Why Is This Small Anhui City China's Top Spring Migration Hub?

The Spring Festival travel rush, the planet's most massive migration event, has arrived as scheduled. During this time each year, south of the North China Plain at the border of Henan and Anhui, over 8 million people converge, making Fuyang (pronounced "fǔ" or "fú" locally, though written as "fù") in Anhui one of the most critical nodes in this grand migration.

According to relevant departments, during the 40-plus days of the Spring Festival travel period, a high-speed train departs from here every 8 minutes, while over 5 million people will drive nationwide from this hub. Including air and water transport, nearly 200,000 people daily become either returning residents or transient visitors to this city.

In the 1990s, Fuyang emerged as a stronghold of migrant labor. Today, nearly 3 million Fuyang "migrant workers" strive across China. But Fuyang is far more than just a city famous for its laborers—it's the vital link between the Central Plains urban cluster and the Yangtze River Delta-Huaihe urban belt. Historically, it was the agricultural powerhouse "granary" of the Han-Wei period and the "prosperous Ying-Huai prefecture" that captivated literati like Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi. Today, it's a potential-filled city bridging north and south with bold openness, jointly elevated by its people as the "leading city of northern Anhui."

You may not have heard of Fuyang's low-profile name, but you've likely encountered its hardworking people. "Shijiazhuang Authentic Anhui Beef Banmian" originated from Taihe, Fuyang; "Tianjin Fried Dough Twists" often come from Linquan, Fuyang. Even in high-end Japanese restaurants across Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai, you'll find chefs speaking Zhongyuan Mandarin behind the counter—whisper the code "I only eat lamb banmian," and you might unlock VIP service.

Why has Fuyang become a pulsating hub for tens of millions? First lies its adjacency to the "center of the world."

Henan, the "center of the world," forms a giant C shape, within which lies Fuyang (and formerly subordinate Bozhou), embraced by Zhoukou, Zhumadian, and Xinyang. This city with Zhongyuan Mandarin accents has maintained profound connections with central plains strongholds since antiquity. The nationally treasured bronze zun vessel with dragon-tiger patterns, deeply influenced by Shang culture, was unearthed in Funan, Fuyang.

The Ying River, Huaihe's largest tributary originating from Henan's Song Mountain, enters Fuyang through Zhoukou before joining the Huai, merging with dozens of waterways like the Quan River and Xifei River to nourish Fuyang's fertile plains. Crisscrossed by navigable channels, Fuyang has been blood-linked to the Jianghuai region through water transport since ancient times, becoming the pivotal junction between the Central Plains and Jianghuai.

Secondly, Fuyang's abundant natural endowment forms the foundation of its populous status.

Fuyang's terrain is essentially flat. Its highest peak, "Ten-Thousand-Person Hill," stands at 50 meters—actually an artificial mound created during the 1958 Ying River Sluice construction. Straddling the north-south transitional zone, Fuyang enjoys both northern sunlight and southern water resources, making it a granary since the Han dynasties. Today, Fuyang has maintained "10-billion-catty" grain output for 16 years, producing 1% of China's grain on just 0.48% of its arable land in 2022.

Thus, since its naming as the Eastern Han "Fuyang Marquisate," Fuyang has truly lived up to its name meaning "abundant goods and thriving people." The ubiquitous "Ying" in today's Yingzhou, Yingdong, Yingquan districts and Yingshang county points to Fuyang's most famous historical name—Yingzhou.

Established in 532 CE during Northern Wei, Yingzhou reached its zenith in the Northern Song as the critical junction between Central Plains and Jianghuai. Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, Yan Shu, Zhou Bangyan successively served as Yingzhou governors, making it a "hall of fame" of Song culture. While Ouyang Xiu penned the timeless "Record of the Drunken Old Man's Pavilion" in Chuzhou and created Slender West Lake in Yangzhou, Yingzhou remained his spiritual homeland, immortalized in verse: "Trading twenty-four bridges' moonlight for ten acres of West Lake autumn," rendering Yingzhou's West Lake no less glorious than Hangzhou's.

Yet after temporary prosperity, Fuyang's fate reached a turning point.

In 1194, the Yellow River breached at Yangwu, beginning its centuries-long diversion into the Huai River system. The famed Yingzhou West Lake was swallowed, and seven centuries later, the "Abandoned Yellow River" deposited billions of tons of silt, transforming the Henan-Anhui-Shandong-Jiangsu border into the "Yellow River Flood Zone." Fuyang entered prolonged hardship—frequent disasters with scarce land and dense population.

During Yangtze-Huai floods, Fuyang bears the brunt. In June-August rainy seasons, it faces the dilemma: "If sluices stay closed, Henan floods; if opened, Jiangsu floods." Wangjiaba Sluice—the "First Gate of the Thousand-Mile Huai River" in Mengwa Flood Storage Area—has witnessed countless acts of Fuyang people sacrificing to protect both their homeland and neighboring provinces.

Such adversities forged Fuyang people's resilience. The local saying "Even sparrows can drink three liang" humorously reflects their bold, tenacious spirit.

As early as the 1970s-80s, Fuyang people ventured nationwide to "make a living"—Jieshou's "peddlers" collecting scrap metal, Taihe's "medicine merchants," and "banmian masters" spreading lamb noodles eastward and northward became Fuyang's first generation of migrant workers.

Then the tide of history brought Fuyang people their opportunity.

Despite its strategic location, Fuyang's first railway (Suixi-Fuyang line) only opened on October 1, 1970. In 1996, after persistent efforts, the north-south Beijing-Kowloon Railway arrived. Within two years, Fuyang Station upgraded to a Class I passenger station on the Beijing-Kowloon line, with six railways converging, rapidly transforming Fuyang into a transportation hub.

Then, a Fuyang-Shanghai ticket cost 24 yuan (12 yuan for Spring Festival temporary trains). Labor migration became Fuyang people's hope for changing destinies. In the 1990s inland-coastal labor migration, they carried bedrolls and sacks, composing a symphony of historical transformation.

While spreading nationwide, Fuyang people actively give back. Taihe's pharmaceutical entrepreneurs built Asia's largest medical storage base, partnering with Bozhou (Hua Tuo's hometown) to form "Traditional Medicine Bozhou, Western Medicine Taihe." Jieshou's 100,000+ recycling workers created China's largest regenerated fiber, agricultural rope net, and rain boot production bases using small trucks. Even used batteries get reborn here—one in five Chinese power batteries is "Made in Jieshou."

If there's any group that best exemplifies the saying "every trade has its master," it's the Fuyang natives scattered across the country—banmian noodle chefs, mahua twist vendors, peddlers, acrobats, herbal merchants... Together with the 8.14 million locals residing in Fuyang, they've collectively driven the city's GDP growth to rank among the nation's highest over the past decade.

Yet Fuyang's most iconic contribution to China is its array of flavors that have spread far and wide—culinary delights representing the "most northern" of Anhui cuisine, while also narrating the evolution of Chinese tastes over the last thirty years.

Fuyang's flavors have proliferated nationwide and even ventured abroad. From Tianjin mahua twists to Xuzhou stewed chicken, from egg-filled pancakes to high-end Japanese cuisine—you never know which regional dishes are crafted by entire villages of Fuyang chefs.

Still, the most renowned "Fuyang" flavor is the authentic Shijiazhuang Anhui-style beef banmian, a dish that unites the palates of Fuyang natives, Henan and Hebei locals, and migrant workers across northern China.

Tracing banmian's origins from Taihe County in Fuyang, a "noodle road" stretches north and east: Taihe's local banmian features lamb broth with a spicy kick; in Shangqiu, beef enters the mix; in Heze and Jining, it meets "bèng" stewed dishes, gaining meatballs and tofu skins as toppings. Further north, due to cost and gaminess concerns, beef takes over entirely, flourishing in Shijiazhuang and spreading across Hebei.

This noodle dish, born in Anhui, refined in Henan, and embraced across the north, has spawned chains like Noble, Old House, Erya, Lumeng, and Dingji in Hebei. Behind every bowl stand at least 100,000 master chefs from Taihe.

Banmian is just a microcosm. Any northerner visiting Fuyang will delight in discovering its noodles, buns, and carb-rich fare—all tailored to northern tastes.

Fuyang rivals neighboring Henan as a noodle capital. Among its hundred-plus varieties, "Gela" noodles (meaning "stirred") embody the soul of Fuyang cuisine. Cooked noodles are tossed with sesame paste, chili oil, and toppings—the key is diners mixing them thoroughly, paired with bean sprout soup or "sa" broth and braised sides for a satisfying meal.

Fuyang is also a "bun metropolis," where simplicity reigns. Savory buns boast layered textures; bottle gourd buns char to aromatic perfection; wrap buns enfold fillings into hefty pound-sized rolls. The crown jewel is the "pillow bun"—a giant several-pound loaf with a crispy-yet-tender, chewy interior.

To fully capture Fuyang's vibrant culinary spirit, rise early—its breakfasts epitomize northern Anhui mornings. Beyond buns and noodles, steaming broths define the city's fiery zest for life.

Chicken-and-rice-noodle soup kicks off the day; Chahua beef broth spans breakfast to lunch; mild or robust "mahu" porridges form a perfect pair. But the ultimate Fuyang flavor is the Huai River's "sa" soup—bone broth dancing with wheat berries, sesame and pepper notes, poured over eggs and paired with crispy fritters, stuffed pancakes, and buns. This steaming feast fuels Fuyang's year-round hustle.

Fuyang's cuisine carries the golden wheat fields of the Central Plains and the brisk rhythm of river ports—unpretentious yet resilient, mirroring its people. Like Fuyang natives nationwide, these flavors thrive in street stalls and humble shops, quietly sustaining China's culinary heartbeat.

Map Reviewer | monk

Cover Photo | Paper Plane Aerial Photography