Once the Top City of Heilongjiang, Now Home to China's Barbecue King

If you haven't tried Qiqihar barbecue, you don't truly understand Northeast Chinese grilling—even after sampling Yanbian, Jinzhou, and Harbin. Located in northwestern Heilongjiang, Qiqihar may seem remote from central China, but it's no small town. Once the provincial capital, it remains Heilongjiang's top grain-producing city.

Yet for Qiqihar locals, these proud accolades are superficial. In their hearts, the city's true treasure is its barbecue.

The best barbecue in Qiqihar locals' eyes:

Photo/Ma Duo, Source/Tuchong Creative

Superior meat! Qiqihar beef is marbled with fat and carries a natural milky aroma. Every grill plate features beef slaughtered that morning, with cuts chosen on-site, sliced fresh, and grilled immediately for maximum freshness.

Perfect seasoning! Premium meat needs only simple seasoning. The beef is tossed with spices right after slicing and served ready to grill—embodying Qiqihar's "less is more" philosophy.

Qiqihar barbecue requires minimal seasoning.

Unbeatable atmosphere! In Qiqihar, everyone's a grill master. Beyond restaurants, locals prefer barbecuing by riversides, in parks, or outside their homes, mixing and grilling their own meat. Come midsummer, streets brim with rows of sizzling grills and aromatic smoke.

As summer approaches, packed crowds flock to famous "barbecue cities" like Zibo, Jinzhou, and Yanbian. For a truly revolutionary barbecue experience, Qiqihar awaits—it will redefine your understanding of grilled meat.

Fresh meat, hand-cut, hand-mixed, beef-fat-greased grills...

Before diving into Qiqihar barbecue, understand this Northeast grilling distinction: "kaorou" (grilled meat slices) and "kaochuan" (skewers) differ. Jinzhou and Zibo (influenced by Jinzhou) specialize in skewers grilled over charcoal, while Qiqihar's "kaorou" involves grilling sliced meat directly on iron plates or grids. Yet Qiqihar's method transcends ordinary grilled meat with its unique approach.

Qiqihar's barbecue shops pioneered a novel model: whole beef carcasses, freshly slaughtered and segmented each dawn, hang in shops. Customers select cuts to grill onsite or take home. These establishments double as trusted neighborhood butcheries.

Qiqihar barbecue: sliced fresh, sold fresh.

Photo/Kong Xiaoli

When purchasing meat, patrons choose cuts by preference—brisket, rib, chuck, tri-tip—each offering distinct textures. Qiqihar grillers, like their butchers, know every bovine detail. Their meticulous beef preparation eerily echoes Chaozhou's practices 2,500km away: both cherish the crisp-chewy texture of beef chest cartilage and creatively repurpose scraps into Chaozhou meatballs or Qiqihar beef sausages.

After selection, the owner slices your meat thin, combines cuts in a metal basin, and hand-mixes them with onions, cumin, salt, and other seasonings. In minutes, your barbecue is ready. Every Qiqihar joint has its secret mixing formula, but all agree: season lightly. Their beef's natural quality makes heavy seasoning wasteful.

In Qiqihar, every family guards their unique meat-mixing secrets.

Prepared meat is just the beginning. A perfect Qiqihar barbecue requires: fresh local beef, precise seasoning, cubed beef fat, blazing charcoal, perforated grill plates, pickled cabbage, signature dipping sauce, bottles of "Xuefeili" soda, and a crowd of friends/family.

Cubed beef fat—artfully melted to grease the grill—epitomizes Qiqihar's grilling artistry. Scorching charcoal ensures quick cooking without moisture loss, distinguishing it from electric grills in big cities. The perforated grill plate is another secret: flames lick through holes, excess fat drains away, yielding tender, juicy meat with bold charcoal aroma.

The searing grill plate—one key to Qiqihar barbecue's magic.

Northeasterners love pickled cabbage, and it's a must-have for barbecue. In Qiqihar, people place the pickled cabbage directly on the edges of the grill. They start by grilling the meat in the center, and when the meat is perfectly cooked, the pickled cabbage turns golden and shrinks, soaked in the fat and juices of the beef. A single bite is even more flavorful than the meat itself. Xue Feili, a sweet beverage, is the perfect companion for Qiqihar barbecue, a taste that has accompanied generations of Hecheng residents as they grew up.

Of course, the final touch is having a crowd of relatives and friends gathered around the table. Only then does the Qiqihar barbecue feast truly begin.

In Qiqihar barbecue, pickled cabbage is also indispensable!

In Qiqihar, it's just an ordinary meal.

Wrapping meat in perilla leaves is another common way to enjoy Qiqihar barbecue today.

Barbecue is woven into the fabric of life in Qiqihar.