A Culinary Journey Through Xichang

Beauty lies in the Daliang Mountains, and food in the great Xichang. Why is Xichang referred to as the ‘backyard […]

Beauty lies in the Daliang Mountains, and food in the great Xichang.

Why is Xichang referred to as the ‘backyard garden’ by the fun-loving and food-loving people of Chengdu? Because, in addition to its rich tourism resources, the fruits and cuisine here are also a delight for food enthusiasts.

Xichang, historically known as Qiongdu, was ‘once a county and district, until it was abolished at the rise of the Han Dynasty’. Xichang City is the capital of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, located in the southwestern part of Sichuan in the Anning River Valley, belonging to the tropical plateau monsoon climate zone, and is known as ‘Little Spring City’. It is known for its warm winters, cool summers, spring-like climate throughout the year, abundant rainfall, sufficient sunshine, and rich light and heat resources. The strong daytime solar radiation and large diurnal temperature difference make the fruits here extremely sweet and the products abundant. This also makes Xichang one of the country’s major grain counties, one of the major pig counties, the hometown of Chinese onions, the hometown of Chinese flowers and trees, and the hometown of Chinese winter strawberries. It is world-renowned as the City of the Sun, the City of the Moon, and the Space City, known as ‘a city where spring resides’.

Since you have come to Xichang for travel, you must mention the local cuisine. Travel and food are both irreplaceable. As a true foodie, follow my steps to find the delicacies of Xichang!

1. The famous Xichang fire pot barbecue
Xichang is a city related to fire, and the indispensable food is related to fire, especially the well-known Xichang specialty fire pot barbecue.
When traveling to Xichang, there is an experience you cannot miss: you must have a meal of authentic Xichang fire pot barbecue. Sitting around the charcoal stove, listening to the sizzling sound of food on the grill, preparing a plate of dry sauce made of secret chili powder and bean powder, enjoying the satisfaction of eating meat in large bites, the special small pork and small intestines of Liangshan, lump meat, pork belly, beef, potatoes, white melon, dried tofu, and a whole eggplant, after being grilled and grilled with charcoal, and then dipped in the dry sauce, it is an indescribable deliciousness, and just thinking about it makes your mouth water.
Xichang’s fire pot barbecue is divided into mesh grilling and bamboo skewer grilling. The difference is that the former is grilled to perfection by experienced masters, while the latter is controlled by the diners themselves.
Whether it’s the coldest winter days or the hottest summer days, gather a few friends around the charcoal stove, with large pieces of meat on the bamboo skewers. No matter what kind of gentleman or lady you are in life, in front of the fire pot barbecue, you are a ‘rugged’ diner who eats with your hands.

2. Have a feast of Tangzhou Tang cuisine at Tang Garden
If you’re hungry while strolling in Tang Garden, don’t worry about not being able to eat delicious food. You can go to an artistic bar to taste wine and listen to folk songs, or go to a coffee shop to find leisure, or have a cup of milk tea, or have an authentic Chaotianmen hot pot, or go to a street stall to chat with friends while eating skewers, or you can also experience authentic Tangzhou Tang cuisine.
Tang Garden is based on the ruins of the ancient city wall of Tangzhou. When visiting Tang Garden, don’t miss the scholarly Tangzhou Tang cuisine in Tang Garden.
The feast of Tangzhou Tang cuisine is divided into pre-meal, cold dishes, main dishes, hot dishes, soup pots, and staple food.
Pre-meal consists of fruits, dried fruits, and appetizers;
Cold dishes include ice flower goose liver, fish leaping over the dragon gate, red tea Kung Fu beef, jade bamboo tripe, white hair silver needle, and osmanthus jade fruit;
Main dishes consist of clear soup chicken bean flower, abalone braised pork in rice, and green pool floating snow;
Hot dishes are made up of Qionghai’s shellfish, garlic steamed lobster, Mapo tofu with sea cucumber, golden crispy beef ribs, and black truffle steamed egg;
The soup pot is mutton soup;
The staple food is clear soup wonton.
Each dish is very exquisite, with careful consideration of the ratio of ingredients and the order of meals, allowing the taste buds to be satisfied while also being nutritionally balanced.
[Tip]
Address: 99 Jianchang East Road, Xichang City (inside Tang Garden)

3. Achieve fruit freedom in Xichang
As I mentioned earlier, the daytime solar**Strawberry Harvest Season in Xichang**

This season just happens to be the strawberry harvest season in Xichang. During these days of traveling, I have achieved ‘strawberry freedom’ in the true sense.

**Varieties and Prices**

The varieties of winter strawberries in Xichang are rich, large and full, bright in color, fragrant, sweet, and juicy. There are the famous Hongyan, as well as chocolate-flavored, cream-flavored, sweet berries, and the white milk-flavored Snow White. The price varies from 10 to 30 yuan, with the general Hongyan strawberry costing about 13 yuan per jin, and Snow White at 25 yuan per jin. Whether it’s strawberries or other fruits, you can try before buying in fruit shops or fruit wholesale markets.

**Fruit Souvenirs**

In Xichang, I have achieved the freedom to eat fruit! If you want to bring some fruit souvenirs home, I can recommend everyone to go to the largest fruit wholesale market in the city to purchase.

**[Tip] Jintai Comprehensive Fruit Wholesale Market**

**Address:** No. 46 Spring City Middle Road, Xichang City, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province

—

**Taste Mountain Delicacies and Mushroom Hot Pot**

I have long heard that the wild mushrooms in Xichang are very famous. In the cold winter, it is most suitable to order a pot of hot and steaming Xichang mushroom hot pot to taste.

**Ju Zhu Xuan Restaurant**

Ju Zhu Xuan Restaurant is also a little famous in Xichang, and it is the top mushroom soup in Xichang. Mushroom hot pot is to order all kinds of mushrooms, pour them into the pot together, and then add local chicken and the soup base and meat that have been simmered and stewed, and it can only be eaten after boiling for the specified hourglass time. I saw beef liver mushrooms, chicken mushrooms, matsutake mushrooms, etc., and some wild mushrooms whose names I can’t call. The first pot of soup must be taken first, this head soup is the most delicious. After eating the mushrooms, chicken, and ribs in the pot, you can also add some side dishes, such as green vegetables, potatoes, meatballs, and so on.

In addition, the mushroom buns and brown sugar glutinous rice cakes in the store are also very delicious, and you can order a portion to taste.

**[Tip] Ju Zhu Xuan Restaurant**

**Address:** No. 27, Area C, Haihe Tianjie, Xichang City

—

**Eat Local Dishes in Mian Ning: Salt and Taste Farmhouse Dishes**

‘Do not laugh at the farmhouse wine being turbid, in the year of abundance, the guest is enough to eat chicken and pork.’ After visiting the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, we checked in this local farmhouse restaurant in Mian Ning County with good reviews. The sausages and cured meats at the entrance of the restaurant have been hung up, which is the unique feature of Sichuan in winter.

The ingredients of the restaurant are very fresh, the amount of dishes is very sufficient, and the taste is the heavy mouth of Sichuan characteristics, biased towards spicy and numb. There are also some characteristic farmhouse dishes, such as cold mixed mountain dragon whiskers, fried eggs with lichen, etc.

If you are also going to visit the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, you might as well pass by the small shop and taste the local characteristic farmhouse dishes.

**[Tip] Salt and Taste Farmhouse Dishes**

**Address:** 40 meters northwest of the intersection of National Highway 248 and Z005, Mian Ning County, Xichang

—

**Halal Restaurant: Niu Ben Ben Hui People’s Restaurant**

Xichang was once a millennium-old city on the Southern Silk Road and a must-pass place on the ancient tea horse road. Therefore, in Xichang, you can not only eat Sichuan characteristics, but also taste the flavors of the north and south.

If you are a beef lover, go to Niu Ben Ben Hui People’s Restaurant, where you can also eat authentic halal dishes.

**[Tip] Niu Ben Ben Hui People’s Restaurant**

**Address:** No. 80 Haihe Road, Xichang City, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province

—

I have written so many recommendations, and I can’t help but drool. It seems that I have to arrange another journey of the tip of the tongue in Xichang again!