China's Most Unexpected Coastal City: Understated Yet Extraordinary
If you were to guess a northern Chinese city that boasts one of the country's most beautiful harbors, two major oil fields, once established Asia's first world-class enterprise, produced the modern martial arts master Huo Yuanjia, and is home to a snack that has taken the nation by storm—a place where you can easily indulge in abundant seafood during this season—you might find it hard to believe that this city is actually—
Many people have a mixed familiarity with this Hebei city. In "Water Margin," the story of Lin Chong, the military instructor of the 800,000 imperial guards, being exiled to Cangzhou led to the misconception that Cangzhou is an inland city, desolate and dilapidated. However, Cangzhou has always been coastal since ancient times. Historically, it was the northern starting point of the "Maritime Silk Road" and supplied the central plains with abundant fish and salt resources.
Cangzhou's salt fields have been producing salt for thousands of years.
When it comes to the Changlu Salt Field, Cangzhou is the first place that comes to mind. At the same time, Cangzhou is also China's largest producer of industrial salt. The local specialty, Huanghua swimming crabs, rivals those from Zhoushan. With Huanghua Port, Cangzhou is listed as an important port city in northern China. Coupled with its extensive railway and highway networks, Cangzhou has become a veritable "Hub of Hebei and Shandong."
As the city with the longest stretch of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Cangzhou was once a bustling thoroughfare for merchants from north and south. The crowded docks shaped Cangzhou's martial spirit: the "Hometown of Chinese Martial Arts" holds up half the sky of Chinese kung fu, while hot pot chicken and Hejian donkey meat火烧 (a type of sandwich) claim half the realm of Hebei cuisine. With the decline of the Grand Canal, Cangzhou's character has returned to the ocean.
Maritime Cangzhou: The Most Low-Key Coastal City
When it comes to seafood, many people first think of Fujian, Zhejiang, Dalian, and Qingdao. Hebei, also a coastal province, often falls into a blind spot in geographical knowledge, with Qinhuangdao and Tangshan being the most people can recall. In the already low-key Hebei, Cangzhou appears even more obscure.
However, every September, Cangzhou brings back shiploads of fresh seafood from the Bohai Sea, expanding the dining horizons of coastal city residents. From the Nanpaihe Central Fishing Port to major seafood markets, the air in Cangzhou is filled with a fresh sweetness.
Swimming crabs, sea snails, mantis shrimp, sole fish… all kinds of fish, shrimp, crabs, and shellfish are available. Freshly caught seafood is best enjoyed in a hot pot. The swimming crab, with its white and delicate meat, is a favorite among Cangzhou locals. The confidence in local seafood stems from Cangzhou's superior geographical environment.
Cangzhou borders the Bohai Sea, one of China's four major sea areas. Its northern location means the seawater temperature is relatively lower compared to the other three sea areas, so seafood in the Bohai Sea often takes longer to grow.
Cangzhou is located in the Haihe River Basin, where over 20 rivers crisscross and flow into the sea, creating wetlands between the rivers and the sea that are ideal for biological reproduction. Historically, the Yellow River also flowed into the sea in Huanghua. Abundant freshwater resources inject large amounts of salt and nutrients into Cangzhou's coastal waters. Measurements show that the salt content in Hebei's coastal waters is higher than that of Liaoning, Tianjin, and Shandong, making the seafood here more delicious.
Compared to many major seafood cities, Cangzhou, with its 129-kilometer coastline, competes not in quantity but in quality! When it comes to Cangzhou seafood, Huanghua swimming crabs are renowned and listed as a national geographical indication agricultural product.
Seafood represents only half of "Maritime Cangzhou's" character; its oceanic attributes are more reflected in its port construction. With Huanghua Port, Cangzhou has become an important port city in northern China. As an internationally renowned port ranked among the top 20 in China, Huanghua Port is the only major port located in a county-level city. As the nearest seaport for Shanxi's coal, Huanghua Port is also a famous coal port and the starting point for inland resources to reach the sea.
The presence of large drilling platforms has made Cangzhou an important producer of oil and natural gas in China. Since Cangzhou's coastline is known for fishing, ports, and industrial mining, and is nearly 100 kilometers away from the urban area, Cangzhou lacks the cultural ambiance of cities like Qingdao and Yantai and is often mistaken for an inland city.
Compared to century-old ports like Tianjin, Huanghua Port, built less than 40 years ago, is a relative newcomer. However, Cangzhou is closer to inland cities and is the nearest seaport for Shijiazhuang in Hebei and various parts of Shanxi. Thus, with its advantageous location, it can become a rising star among eastern coastal cities with immense development potential.
Ancient and Modern Hub: Glory Achieved Through River and Sea Connectivity
As a famous historical and cultural city, Cangzhou, with its millennia-old heritage, has also benefited from its strategic location connecting land and sea.
The Iron Lion, a landmark of Cangzhou, gives the city its nickname "Lion City."
The Iron Lion, which records the legend of the "Sea Roar," bears witness to the survival wisdom of Cangzhou's historical struggles with frequent floods. Saline-alkali land accounts for nearly 60% of Cangzhou's territory, but it has also brought abundant marine fish and salt resources, giving Cangzhou a foundation of prosperity.
In the first year of the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty, after several relocations, Cangzhou's city site was established along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, making it the only prefectural city in southern Tianjin and northern Shandong to have direct access to the Grand Canal.
Along the 253-kilometer stretch of the Grand Canal flowing through Cangzhou, ferries and wharves were scattered everywhere. Goods from both Eastern and Western countries arrived from commercial ports along the southeastern coast, either bound for Beijing and Tianjin or unloaded in Cangzhou before being transported to various northern regions. Meanwhile, local specialties such as salt, fish, shrimp, and various handicrafts were also shipped nationwide via the Grand Canal.
With goods from across the land "all considering Cangzhou as the center of trade," the city maintained commercial prosperity for centuries, earning its status as a crucial hub near the capital during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Without the canal, there would have been no vitality in Cangzhou. The exchanges brought by the canal made Cangzhou a melting pot of northern and southern cultures, shaping its unique "jianghu" spirit.
In those days, population mobility was generally low, but Cangzhou, with its mixed flow of people, fostered a widespread martial spirit among the populace. This tradition persisted for centuries, earning Cangzhou the name "Land of Martial Arts." During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Cangzhou produced nearly 2,000 military imperial examination graduates and provincial-level martial scholars. Even Huo Yuanjia, renowned in modern Shanghai, traced his ancestry to Cangzhou.
Cangzhou is also the birthplace of Chinese martial arts novels. Nurtured by local martial artists and folk tales of the jianghu, Cangzhou native Gong Baiyu became the pioneering master of the wuxia genre. Later greats like Liang Yusheng, Jin Yong, and Gu Long were his successors.
However, one should not overlook Cangzhou’s millennia-old "cultural pulse" just because of its martial reputation. The long-standing tradition of Wuqiao acrobatics has made Cangzhou a true "Home of Acrobatics." Even today, children in Wuqiao practice balancing soy sauce bottles on a single finger on their way to the store—a test of who can hold it the longest.
Photography / Fig. 1 Liang Lanxin, Fig. 2 Cui Fenghua, Fig. 3 Chen Xiufeng
Hejian in Cangzhou is not only known for its donkey meat sandwiches but also as a famous center for the transmission of the "Classic of Poetry." Han Dynasty Confucian scholar Mao Chang annotated and lectured on the "Classic of Poetry" in Cangzhou, cementing its status as a canonical text. Legends of Mao Gong still linger in places like "Junzi Hall" and "Shijing Village."
From the household-name Qing literary giant Ji Xiaolan to the late Qing eminent official Zhang Zhidong, all were deeply influenced by Cangzhou’s culture, growing into figures of national significance.
By the late Qing Dynasty, the completion of the Tianjin-Pukou Railway gradually replaced the Grand Canal’s transport function. After the Xinhai Revolution, the grain transport system also came to an end. The rise and fall of the canal narrates half the history of Cangzhou’s transformation.
In modern times, Cangzhou has risen again by leveraging its coastal advantages. Although constructed later, Huanghua Port plays a critical role in connecting the vast hinterland with the sea. The Shuohuang Railway, a dedicated coal line with Cangzhou as its eastern gateway, underscores Huanghua Port’s unique importance.
Located on the eastern North China Plain, Cangzhou’s flat and open terrain has facilitated its transportation development. Bordering Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, and Jinan, Cangzhou serves as a key transport hub in North China, linking these major regions. With the Beijing-Kowloon and Beijing-Shanghai railways passing through, along with expressways and seaports, Cangzhou is well-connected by both land and sea.
Once known as the "Home of Matches" and "Home of Fur," Botou matches once ranked first in Asia, creating a miracle of national industry. Today, leveraging its transportation advantages, Cangzhou has become a major e-commerce hub in Hebei, ranking among the top 50 cities in China for express delivery业务. For instance, Cangzhou produces nearly all of the country’s makeup brushes.
As the East’s most underrated coastal city, the happiness of Cangzhou residents stems from the comfort of small-city life and its unique cuisine. In a plains region dominated by wheat-based foods, Cangzhou has blended culinary traditions from north and south, creating its own distinctive "food jianghu."
The bustling crowds along the Grand Canal once stimulated the flourishing of Cangzhou’s餐饮 industry. Delicacies from all directions—north, south, east, and west—converged and collided in Cangzhou via post stations, the canal, and railways, giving rise to its unique culinary特色.
Shaped by the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Cangzhou’s cuisine stays true to wheat-based foods but never lacks meat—simple yet refined. When it comes to Hebei cuisine, donkey meat sandwiches are the first thing outsiders think of. Cangzhou holds up half the sky of Hebei’s donkey meat sandwich scene. Why do Cangzhou people love donkey meat? Because donkeys were once used as draft animals in Cangzhou’s canal ports, and they were the only legally slaughterable livestock at the time.
Donkey meat sandwiches found around the world mostly originate from Hejian in Cangzhou. Yet, to taste the most authentic Hejian-style sandwich, one must return to Cangzhou. Locals not only refuse to compare their version with Baoding’s but also take issue with elongated sandwiches being misrepresented as local特产. In the eyes of Cangzhou people, the proper way to enjoy a donkey meat sandwich is the square version.
Revitalized by the railway, Cangzhou’s cuisine is both bold and substantial. Cangzhou hot pot chicken represents the city’s jianghu spirit in food—a hot pot variety infused with the fiery attributes of Sichuan-Chongqing cuisine yet adapted to northern hot pot customs. Generous portions and the robust flavors of a port city cater perfectly to Cangzhou’s palate. When away from home, it’s the hometown hot pot chicken that Cangzhou people miss the most.
The culinary creativity of a city with high population mobility is embodied in Cangzhou’s sheep intestine soup. Having a bowl for breakfast is a tradition Cangzhou people have upheld for generations. To outsiders, the soup might not seem appealing at first glance—it looks gamy—but it remains an enduring classic in Cangzhou. This soup hearkens back to the heyday of Cangzhou’s canal culture: affordable, nutritious, warming, it easily satisfies hunger and comforts the hearts of laborers.
But Cangzhou’s culinary offerings don’t end there. Stewed beef, lion’s head meatballs, Wobei sausages… these are not only the best comforts for homesick Cangzhou natives but also tell the story of Cangzhou’s long history and its blend of northern and southern regional characteristics.