Why Does This Northwestern Province Reign Supreme in China's Late-Night Eats Scene?

In today's China where temperatures often start at 35°C, Gansu in the northwest is an ideal summer retreat. The significant day-night temperature difference keeps most areas pleasantly cool. When you stroll the streets on a refreshing Gansu evening, you'll encounter the most hardcore food carnival.

Feast on meat! From northwest to southeast, Jiayuguan kebabs, Zhangye stir-fried offal, mixed lamb organs, steamed lamb sausage... every part of a sheep is utilized perfectly. Beyond lamb, there's cured meat buns, chicken aspic, and even the full exotic spectacle of "whole roasted camel" waiting to be discovered.

Lamb knuckles (trotters) commonly seen at night markets.

Carb extravaganza! Liangpi reigns supreme in night markets, paired with浆水面 (noodle soup) and虎皮辣子 (tiger-skin peppers). Beyond noodles, there's buckwheat guagua, potato dough lumps and other whole grain delights.

Gansu's night markets frequently sell various cold noodles.

Finally, don't forget to conclude your summer night with desserts like sweet fermented grains, milk-egg rice wine, or seasonal fruits like Yellow River honeydew, Hami melon, or Li Guang apricots - even the peculiar-tasting raw浆水 with sugar.

As night falls and lights glow, night markets unfold where meat, noodles and desserts dance for you. In Gansu, true happiness might just be beginning.

At Gansu night markets, eat the boldest meats!

Lamb undoubtedly takes center stage at most Gansu night markets.

Jiayuguan is famous for kebabs, where authentic "wok hei" is everywhere. Many Gansu kebab shops bear "Jiayuguan-style" names. Skewers flip in masters' hands, briefly charcoaled, dipped in boiling lamb oil to seal juices, then pressed - creating a spectacle of flames dancing with meat, spices and chilies. This unique method preserves lamb's fresh texture.

Lamb skewers need "quenching" to taste perfect!

Grab a fresh skewer - diamond-cut meat with marbled fat, sizzling with rendered oils. Lean parts are sauce-red, fatty bits golden with crispy edges. Who could resist? Kebabs, grilled tendons, tripe, kidneys, liver, skin, fascia, tail... facing these bundles of non-gamy deliciousness, what problem couldn't be solved? If any remain, just order another batch!

Grilled kidneys require precise火候 (heat control).

Lamb kebabs are just basics. Gansu, surrounded by five lamb-loving provinces (Xinjiang, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Qinghai), boasts the most细分 (nuanced) preparations. Order two jin of ice-cold手抓肉 (hand-torn lamb) with beer for northwest boldness, or patiently dismantle a boiled sheep head. There's also braised trotters, grilled eyeballs, fried tail fat, garlic-blood salad... every imaginable (and unimaginable) lamb preparation awaits in Gansu nights.

A simple bowl of lamb offal tastes like home.

Among these, lamb offal best represents Gansu night markets' distinctive lamb culture.

At Zhangye's Ganzhou Night Market, liver, tripe, lungs, heart... diverse offal sizzles on wide iron griddles with onions, peppers and diced flatbread, all stirred vigorously to create a symphony of sizzles - this is炒拨拉 (chao bo la).

Chao bo la somewhat resembles Guizhou's烙锅 (iron-pot cooking).

This dish from the Hexi Corridor dominates central Gansu's night markets. Diners circle the griddle, constantly stirring offal with chopsticks before devouring. The lively atmosphere outweighs even the flavors. It's astounding how one sheep can showcase tender, delicate, crispy, and chewy textures simultaneously in one pan. If overwhelmed, refresh with onions and peppers. Don't miss the golden crispy bread chunks soaked in all the flavors!

In Linxia and Gannan, offal is minced as stuffing for dark-red "raft" sausages. There's also white面肠 (flour sausages). Paired together - one rich, one soft - they can be stir-fried, mixed or fried, performing "72 transformations" at night markets.

Noodles with lamb sausages, carrying a rich aroma of fat.

The light white lamb offal soup is warm and comforting, appearing gentle and simple with scallions and garlic sprouts. Dry-tossed lamb offal in a bowl shows more distinct chunks, drizzled with chili oil, garlic water, soy sauce, and vinegar, making it refreshing and flavorful. For a lighter and smoother experience, try a bowl of lamb vermicelli soup—the noodles are translucent, the lamb tender, and a hot bowl warms you up, fighting heat with heat in the dog days of summer!

In Gansu, meat isn’t just about sheep!

Meat isn’t limited to lamb. In Longxi, there’s a deeply flavored cured meat shaped by time—Longxi cured pork. Without smoking, it offers a pure taste of plant spices and meaty richness, greasy yet never cloying. A simple white bun stuffed with cured pork is satisfying enough. Besides cured pork, various braised meats also play a plump supporting role in night markets.

White bun stuffed with braised meat—simple yet delicious.

In Pingliang, you must try the beef there. Pingliang red beef is tender and elastic, considered one of China’s most delicious beefs. After sampling spicy lamb trotters, a few skewers of grilled beef or a hotpot with thinly sliced beef will impress with their pure, untainted meaty aroma.

Beyond beef, there’s another must-try delicacy: Jingning roasted chicken. Unlike typical heavy braised flavors, this dish’s standout feature is its "lightness." It’s hard to imagine a roasted chicken earning praise for being refreshing and non-greasy. Though it hasn’t gained nationwide fame like Dezhou braised chicken or Dao kou roasted chicken, many Gansu locals consider it and Jingning giant griddle cakes as must-bring-home souvenirs from Pingliang—it’s not just chicken flavor, but hometown flavor.

But if we’re talking about the higher realm of meat-eating, it’s all about pursuing pure umami. In Min County, Dingxi, there’s a unique nighttime dish: chicken soup jelly. Wild shepherd’s purse or fresh spinach is chopped, mixed with starch, boiled into a paste, cooled, and cut into blocks—locking in the vegetables’ freshness. Seasoned chicken soup adds savory depth to the delicate jelly, creating a deceptively simple yet profound flavor with a cute name.

Refreshing chicken soup jelly—a must for sobering up.

Photo / Dingxi Cultural and Tourism Bureau

If you’re visiting Gansu’s night markets, remember to eat lightly for dinner. After all, the night here isn’t just a stage for meat but also a feast of carbs.

Liangpi (cold skin noodles) reigns supreme in Gansu’s night markets. Compared to regular cold noodles, liangpi is thicker and heartier. There are two types: high-pole liangpi, made by steaming a mix of flour and water for a stronger grain aroma, and water-rinsed liangpi, where dough is kneaded in water—the remaining gluten becomes spongy and sauce-absorbent, while the starch water turns into smooth, chewy noodles. Either way, topped with chili oil, garlic sauce, sesame paste, and vinegar, it’s a textural delight.

The further northwest you go in Gansu, the thicker the liangpi gets.

Even ordinary noodles get creative twists in Gansu’s night markets. In Lanzhou, a late-night food haven, breakfast staple beef noodles also become midnight fare—die-hard fans queue as early as 4-5 a.m. for the first-batch broth.

Lanzhou locals also love jiangshui noodles at night. A simple bowl becomes bold when paired with blistered chili peppers, braised ribs, and trotters. With this dish, friends gather, cracking open barrels of Yellow River beer, chatting about life till dawn.

A humble bowl of jiangshui noodles hides complexity in its sides.

In Zhangye, thick round noodles are pinched into inch-long segments resembling firecrackers, hence the name "paozaozi." Stir-fried with veggies and braised meat, drenched in broth, it’s Zhangye’s signature fried paozao. Cuoyuzi, similar but spindle-shaped, looks like little fish boiling in the pot. Compared to slippery long noodles, these offer more bite-per-mouthful, better holding sauces.

Hand-pulled dough flakes, called "jiupianzi," have a unique chewiness. Second only to lamian in popularity, especially in Linxia, they’re served boiled or fried, in clear or sour broths—like milky peppery lamb soup with lamb, potatoes, tomatoes, and herbs.

Beyond noodles, don’t overlook the Loess Plateau’s distinctive coarse grain flavors.

Photo / He Zhixing, Figure / Tuchong Creative

Baked to a dry fragrance and easy to store, the Gangu crispy rings; fried to a rich and tender texture, the Tongwei buckwheat rings; the savory lard pastries of Tianshui and the sweet millet cakes of Qin'an; if in season, one might even encounter hemp-seed buns or cakes made from fresh wheat... The deep-brown buckwheat jelly is a refreshing presence in Longxi's summers. Tianshui's guagua is said to have originated from overcooked buckwheat jelly, with a more irregular shape and a softer texture.

Tianshui guagua can be paired with various carb-rich delicacies.

In central and eastern Gansu, carbs take on new ingredients, as these regions are abundant in potatoes. In Wudu, plump boiled potatoes are pounded in a wooden trough into a creamy, sticky, and melt-in-the-mouth potato paste—a dish crafted purely from potatoes and effort. In Qingyang, potatoes are shredded, coated with flour, and steamed to create yangyu bola, which can be stir-fried or served cold. Beyond these, dishes like the fragrant yet mild Ma San potato slices, or even a simple plate of fried potato chips, are unbeatable choices at Gansu's night markets.

One night in Gansu

As the night deepens, after a day of busyness or sightseeing, whether strolling through Shazhou Night Market, Zhengning Road, Mingqing Street Night Market, or Ganzhou Market, having indulged in meat and carbs, the perfect romantic touch to this precious leisure comes from sweet snacks and fruits.

Hui douzi is the magical transformation of horse peas.

For those who prefer fruity sweetness, a cup of apricot water, brewed from dried apricots and rock sugar, is a must! Chilled, it becomes even more refreshing. There’s also the winter pear simmered at many dessert stalls, with clear broth and a hint of citrus aroma, warming both stomach and heart. Now is the season for melons, offering fresh sweetness at hand: watermelons, Yellow River honeydew, Bailan melons, tulip melons, Jintasi melons... varying in size and color. You can even try Gansu locals’ unique way to beat the summer heat—watermelon dipped in steamed buns.

If you prefer simpler wheat and sugar flavors, try a golden, round, and crumbly oil cake or fried oil cake—best enjoyed hot, as the soft crispiness diminishes when cooled. Minxian pastries are similarly sweet and crispy but with richer fillings: rose sugar, kumquat, walnuts, peanuts, red and green shreds...

Sugar oil cakes are best eaten hot, fresh out of the pan.

Grain-based sweets also include the gray-black hui douzi, made from finely simmered horse peas. Compared to the mellow sweetness of hui douzi, tianpei offers a sharper sweetness: a spoonful chewed dry bursts with sugary and fermented flavors, while diluted with water, it becomes milder and thirst-quenching. The milk tea made from it has remained a trendy drink since its inception. Milk egg fermented glutinous rice, on the other hand, carries a more nostalgic taste—the richness of milk masks the fermented rice’s alcohol, while the softness of eggs and the crunch of nuts make every bite delightful.

This sweetness tells you that Gansu is not just about the Flying Apsaras, the Galloping Bronze Horse, and painted pottery, but also roses, lilies, and sea buckthorn. This intricate sweetness from the Northwest, alongside the symphony of meat and carbs, quietly awaits your return or visit.

Summer nights are like water, perfect for gathering with friends over drinks.

Having read this far, why not try some Gansu specialties?

Desserts are the essential finale to a Gansu night snack. The seasonal Li Guang apricots, sweet as honey, are an unbeatable choice.

Our Li Guang apricots, from Jiuquan, Gansu, offer crispness with the first bite and tenderness with the second. Frozen, they become a summer-cooling treat. Remember, Li Guang apricots are scarce and short-lived—once July passes, they’re gone. Truly, hesitate and miss out!

Cover image | Visual China Group

Uncredited photos in the article are by Yan Su