Carbs and Meat Galore: How Gansu Locals Spice Up Their New Year Feast

Bound to the warmth and bounty of the mountains

Mountain produce, wild fruits, coarse grains, and livestock

Authentic Flavors · 2023 New Year Special

The convergence of the Loess Plateau, the Tibetan Plateau, and the Inner Mongolian Plateau forms Gansu's narrow, 3,000-li-long mountainous terrain. Forests, meadows, and deserts intertwine across Gansu's mountains. Here, the province gathers mountain treasures from seemingly unrelated regions, spanning half of China.

Sheep herds at the foot of the Qilian Mountains in Gansu.

In Gansu, cured meat, hand-grabbed mutton, and yak beef may all grace the New Year's Eve table, accompanied by crisp and sweet stir-fried lily bulbs and pungent, chewy cold-mixed sand leeks. For visiting relatives, fried snacks and buns infused with flaxseed oil and coarse grains offer the simplest yet heartiest hospitality. Silver瓜子 (melon seeds), Lanzhou lily bulbs, and Minxian angelica root—these local delicacies cross provincial borders, becoming national symbols of New Year flavors.

Mountain meats paired with wild vegetables—just how wild is Gansu's New Year flavor?

As a meat-loving northwestern province, Gansu synthesizes the best of its neighbors' cuisines. On the New Year's Eve table, you might find non-spicy "Sichuan-style cured meat," hand-grabbed mutton resembling Xinjiang, Ningxia, or Inner Mongolian versions but with a hint of Sichuan pepper, or yak beef stewed with radish or braised. Gansu is a corridor, a frontier, a culinary "estuary" where diverse flavors converge.

In Gansu, braised sheep trotters are as popular as spicy duck necks.

Photo / Tuchong Creative; Photography / f/2.0

From Jiayuguan's steamed beef and lamb blending northwestern ingredients with Central Plains techniques, to Lanzhou's fermented pork with Jiangnan flair, to Longdongnan's Sichuan-style cured meat and ham—you can trace a "Silk Road of Cuisine" framed by mountains.

The northern slopes of the Qilian Mountains, where "livestock thrive," remain Gansu's finest alpine pastures, supplying the mutton that stars in Hexi's New Year feasts. Families gather around the table, savoring Dongxiang hand-grabbed mutton's unique Sichuan pepper aroma, celebrating the holiday in a haze of meaty fragrance.

Gansu's Dongxiang hand-grabbed mutton shares similarities yet stands apart from neighboring provinces' versions.

Those who appreciate mutton treasure offal. Hexi Corridor chefs chop heart and liver, wrap them in caul fat, and shape them into "sheepskin rafts"—literally called "mutton rafts." As the "raft" enters your mouth, the richness of fat and the springiness of offal unfold, leaving a lingering gamey aroma with every breath.

Returning home for the New Year means indulging in hometown snacks.

Photo / Tuchong Creative; Photography / Haifeng

Longzhong, encircled by the Longshan and Liupan Mountains, is Gansu's culinary hub. In Jingning County, Pingliang—near Shaanxi's Xianyang—Jingning braised chicken, with centuries of history, remains a New Year staple. Lanzhou's rich yet non-greasy fermented pork traces back to Jiangnan-style steamed meat brought by the Ming Dynasty's Prince Su. After centuries of evolution, its vibrant red hue and festive aura make it a centerpiece in banquet dishes like "Eight Bowls" or "Nine Bowls Three Rows," symbolizing the highest hospitality.

Photo / Tuchong Creative; Photography / Flying Bird Kingdom

In Minxian, even pigs are driven uphill. Small, black-jacketed "fern pigs," unlike sluggish white pigs, roam semi-wild on mountain slopes, feeding on ferns and wild herbs to develop a unique flavor.

Longxi cured pork, made from fern pigs, avoids the usual dryness, offering richness without greasiness, infused with the taste of hometown sunshine. As northern China's only ham variety, Longxi ham—lightly cured with aromatic wine and spices—retains fresh meat's tenderness, making it truly one-of-a-kind. Returning travelers devour freshly cured pork stuffed in buns, too eager to mind manners.

Gansu's cured meat always has a texture reminiscent of spiced brine meat.

The hot pot is a grand dish in the hearts of diners in southeastern Gansu, especially cherished by those in Qingyang on the western edge of the Loess Plateau. A pot combining layered meat, boiled pork, meatballs, cooked lean meat, and crispy pork skin lays out the pig's fate in perfect order. As the family gathers around the New Year's Eve dinner table, feasting on meats of varying textures, the centerpiece hot pot steams not just with heat but also with the bustling festive atmosphere and the warmth of home.

Traditional delicacy of Tianshui, Gansu: Fermented vegetable hot pot.

Further south, the Qinba Mountains, the Tibetan Plateau, and the Loess Plateau converge in southeastern Gansu, forming the rugged terrain of the Western Qinling Mountains.

Longnan, bordering Sichuan, not only abounds in mountain products like tea and Sichuan peppercorns but also inevitably absorbs Sichuan's culinary influences. Come the depths of winter, sausages, cured ribs, and cured pork legs hang from windows and beams in every household. Sliced cured meat, boiled with Min County angelica, dried chilies, and peppercorns, delivers astonishing freshness with just a touch of salt.

Photo / Tu Chong Creative, Photography / Pan Xuan

Southern Gansu borders the Tibetan regions of Qinghai and western Sichuan. Here, the local black pigs are made into cured ribs, yielding a rich, milky broth. The free-roaming yaks of the A'nyê Maqên Mountains fulfill their destiny during the New Year, becoming hearty stewed yak with radish, packed with robust beef flavor. Paired with tsampa made from highland barley grown in the valleys, the strong Tibetan flavors add a fresh, eclectic twist to the festivities.

How do wild vegetables become Gansu's secret weapon against greasiness?

After the relentless assault of rich meats during the New Year, even the most devoted carnivores might crave simpler fare. From essential holiday wild vegetable salads to the palate-awakening fermented vegetable broth, Gansu elevates wild greens to an art form.

The arid Hexi Corridor has turned sand leeks into a versatile wild vegetable, served in salads, stir-fries, or as dumpling fillings—an upgrade from scallions and chives. Central Gansu's earth skin buns are tender and unmatched, while eastern Gansu's wild greens, like "spicy wheat" and "bitter herbs," live up to their bold names.

Cold-tossed sand leeks are just the tip of the iceberg.

Longnan's wild vegetables are diverse: numbing and fragrant peppercorn shoots, bitter "black dragon heads" that evoke nostalgia, and the universally missed bracken ferns of southern Gansu... Ordinary-looking weeds might just be uniquely flavored delicacies.

Though Gansu is now one of China's top three vegetable producers, wild greens remain unforgettable. Parents still freeze them for winter. Thawed and dressed with flaxseed oil, these cold dishes burst with springtime freshness during the holidays.

A rich variety of wild vegetables. Photography / Hou Guo

Wild vegetables wither in winter or within days after picking in spring and summer. To preserve them, they're often fermented into tangy "jiangshui" broth. After a greasy meal, a sip of this broth or a bite of its distinctively sour pickles—unlike those of Dongbei or Sichuan—feels purifying and refreshing. In Tianshui, you can even find jiangshui hot pot, tackling greasiness at its root.

Jiangshui can even become a snack—fermented broth "fish" noodles.

Abundant greens like sow thistle and potherb mustard are pickled into salty preserves, paired with Gansu's endless varieties of fried pastries and floral buns for a hearty, satisfying meal.

Gansu's river valleys produce premium wheat, while its dry, rugged slopes yield buckwheat, oats, and millet for buns, spice beans for seasoning, and flax for oil. This bounty has raised generations on steamed bread, inseparable even during the New Year. In Gansu, true concern sounds like, "Take some buns for the road!"

Dingxi floral buns, each color with its own flavor.

During the New Year, fried pastries and freshly bought buns grace every Gansu host's tea table. As families chat with guests over potted tea or "Three Cannonades," they nibble on crispy, sweet, or savory treats—each bite a blind box of flavors, irresistible until the meal is unintentionally complete.

During the Spring Festival, every household in Gansu sets up oil pans, frying up a universe of oil pastries. The combinations of coarse grains make Gansu's fried cakes, twists, and doughnuts look identical to those elsewhere, yet they deliver a distinctly different flavor.

Some twists in Gansu carry a slight bitterness and unique aroma, a gift from flaxseed oil. These twists might seem hard to accept at first, but once you get used to them, ordinary twists become bland. In Tianshui and Dingxi, seemingly plain fried cakes are remarkably elastic due to the buckwheat flour mixed into the dough. Taking a big bite to savor their chewiness is incredibly satisfying.

Youxiang, another staple, is a type of bun commonly eaten by Gansu locals.

In Longdong areas like Qingyang, fried cakes are wrapped in millet flour and fried in flaxseed oil, their golden sheen irresistibly tempting. A bite reveals a crispy, bubbly crust and a fine, sandy-textured millet filling, with red bean paste adding a contrasting graininess. Even before considering the taste, the sheer richness in texture makes it a star of the New Year's feast.

A good millet fried cake has bubbles on its surface.

Photo / Tuchong Creative, Photographer / realstock

Beyond reinventing common fried snacks, Gansu people have also crafted "flower-like" delicacies. From Jinchang’s fried sugar flowers to crispy twists seasoned with eggs and honey, these are magical treats shaped by Gansu mothers through cutting, rolling, and folding simple ingredients.

Gansu mothers each have their own patterns.

Besides homemade goods, Gansu natives returning home often buy their favorite buns from familiar shops. Examples include the modified floral rolls with fenugreek and flaxseed powder (Hongfu rolls), flaxseed-topped baked buns resembling cinnamon rolls but at a fraction of the price, and the multi-layered rose baked buns stuffed with Qingyang’s melon seeds, Longnan’s walnuts, Dunhuang’s raisins, Lanzhou’s roses, or Wuwei’s jujube paste—Gansu’s bun artistry guarantees one will "knock you out."

In Gansu, even plateau-grown barley and mountain-foraged astringent persimmons aren’t wasted. They shed their harshness in fermentation vats, transforming into persimmon wine or barley liquor, elevating the New Year’s feast. Meanwhile, lightly fermented sweet barley paste turns kids into "little drunkards," who’d gladly eat it as a meal.

Sweet barley paste is not only refreshingly sweet but also delightfully chewy.

In truth, the New Year flavors nationwide carry a hint of Gansu.

With meat dishes drawing from six neighboring provinces and staple grains offering seven days of variety, have you started envying Gansu’s festive flavors? Yet, Gansu’s mountain produce has long blended into local customs, hiding in your fruit trays, soup pots, and dining tables—composing your hometown’s New Year taste.

Without melon seeds, the joy of chatting or watching TV during the holidays would diminish. Longdong’s sunny, arid Qingyang yields white melon seeds; the Yellow River-irrigated Baiyin is a hub for sunflower and oil melon seeds; while Zhangye and Wuwei on the dry, temperature-shifting Hexi Corridor produce premium watermelon seeds. Cracking open a plump seed, you’d never guess it’s oil "squeezed" from the Yellow River’s fertile silt.

The origin of melon seeds directly affects their roasted quality.

Photo / Tuchong Creative, Photographer / Gao Bo

Festive stews and soups often rely on herbs like wolfberries, angelica, and codonopsis to transform gamey meats into rich, layered delights. Whether braised or stewed, this vibrant, aromatic pot likely features Gansu-sourced meat, Jingyuan wolfberries, Minxian angelica, Longxi codonopsis, or Amnye Machen’s cordyceps. A Guangdong mother might never guess her clay-pot angelica lamb soup simmers with Gansu’s New Year essence.

Ever wondered about the tender white "petals" in banquet salads, veggies, or stews? They’re China’s only sweet lily—Lanzhou lily. Since the 1850s, farmers on 1,800-meter-high slopes have turned bitter roots into juicy, sweet "fruits." This transformation epitomizes Gansu’s mountain bounty.

Compared to roots, Lanzhou lilies resemble flower buds more.

Hexi, Longxi, Gannan… These aren’t just epic historical names but Gansu’s 3,000-li landscape, where three plateaus converge. Gansu’s mountains, with their diverse produce, form a culinary Silk Road, crafting a rich and varied New Year flavor. As locals depart again, their bags stuffed with buns, fried pastries, and cured meats, they carry their homeland’s mountains and rivers in another form.

The bounty of the mountains brings the most genuine joy.

This article is original content from [Di Dao Feng Wu].

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