Speaking of the Thirteen Taibao of Jiangsu, the first thing you think of is Nanjing, the golden city of the Six Dynasties?

Or Yangzhou with fireworks in March?

Or Su Xichang from the gentle water town?

In the recent list of "The Happiest Cities in China in 2020", a small town in central Jiangsu made the list in a low-key manner.

This is Taizhou, the second-to-last youngest city in Jiangsu. It was separated from Yangzhou and became a prefecture-level city more than 20 years ago. It rarely appears in travel recommendation lists.

While other Jiangsu cities are vying to be the most powerful city in Jiangsu Province, this small town in Jiangsu Province is leisurely and calm at its own pace.

Like Yangzhou, Taizhou is also the gateway to central Jiangsu connecting the south and the north.

Taizhou is located at the intersection of the Yangtze River, Huaihe River and Yellow Sea. It combines the charm of Wu, Chu and Yue, and gathers the winds of the Yangtze, Huaihe and Sea. What rises and falls in the waves is the city's thousand-year heritage and hundreds of styles.

Perhaps it was the sound of oars, lights, ancient alleys, and old bricks that reminded him of his distant hometown, Venice. Therefore, 700 years ago, when Marco Polo came to this small city that was animated by water, he endured the pain.

I can’t help but admire: This city is not very big, but it has a lot of earthly happiness.

And what is most closely related to the happiness index is food.

Taizhou's food culture is of the same origin as Yangzhou, the "World's Food Capital". Whether it is Huaiyang cuisine or morning tea, it is not inferior to Yangzhou's, especially the emphasis on "one tea, three points and one side", which is refreshed at once

Gave me a new understanding of Jiangnan morning tea.

There are also crabs here that are as good as Yangcheng Lake and the most authentic crab roe soup dumplings in China. The "largest crab origin in China" is no other place, it turns out to be Taizhou.

Chen Xiaoqing had already photographed the crab roe soup dumplings here in "A Bite of China", and it only took 3 minutes to arouse the greed of foodies across the country.

And Taizhou does not live in the shadow of Yangzhou. Each district in Taizhou has its own specialties of local food.

Tang Lusun, the first Chinese to talk about eating, once feasted in Taizhou. In his later years, he never forgot Taizhou's wild duck rice, noodles, pork head meat, chicken wings, crispy eel and other delicacies in books such as "Hometown Love".

The snacks here also combine the characteristics of the north and the south, and there are many varieties. There are so many ways to eat just one sesame seed cake!

My memories of Taizhou are always related to food.

Really, the food alone in Taizhou can make me dream about it.

Start the morning with a slow-chewing morning tea. Like Yangzhou, Taizhou people also pay attention to the morning tea culture of "skin-wrapped water". The day's plan begins with a slow-chewing morning tea.

Taizhou people are lucky about morning tea, not only because of the food, but also because they have a lot of free time to spend in the teahouse, chatting and laughing with friends and family until noon.

But unlike the exquisite craftsmanship in Yangzhou, the morning tea in Taizhou is more simple and pure. When the wooden cage is opened, the tea house is filled with people, and a smoke of human beings evaporates. The Taizhou people live such a moist life.

Tasteful.