The First City on the Yangtze: How Does Its BBQ Outshine the Entire Southwest?

When it comes to barbecue, no one would mention Yibin unprompted. But once you've tasted Yibin barbecue, you'll never forget it.

A dazzling variety! Pork nose tendon, tooth socket, "flower heart," fragrant lips... These unheard-of yet fascinating barbecue cuts are all hidden in Yibin's street stalls.

So many unexpected ingredients!

Full of rustic charm! The Jinsha River and Min River converge here to form the Yangtze. These mighty rivers have endowed Yibin with over 4,000 years of brewing history and given its barbecue a unique character. Skewers sizzle over roaring charcoal flames—brushed with sauce, sprinkled with spices, swiftly flipped, then topped with scallions, cilantro, and fish mint, dipped in chili or peanut powder. Every move is a martial arts masterpiece on Yibin's barbecue stage.

Yibin barbecue stalls brim with lively energy!

The hub of Southwest Chinese barbecue! Located in southern Sichuan, bordering Yunnan and Guizhou, Yibin's barbecue centers on "bunch grilling" (bǎbǎ shāo) while absorbing the best of regional styles: Yunnan's molten tofu and raw beef salad, Sichuan-Chongqing's sweet sausages—all converging here as the Southwest's top-tier delights.

Many assume barbecue isn't the Southwest's forte, but Yibin will prove you wrong.

Why is it China's most intricate barbecue?

Yibin's signature style is "bunch grilling," a Southwest method said to originate from Shuifu, Zhaotong (Yunnan), next to Yibin. It's named for its selling style—meat skewered on bamboo sticks, sold by the bunch (10-20 skewers each), with minimal meat per stick. Impatient diners often grab 2-3 sticks at once.

Each bunch features just one cut of meat.

So many skewers, so little meat—when Yibin locals take northern friends to eat, they always hear: "Are the skewers free here?" Not quite. As China's "bamboo capital" with over 3 million acres of bamboo forests, Yibin has no shortage of sticks. But this isn't why the skewers are meat-scarce. Ironically, this very "flaw" is Yibin barbecue's delicious secret.

Bamboo Sea in Changning County—Yibin boasts abundant bamboo resources. Photo/VCG

Step one to Yibin barbecue's deliciousness: Freshness

"Big skewers use frozen meat; small ones mean fresh." Some locals judge freshness by skewer size. For that freshness, Yibin pays not just higher costs but also laborious prep work.

Every cut has its own knife technique in Yibin stalls.

Owners rush to markets at dawn for fresh meat, process each cut meticulously, then skewer them one by one: beef sliced thin before threading, fresh pork nose tendons boiled and defatted, kidney flowers best prepared right before grilling—only immediate slicing and skewering delivers their bold texture.

Heat control: The key to Yibin barbecue's magic

Fresh skewers never need marinating—the secret lies in the blazing charcoal. Small skewers aren't for saving money but ensuring each bite gets evenly coated with Yibin's fiery seasoning.

Heat mastery determines the texture. Photo/Web

Yet small skewers test the chef's skill: Too hot—charred; too mild—tough. Timing and flipping frequency are crucial. Bell peppers must be just-crisp, kidneys at the edge of rawness for tenderness without gaminess, "full-fat" beef dried to jerky-like chewiness, chicken tail at its peak when skin blisters but doesn't burn...

The timing of seasoning, the secret weapon of Yibin barbecue

Seasoning is the key to delicious Yibin barbecue, from the preparation of sauces to the timing of sprinkling spices—every step is a unique secret of Yibin barbecue.

The highest level of Yibin barbecue: charred but not burnt. Photo/Ran Sihui

First, grill fresh meat skewers until half-cooked, then brush with sauce and return to the charcoal fire for quick grilling. This is the first round of seasoning, the foundation of Yibin barbecue's flavor. Occasionally drizzle with seasoned rapeseed oil to prevent burning—the fragrant rapeseed oil is the soul of Sichuan cuisine and the secret to Yibin barbecue's aroma. When the meat is about 90% cooked, sprinkle chili to unleash its spiciness without overcooking it.

Just before serving, generously sprinkle more seasoning—first chili, then scallions. Before eating, dip the skewers in one of three dipping sauces: dried chili powder, peanut-soybean powder, or a vinegar-based sauce. Each skewer, layered with sauces, is no longer just simple barbecue but a microcosm of heavily seasoned Sichuan cuisine.

The soul of Yibin barbecue dipping sauce: crushed peanuts. Photo/Ran Sihui

Pig nose tendon, palate, rice noodles sausage, half-fatty, full-fatty...

Why does Yibin have so many peculiar ingredients?

Pig nose tendon, palate, rice noodles sausage, half-fatty, full-fatty, fragrant mouth, pork aorta... The menu of Yibin barbecue is a martial arts manual only Sichuan and Chongqing locals can decipher.

At Yibin barbecue stalls, every part of a pig is utilized.

Yibin locals can break down a pig meticulously. For example, the small section of intestine connecting the small and large intestines is called rice noodles sausage—thicker than the small intestine with a slightly powdery texture when eaten. It’s wrapped in lard and tastes best when grilled until charred.

The most impressive is Yibin’s treatment of the pig’s head. From the nose to the mouth to the throat, every Yibin barbecue master is a skilled butcher. The palate is the pig’s upper jaw cartilage, resembling a ladder in shape and also called "pig’s staircase"—crisp and crunchy when chewed. The "heart of the flower" is the pig’s throat, cut into triangles and skewered, offering a firm, chewy texture.

Palate dipped in Yibin barbecue’s secret seasoning. Photo/Tuchong Creative

But pig nose tendon is the ultimate secret of Yibin barbecue. Even in the northeast, where everything is grilled, this skewer is a marvel. Hidden deep in the pig’s nostrils, the tendon requires meticulous dissection to extract. One pig yields only two tendons—its rarity rivals Wenzhou’s duck tongues and Chaoshan’s old goose heads. Ordering 20 skewers of pig nose tendon means consuming 10 pigs’ worth.

Pig nose tendon: the hardest to find and most delicious part of the pig.

Its texture resembles tea tree mushrooms—tightly connected fibers, crispier than tripe yet more elastic than tendon. Yibin locals demand freshness; frozen tendons turn mushy and are easily detectable.

Pig nose tendon: the star of Yibin barbecue stalls.

Pig nose tendon, "heart of the flower," and palate are known as the "three treasures of Xunchang barbecue." Xunchang, located in Gong County, is famed for the saying: "Sichuan barbecue looks to Yibin, and Yibin barbecue looks to Xunchang." But Yibin’s culinary delights don’t end there—this fertile land holds even more surprises.

Grilled beef, mixed crucian carp, the Yangtze River, and the docks...

Beef is also a staple at Yibin barbecue stalls, featuring not only common hotpot items like pork aorta and tripe but also two types of grilled beef: half-fatty (half lean, half fat) and full-fatty (all lean). Charcoal-grilled to sizzling perfection, it’s fresh, fragrant, spicy, and numbing.

The wide variety of barbecue skewers shares many similarities with the tripe hotpot of the Sichuan-Chongqing region. The riverine culture of the Yangtze has made the people of Yibin adept at discovering the beauty in all kinds of off-cuts, while the extensive waterways have brought countless delicacies to Yibin's barbecue stalls.

The Yangtze crucian carp is a regular at Yibin's barbecue stalls. Steamed and then drizzled with a sauce made from minced garlic, chili peppers, ginger, prickly ash oil, and litsea cubeba oil, it becomes "liangban" (cold-tossed) crucian carp. Despite the name, the dish isn't served cold—the fish is kept warm after steaming, a method known as "hot tossing" in Sichuan cuisine.

The "cold-tossed" crucian carp, prepared using the "hot tossing" method, isn't actually cold when eaten.

Photo / Tuchong Creative

A transportation hub in Southwest China, and a barbecue hub too

Located at the junction of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces, Yibin borders Chengdu to the north, Chongqing to the east, Kunming to the southwest, and Guiyang to the southeast. Ingredients from all directions converge here, and this geographical advantage allows Yibin barbecue to absorb the essence of Southwest Chinese grilling, making it the undisputed barbecue hub of the region.

Yibin barbecue is heavily influenced by Yunnan cuisine. At Yibin's stalls, you can find Yunnan-style dishes like cold-tossed raw beef, molten-center tofu, and baby potatoes. The raw beef, marinated with chili powder and cilantro, has a texture as tender as sashimi and is dipped in rice vinegar with mustard, delivering an explosive mix of numbing, spicy, sour, and fresh flavors.

Cold-tossed raw beef: Sichuan-style sashimi.

Molten-center tofu is crispy outside and tender inside, puffing up golden-brown when grilled. Topped with chili peppers and fish mint, each bite releases a burst of silky-smooth filling. Yunnan baby potatoes can be grilled in chunks or fried in slices, offering a carb-loaded delight for Yibin's late-night feasts.

The fish mint on molten-center tofu is a favorite across Southwest China.

The only downside to Yibin barbecue might be its small skewers and high prices—even locals complain. But in Yibin, barbecue isn't about filling up. It's a post-dinner snack, a post-KTV or post-card-game treat, a second round after drinking, a must-have when night falls—an essential part of the "comfortable" Yibin lifestyle.

The Jinsha and Min rivers, originating from the Tibetan Plateau, converge here at the "Zero Kilometer" point of the Yangtze, making Yibin the first city along the mighty river. As the Yangtze rushes down from the snowy highlands, Yibin stands as the gateway between heaven and earth. To its west, the Gongga Mountains rise in rugged folds, their snow-capped peaks otherworldly—but in Yibin, the air is thick with earthly pleasures. Yibin is the closest worldly paradise to the sacred, the "first barbecue of the Yangtze."

Time flows as swiftly as the river, never pausing. This small southwestern city, with over 2,200 years of history, remains bustling and vibrant. Why is Yibin the top barbecue city of Southwest China?

Fiery Yibin barbecue. Photo / Documentary "The Story of Chuan'er"

Cover photo | Tuchong Creative