salt ponds. There are more than 20 natural salt lakes in the north, east and southwest of the county, hence the name "Salt Pond". The county has a total area of 8,522.2 square kilometers, a total population of 173,000 people, and 4 townships and 4 towns under its jurisdiction. In 2016, Yanchi County was listed as the third batch of national new urbanization comprehensive pilot areas; in 2018, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Government approved Yanchi County to withdraw from the list of poor counties; in 2018, it was selected into the list of the national rural first, second, and third industries integration development pilot zone; in 2018, it was identified by the Ministry of Science and Technology as the first batch of innovative counties (cities); in 2019, it was listed as the first batch of counties in the revolutionary cultural relics protection and utilization area; and in 2019, it was selected as a national rural innovation and entrepreneurship typical county.
Yanchi has Xingwuying Ancient City, Huama Temple Wuliang Hall, Huama Temple National Forest Park, Jiaoziliang Tang Dynasty Tombs, Ancient Great Wall, Lingying Temple, Siertan Lake, Naba Lake, Zhangjiachang City Site, Bagua Mountain, Yanchi Museum, Yanchi Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Park, and other scenic spots; and mutton steamed buns, Salt Pond Watermelon, Salt Pond Beach Eggs, Salt Pond Yellow Cauliflower, Huixiang Steamed Buns, Salt Pond Honey, Salt Pond Buckwheat, Salt Pond Melon, Salt Pond Watermelon and other local specialties.
Leaving Yanchi and driving southwest along the Dingwu Expressway for 214 kilometers, 3 hours and 10 minutes, we came to Tongxin County, Wuzhong City.
In the summer and autumn of 2015, I walked this highway on the road from Beijing to Lanzhou. The lush grasslands on both sides of the road make people feel like driving in the vast hills of northeast Europe, and it is impossible to imagine that this area was once a desert Gobi with no grass more than thirty years ago.
Tongxin County is located in the south-central part of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, geographically bordering Yanchi County and Huan County of Qingyang City, Gansu Province, adjacent to Yuanzhou District of Guyuan City in the south, adjacent to Shapotou District, Zhongning County and Haiyuan County of Zhongwei City in the west, bordering Hongsibao District of Wuzhong City in the north, located in the loess plateau in the south of the Ordos Terrace, with a high south and low north trend, with an altitude of 1240-2625 meters, belonging to the hilly and gully area. The county has a total area of 4,662 square kilometers, a permanent population of 339,000 people, and administers 7 towns and 4 townships. The landform types mainly include mountain ranges, loess hills, river valleys and beaches, desert walls, with complex terrain and crisscrossed mountains and rivers. There are Luoshan Mountain, Mibao Mountain, Ma Dashan Mountain, Laoye Mountain, Qinglong Mountain, Yaoshan Mountain, etc., all of which belong to the Liupan Mountain System. Tongxin County was listed in the first list of sub-counties for the protection and utilization of revolutionary cultural relics in 2019; in 2020, Tongxin County withdrew from the sequence of poor counties.
In Tongxin, we will visit Tongxin Mosque, Yunqing Temple, Luoshan National Nature Reserve, Ming Dynasty Mausoleum, Shazui Ancient City Site, Hongcheng Water Ancient City Site, Prewang Ancient City, Tangji Temple Pagoda, Red Army Western Expedition Memorial Park, Tongxin County Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery and other scenic spots; taste fruit plates, braised flour soup, dry grain steamed buns, fried paste dumplings, fried noodles, cold mix beef trotter tendons, braised steamed buns, fried cakes, halal hand-plucked white water chicken, buckwheat oil rings, Haridwar and other special foods.
( Ningxia • Zhongwei)
Leaving Tongxin County and driving north for 74 kilometers and 1 hour, we came to Zhongning County, which is under the jurisdiction of Zhongwei City, Ningxia.
Zhongwei City is located in the central and western part of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, in the transition zone from Ningxia Plain to Loess Plateau. In the first year of Ming Yongle (1403), it was changed from right guard to Ningxia Zhongwei, and in the second year of Qing Yongzheng (1724), it was renamed Zhongwei County, which belonged to Ningxia Province. In the 22nd year of the Republic of China (1933), Zhongwei County was divided into Zhongwei and Zhongning counties. In 2004, zhongwei city was established at the prefecture level. Zhongwei City is a railway hub connecting the northwest with north China, and five expressways, including Beijing and Tibet, pass through the border. Zhongwei City has natural tourism scenic spots such as Shapotou and Jinsha Island Leisure Resort, as well as cultural and historical scenic spots such as Shuanglongshan Grottoes, Zhongwei Barley Field Petroglyphs, and a Bowl of Spring Paleolithic Site, as well as national and provincial intangible cultural heritage projects such as sheepskin raft making techniques, mountain flowers, mouth strings, Sui and Tang Dynasty songs. Zhongwei City administers Shapotou District, Zhongning County and Haiyuan County, and the Municipal People's Government is located in Binhe Town, Shapotou District.
Zhongning County is located at the intersection of two tourist routes from Yinchuan to Liupanshan and Yinchuan to Shapotou, and is a "dry wharf" and a distribution center for people, logistics and information flow through the northwest. Rich in wolfberries, red dates, grain and oil, melons and fruits, livestock and poultry and other products, is China's wolfberry, commodity grain, lean pig production base. Zhongning County is also the birthplace and authentic origin of the world's wolfberries, named as China's wolfberry production base county by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1961, named "China's wolfberry town" by the State Council in 1995, and selected into the list of national health townships (counties) in the 2017-2019 cycle in 2020. The county has a total area of 3369.58 square kilometers, a permanent population of 351,700, and 6 towns and 6 townships under its jurisdiction.
In Zhongning we will visit Shikong Temple, Ningzhou Pagoda, Mingshazhou Pagoda, Shuanglongshan Grottoes, Mawanshan, Pulp Scale Fish, Shimawan Rock Paintings, Huangyangwan Petroglyphs, Huayan Pagoda, Shengjinguan, Honggangzi Daotang, Tianhu National Wetland Park, QijuHong Ecological Farm, Xizan Ecological Goji Manor, Zhongning County Goji Berry Museum and other attractions; taste Zhongning Qing stewed chicken, small stir-fried noodles, Artemisia noodles, Lala powder, cold skin, pot helmet, pull strips, sauce fried beef, boiling powder pickled taro, sauce sheep stick bones, braised snacks, casserole noodles, lamb cheek noodles, Haggis water noodles, clear soup lamb, Zhongning round dates, Zhongning selenium squash and other gourmet specialties.
59 km west of Zhongning for 54 minutes, we came to Shapotou District, where Zhongwei City is located.
Shapotou District is located at the junction of Ningxia, Gansu and Mongolia provinces, is the youngest municipal district in Ningxia, and is also the political, economic and cultural center of Zhongwei City. Shapotou District has a number of historical sites such as Shapotou, Sikouzi Tourist Area, Yi bowl spring Paleolithic Ruins, ancient rock paintings, Zhongwei GaoMiao Temple, Shuanglongshan Grottoes, Haiyuan "Global Earthquake" site and many other historical sites, which is one of the must-visit destinations in Ningxia. The total area of the area is 6,877 square kilometers, the permanent population is 399,800 people, and there are 10 towns and 1 township under its jurisdiction.
In Zhongwei City, we will visit Shapotou Tourist Area, Zhongwei Gaomiao Temple, Tonghu Grassland, Jinsha Island, Tengger Desert, Sikouzi, Jiulong Bay, Gaodun Lake, Shui Xiaozi, Hanging Slope Beam, Bai Mara Zombie, Alkali Beach Gate, Camel Mountain, Xiaojingzi, Xiangyan Lansheng, Double Lion Majestic, Tielong Yuesha, Tanshan NightLight and other scenic spots; taste Zhongwei Ratsho, Artemisia seed noodles, Zhongwei vegetarian noodles, Lala powder, cold skin, pot helmet, hand-caught lamb, stir-fried lamb meat, stewed chicken, sweet and sour Yellow River carp, fried pork offal, taro sticky rice, shallots, bitter bitters , sour and spicy soup and other special foods.
Leaving Zhongwei City and driving south for 159 kilometers for 2 hours, we came to Haiyuan County, Zhongwei City.
Haiyuan County is a large agricultural population county integrating arid mountainous areas, old revolutionary areas, and Hui-inhabited areas, and is also a key county in the national poverty alleviation work. In 2008, Haiyuan County was named "The Hometown of Chinese Folk Culture and Art" by the Ministry of Culture for its folk art of "flower paper-cutting". There are tourist attractions such as Nanhua Mountain and Lingguang Temple. In 2020, Haiyuan County withdrew from the list of poor counties. The county has a total area of 6,463 square kilometers, a total population of 470,000 people, and administers 5 towns and 12 townships.
Haiyuan originally had Tiandushan Grottoes, Lingguang Temple, Nanhua Mountain Scenic Area, Xi'an Ancient City, Haiyuan Salt Lake, Mawanshan, Lingguang Temple Ruins, Vegetable Garden Ruins, Liuzhou Ruins, Phoenix City Site, Qiying Beizui City Site and other tourist attractions and Ningxia Shabu Lamb, Pastel Soup Dumplings, Snowflake Lamb, Fried Pork Dirty, Buckwheat Cold Powder, Mutton Cheek Noodles, Bread Lamb Meat, Gaoya Watermelon, Potatoes, Cumin, Watermelon, White Peas, Juemingzi Tea and other local specialties.
( Ningxia • Guyuan )
Leaving Haiyuan and driving south for 98 kilometers, 2 hours and 20 minutes, we came to Xiji County, which is under the jurisdiction of Guyuan City.
Guyuan, known as Dayuan, Gaoping, Xiaoguan and Yuanzhou in ancient times, is located in the south of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is the sub-central city of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, located in the northwest edge of China's Loess Plateau. Guyuan City is located in the center of the triangle composed of the capital cities of Xi'an, Lanzhou and Yinchuan; the only non-yellow city among the five prefecture-level cities in Ningxia; the central city of the revitalization planning of the old revolutionary area of Shaanxi,Gansu and Ningxia; the central city of the Ningnan region, the political, economic, cultural center and transportation hub; and the first batch of national new urbanization comprehensive pilot areas. In 2018, it was named by the State Nationalities Commission as the sixth batch of demonstration zones (units) for national ethnic unity and progress. Guyuan City administers Yuanzhou District and four counties in Xiji County, Pengyang County, Longde County and Jingyuan County.
Xiji County is located in the southern part of Ningxia, at the western foot of Liupan Mountain. Established in the 31st year of the Republic of China (1942), it is the largest county in Ningxia; a county inhabited by ethnic minorities; and a key county for poverty alleviation and development in the state and autonomous regions. Xiji County is also the holy land of the Red Revolution, Mao Zedong stayed overnight in Shan Jiaji, and the Red Army's Long March victory will meet the division of Taibao. Within the territory, there are the national 4A-level tourist scenic spot "Flint Zhai Danxia Landform Scenic Area", and the national earthquake dammed lake site Dangjiacha Earthquake Lake. It is the first "hometown of literature" in China and the first county in the collection of ancient coins in China. The county covers a total area of 3,130 square kilometers, has jurisdiction over 4 towns and 15 townships, and has a permanent population of 315,800.
In Xiji, we will visit the Flint Stone Village, jiangtai fort red army long march division monument, warring states Qin Great Wall, Shagou Gongbei, Guyuan ancient city, Dangjia fork weir plugged lake, Xiji coin museum, Xiji Zhen Lake, Nihe City Song Dynasty city site, Dannan mosque, Huojiaji ancient city site and other scenic spots; taste raw noodles, sprinklers, lamb heads, haggis soup, Xiji refreshing cold skin, lamb steamed buns, buckwheat oil rings, stirred dough, pulp water surface, swallow noodle kneading, soba noodle dumplings and other special foods.
After driving 61 km and 51 minutes east from Xiji, we came to Wonju District, where Guwon city is located.
Wonju District is the seat of the Guyuan Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government. The total area of the area is 2739 square kilometers, under the jurisdiction of 3 subdistricts, 7 towns, 4 townships, the permanent population of 471329 people. In 2017, Wonju District was awarded the National Advanced County (District) of Safe Construction; in 2019, it was selected as the national "Safe Agricultural Machinery" demonstration county (district) in 2018. In 2020, Wonju District withdrew from the list of poor counties.
In Guyuan City, we will visit the Meru Mountain Grottoes, GuyanLing, Twenty Mile Pu Gongbei, Huangduo fort ancient city, ChaonaHuyuan, Dongyue Mountain, Guyuan Mosque, Guyuan Museum, Liupanshan National Forest Park, Beilian Pond, Hongya Old Lane Folk Village and other scenic spots; taste five-spiced lamb head, lamb steamed buns, braised haggis, fried paste, raw noodles, Guyuan roast chicken, Guyuan skin, hemp food, beef offal, canned tea, buckwheat oil ring and other special foods.
Leaving Guyuan city and driving east for 57 minutes, 66 km, we came to Pengyang County.
Pengyang County was established in 1983 by the former Guyuan County, and has successively won the honors of China Advanced County for Afforestation and Greening, Advanced County for Soil and Water Conservation, Advanced County for Returning Farmland to Forests, Model Greening County, Advanced County for Safe Construction, National Garden County, Civilized County in China, Advanced County for Nutrition Improvement of Rural Students, Advanced County for Mass Sports, and National Science and Technology Progress County. In 2019, it officially withdrew from the sequence of poor counties. In 2020, the National Patriotic Health Association confirmed Pengyang County as the national health county in 2019. The county has a total area of 2533.49 square kilometers, a permanent population of 160,500 people, and 4 towns and 8 townships under its jurisdiction.
Pengyang has tourist attractions such as the Wuliangshan Grottoes, the Yingluo Pagoda, the Warring States Qin Great Wall, Dengzhan Mountain, Chaonahuyuan, Renshan River Martyrs Cemetery, Yangwa River Basin Water Conservancy Scenic Area, Chaona City, Ruhe Water Conservancy Scenic Area, Baiquan Former Site, etc.; there are local specialties such as Pengyang hand-caught lamb, stewed lamb, boiled beef, Pengyang apricot, Pengyang pepper, Pengyang oatmeal, Pengyang apricot and so on.
77 km southwest of Pengyang in 1 hour and 30 minutes, we came to Longde County, Guyuan City.
Longde County is located in the western foothills of Liupan Mountain, the southern border of Ning, located in the center of the three provincial capitals (capitals) of Yinchuan, Xi'an and Lanzhou, the 312 National Highway runs through the east and west, and the Qinglan Expressway passes through the border. In the twenty-fourth year of the Republic of China (1935), Mao Zedong led the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army on the Long March over Liupan Mountain through Longde and wrote the famous poem "Qing Ping Le Liupan Mountain". There are scenic spots such as Liupan Tianchi, Fuxi Cliff, Qingliang World, and Red Cliff Old Alley. Lund has won the honors of "Chinese Modern Folk Painting Township", "Advanced Chinese Culture County", "Hometown of Chinese Calligraphy" and so on. Lund calligraphy, painting, paper-cutting, clay sculpture, seal carving and other folk culture in the national intangible cultural heritage census catalog of more than 100 items, involving more than 50 longde, of which Yang's clay sculpture, Gaotai Ma Shehuo were included in the national intangible cultural heritage representative list; folk painting, paper cutting and other 9 items were included in the autonomous region-level intangible cultural heritage protection list. The county covers a total area of 991 square kilometers, has a permanent population of 109,400, and administers 10 townships and 3 towns.
Longde has tourist attractions such as Liupanshan National Forest Park, Beixiang Mountain, Liupanshan Red Army Long March Memorial Hall, Longde Ancient City, Qingliang Temple, Beilian Linghu, Qingliuhe Water Conservancy Scenic Area, and local specialties such as Longde Long Noodles, Longde Warm Pot, Liupanshan Broad Beans, Churn Dough, Braised Pork Trotters, Liupanshan Sea Buckthorn, Liupanshan Oats, Flax, Potatoes, Broad Beans, Wild Bracken, QinQi, Astragalus and other local specialties.
After driving 42 kilometers southeast from Lund for 1 hour and 5 minutes, we came to the last stop of the Ningxia section of the "County China Line Tour——— Jingyuan County.
Jingyuan County is located in the southernmost part of Ningxia, so named after the Jing River where it originates. It is connected to The Kuntong District of Pingliang City, Gansu Province to the east, Huating County and Zhuanglang County of Gansu Province to the south, Longde County to the west, and Yuanzhou District and Pengyang County to the north, known as "Qinfeng Throat, Guanlong Important Place". The county has a total area of 1,131 square kilometers, a permanent population of 85,000 people, and 4 townships and 3 towns under its jurisdiction. In 2019, it was listed as the first list of counties in the protection and utilization of revolutionary cultural relics; in 2019, it officially withdrew from the sequence of poor counties; and in 2020, it was named a national garden county by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.
Jingyuan is the place where the author's eldest sister went to the mountains and went to the countryside in the late 1960s, and the eldest sister worked, studied and worked in Jingyuan and Guyuan areas for more than ten years.
Came to Jingyuan, after visiting the ruins of Laolongtan, Shuigou Qinhan (Huizhonggong), Watting City, Jingheyuan, Liangdian Gorge, Liupanshan Scenic Area, Shiyaowan Grottoes, Erlonghe, Tang Zhishengguan (Anhua County) Ruins, Shiyaowan Grottoes (Yanling Temple), Wolong Mountain, Beiwujia Mosque, Rouge Gorge, Jinghe New Town Lehua City and other scenic spots; tasted Jingyuan yellow beef, Jingyuan beef offal soup, Jingyuan steamed chicken, Muslim ten bowls, Jingyuan beef brisket stewed persimmons, steamed meat cake cakes, persimmon cake noodles, potato Qiongqiong, vegetable rolls, sweet rice, After Jingyuan white fungus and other food specialties, the Ningxia section of our "County China Online Tour" is over.
In Ningxia, we have traveled through a total of 20 county-level travel destinations in 5 prefecture-level administrative divisions, basically completing a new understanding and re-understanding of the hometown of a Ningxia people.
Ningxia is a good place.
Mountains, plains, basins, terraces, canyons, wetlands, hills, deserts, grasslands and other landforms are her original colors;
Liupan Mountain and Helan Mountain, one wet and one dry, are two mountains with distinct personalities, which are her natural barriers against the heat and cold;
The sand-and-stone Great Wall of Qin, the Rammed Great Wall of Sui, the Stone-stacked Song Trench, and the Ming Great Wall, where the beacons meet, are the testimonies of her long history;
The ruins of Shuidonggou, the ancient city of Guyuan, which was built in 114 BC, the tombs of the Western Xia kings at the foot of the Helan Mountains, and the old and unfamiliar West Pagoda (Chengtian Temple Pagoda) and North Pagoda (Haibao Pagoda), which I was once familiar with, are the most beautiful history textbooks she has written;
The Qinqu Hanqu Tangli Canal on the Ningxia Plain, the Meru Mountain Grottoes, the Helan Mountain Petroglyphs, the Desolate Zhenbei Fort, the Dryland Terraces in Pengyang, and the Sand Slope Head of the Famous Sand Control Land are the signatures left by her people with sweat;
Flowing through nine provinces across the country, the untamed Yellow River is so calm and serene in her arms;
Phoenix City Yinchuan, known as the "Hometown of Chinese Magpies", presents the style of the water town zeguo surrounded by her 72 lakes;
And "a city of Yellow River water rhymes, a thousand years of poetry and painting Wu Zhong" is a veritable "stuffed with the land of fish and rice in jiangnan";
Those places named after the Ming Dynasty generals stationed in Ning, such as Wu Zhong, Yang He, Jin Gui, Ye Sheng, Li Jun, etc., are so kind;
The names of ming dynasty barracks that have been continued down, such as Zhenbei Fort, Pingji Fort, Ning'an Fort, Hui'an Fort and other places, carry a deep historical imprint;
Wu Zhong's old Mao grabbed Guoqiang's hand to grab ramen morning tea, Lund's earth warm pot, Haiyuan's fennel dish bun, Concentric bowl of steamed lamb, Dawukou's delicious cold skin, Peng Yang's leek box, nine bowls of thirteen flowers are her hospitality;
And haggis, braised snacks, old noodles, potato noodles, pulp water noodles, churned dumplings, dumplings, steamed buns, flowers, oil aromas, bowls of tea are her courtesies;
The Ningxia flowers of the Concentric Sea Plains and the Gaotai Horse Society Fire in Longde are as breathtaking and refreshing as the wines of the eastern foothills of Helan Mountain;
…………
Ningxia is a magical and beautiful place that combines the rich and graceful spirit show of Jiangnan and the rough and bold enthusiasm of the northwest!
(Annex I)
【Stuffed with gourmet lamb cheek noodles】
The beard is a small cube that cuts the ingredients into small cubes the size of broad beans or smaller. "Water Margin" Lu Ti jurisdiction punched the town of Kansai once, that is, there is such a description: Ti Jurisdiction came to Zheng Tu's shop, and ordered Zheng Tu to personally handle the knife, cut ten pounds of lean meat into a cheek, not half a bit of fat; then want ten pounds of fat to cut into a cheek, do not half a bit of lean meat on the top; but also ten pounds of gold cartilage cut into a cheek, do not see some meat on it. Zheng Tu cut for more than an hour and did not finish cutting, but because of bullying the people's daughter, he was finally put under the jurisdiction of a fat beating. It can be seen that the word 臊子 is actually an ancient word rather than a new word.
Cheek noodles, also known as whistle noodles. It is a northern food method formed by cutting a variety of meat ingredients into small cubes of the same size, or sautéing or boiling them with soup or toppings, and pouring them on top of cooked noodles.
The noodles must be hand-rolled or hand-rubbed noodles, not other forms of pasta. For example, even if the knife-sharpened noodles in Shanxi are poured with the brine of qishan noodles, they cannot be called cheek noodles. And the brine of the cheek noodles, there are all kinds of exquisite in various places, and so on.
Many places in northern China have the habit of eating noodles, and their brines are also different, but in the final analysis, what can be called the brine of the noodles must be soup-like toppings with either cheek-like or small diced ingredients. For example, the noodles mixed with Kung Pao chicken cannot be called cheek noodles, because there is no soup water; and the brine of the popular brine noodles in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, although the soup is sufficient, can not be called cheek noodles, because the ingredients in the brine are not cheeky.
Lamb noodles are common meals in the Northwest Region. Although the local brais is different, it is similar, but it is nothing more than the lamb is cooked on high heat, added to other vegetarian mushroom ingredients and stewed with lamb bone broth. The same is true of the lamb in Ningxia, but the Lamb in Ningxia is fried in sheeptail oil, and in addition, it needs to have white lobb, potato, tofu, green garlic, purple skin onion, tomatoes and other accessories, coupled with the ubiquitous oil in the northwest. A steaming cauldron of red, yellow, white, green, and purple awaits being poured over the cooked hand-rolled noodles.
In Ningxia, almost every family will make lamb noodles, and it is thought that the Hui family's cheek noodles are the most delicious. I have eaten Noodles in many Hui Han families, and I have come up with this theory in comparison. For many years, every time I return to my hometown, I will always eat a few times at the mutton noodle restaurant next to the Yinchuan Theater on Xinhua Street, and I recognize the lamb noodles of this halal noodle restaurant the most.
More than ten years ago, I also used Ningxia Tan mutton as a material in Beijing to cook lamb and marinate it, but its taste was poor. Therefore, whenever there is a thought, he asks his righteous brother Ning Antuo to bring the lamb noodles he personally fried with sheep tail oil, and adds the auxiliary ingredients such as Luobu potato tofu to make lamb noodles and noodles, and chews the nostalgia thousands of miles away.
In the early 1980s, Yinchuan locals still ate at home, rarely had the habit of going to the restaurant, and the meat supply was still scarce, and eating lamb noodles was also a way to improve their lives. My classmate Tao Ketujun and I used the remuneration we earned from writing press releases for tv stations to eat lamb noodles for five days in the outer hall of the Ningxia Communication Office. I ate all the pages of the book I had planned to buy. At that time, the gluttony and the love for lamb cheek noodles can be seen.
In recent years, with the improvement of vacuum packaging technology, many hometown foods can be tasted in foreign lands, and Ningxia's lamb noodles are no exception. I often buy halal Ibrahim brand lamb cheeks from the Ningxia Office in Beijing or the Yinchuan Office in Beijing, and after returning with accessories for processing, I can eat a bowl of authentic Ningxia lamb noodles at home, talk about homesickness, a cream kiss...
2017.3.1 In The Feast
(Annex II)
【Brewed Skin of Northwest Cuisine】
My niece asked me: When did I write about the stuffed skin? Answer: I write it when I have thoughts. However, I have not thought about it for many days.
In the past, when I was hungry, I had a food in my mind that I missed very much, so I remembered it. But today, although hungry but not thoughtful, then it should be written by the niece about the hometown cuisine - stuffed skins.
In the Northwest, there is a food called skin, also known as cold skin. It is made of wheat noodles or rice as the main ingredients, and is made into a cold mixture with a thin soft sticky aroma. The skins are mainly divided into stuffed skins, hand-rolled dough skins and rice dough skins. Most of Qingxin, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Ningxia mainly eat stuffed skins; the Guanzhong region of Shaanxi and the Tianshui region of eastern Gansu also have the habit of eating hand-rolled dough skins; while the Hanzhong and Ankang regions of southern Shaanxi eat rice noodle skins because of their abundant rice production. Of course, there are others in addition, such as Qinghai's barley cold skin and Shanxi's Lüliang's buckwheat bowl, although similar in shape but slightly niche, not to mention the table.
Stuffed skin is a more common kind of noodle in the northwest region, the method is: white noodles and dough, put it in the basin with water before the dough is slightly awake, use your hands in the basin opposite the dough to grab and pull, so that the dough into a flocculent, water into a batter, the pot of flocculents out of the steamer steamed is the gluten. The remaining batter in the basin is spread thinly and evenly in a kind of vessel similar to a cake bell made of black and white tin, and steamed in a steamer, the steamed dough skin is taken out and cooled, and cut into a finger-wide and narrow strip, accompanied by a small amount of vegetables, and eaten cold with the sauce. The hand-rolled dough is a softer white noodle, rolled out into a very thin pancake with a rolling pin, steamed in a pot and eaten in a strip of cold, which is harder than the stuffed skin. Rice noodles, on the other hand, are ground into a pulp, steamed thinly with bells, and eaten cold in strips. Whether it is stuffed skin, hand rolled dough skin, or rice noodle skin, it can be used as a snack between meals or as a wine dish.
The five northwestern provinces all have the habit of eating stuffed skins. The main ingredients are basically the same, but the auxiliary materials and cold mix sauces have their own characteristics. In most areas, it is served with blanched bean sprouts, soy sauce rice vinegar and oil to stir together with spicy seeds, and there are also small blanched rapeseed. And Ningxia's juice has added one more thing - yellow mustard, and the food is even more flavorful.
When I was in school in Xi'an, the person who ate the most was rice noodles. Rice noodles mixed with soy sauce rice vinegar and bright red chili oil will increase appetite and taste. Not only delicious but also inexpensive. At that time, the income was not high but the price was also low, and 1 cent and 5 cents could get a bowl of food, which was very affordable. The most famous thing in Shaanxi is the Qinzhen rice noodle skin.
Hand-rolled dough skin is the food that has been tasted when guests have traveled to Qinlong in the past ten years, although it is also delicious, but it is not my favorite food. Only yinchuan's stuffed skin is my hometown cuisine that I have loved to eat since childhood.
I have a good memory of nearly fifty years of brewing skins in my hometown. When he was young, his family was poor, and he rarely sold and ate it, and most of them ate for themselves. The skins eaten by Yu when he was young were all cooked by Yu's second sister. The second sister is nine years old, smart and capable, and when Yu was in elementary school, the second sister was already working, and when the second sister took turns to rest, Yu was cooking. The second sister makes leather, Yu often leans around, or lays hands, or observes and learns, so she has a lot of understanding of the craft. Every time you eat stuffed skin at home, because of its delicious taste, Yu will always eat accumulated food, and the gluttony will also appear.
I haven't eaten the delicious stuffed skin cooked by the second sister for more than forty years. Thoughts...
2017.3.10 Yu Fasting