The eaves of the house are half-covered, ashes on the roadside are sold as coal, pancakes and stones are sold, old vinegar is also considered a dish, Fenjiu Wotou serves guests, potatoes and cabbage are discussed in sacks, the bride's head is covered with a donkey's head, and noodles are cut faster than a flying knife.

"The eaves of a house are built on one side." Houses built on one side can be seen everywhere in rural areas of Shanxi.

It is said that there is little rain in Jinzhong during the early years, and the houses built on this side can allow all the precious rainwater to flow into one's own fields. As the saying goes, "the rich water does not flow into other people's fields."

And because Shanxi's agricultural development has been slow in the past century, the population has increased rapidly.

Families who originally lived together in rural areas had a history of "half-building" houses due to limited land area, large population, and tight housing.

"The dust on the roadside is sold as coal." Shanxi is rich in products and resources. It is a major coal-producing province with serious pollution.

Coal is everywhere, and the dust on the roadside can be sold as coal.

Black gold grows everywhere, and coal production supports Shanxi's economic lifeline.

With large coal reserves and first-class coal quality, Datong Coal Mining Group is a large-scale coal enterprise group with 700,000 employee families and an annual production and transportation capacity of hundreds of millions of tons.

"The bride covers her head with the donkey."

Shanxi is called "Jin" for short, and Shaanxi is called "Qin".

Since ancient times, there has been a saying that "Qin and Jin are good". When people from Shanxi and Shaanxi married, they had to cross the Yellow River. In the past, there were no cars, so they had to ride on small donkeys.

When they reach the other side of the river, they have to put the donkey on the boat to cross the river. In order to prevent the little donkey from being scared, the bride puts her hijab on the donkey's head. After successfully crossing the river, she takes off the hijab and puts it on her own head.

The bride covering her head with the donkey reflects the virtue of frugality and is also the way of doing business for Shanxi merchants.

Aged vinegar can also be regarded as a dish, which can strengthen the stomach, promote body fluids, nourish the skin, maintain health, and maintain good health.

Noodles and mature vinegar are the two main foods in Shanxi people's life, representing Shanxi's regional characteristics and flavor.

Shanxi’s lifestyle habit of loving vinegar is determined by Shanxi’s soil and water and the special effects of vinegar.

First, Shanxi water is alkaline and needs to be neutralized by acid and alkali to be beneficial to the body; second, mature vinegar can protect the skin and keep the body healthy.

Shanxi people have a special liking for old vinegar, and it has become an inseparable thing in daily life.

Knife-cut noodles are faster than flying knives and are mainly made from pasta. Shanxi is one of the eight major noodle systems in China.

Knife noodles are all cut with a knife, hence the name.

The noodle leaves cut out with a knife are medium-thick and have thin edges.

It has sharp edges and looks like a willow leaf; it is smooth on the outside and has tendons on the inside, soft but not sticky, and the more you chew it, the more fragrant it becomes. The seasonings of the noodles (commonly known as "toppings" or "mixing") are also various, including tomato sauce, fried meat

Sauce, mutton field, golden needles, fungus, eggs, etc. are all very popular among pasta lovers.

Treat guests with Fenjiu in Xinghua Village. Fenjiu is one of the eight famous wines. Shanxi people are warm and hospitable with famous wines.

Fenjiu is mellow, sweet and not expensive.

It is one of the eight famous wines in China.

Shanxi is very mountainous. "The left hand points to the Taihang Mountains, and the right hand points to the Luliang Mountains." It is rich in mineral resources.

But before development, crops were mainly miscellaneous grains, and steamed buns became a staple food in people's daily lives, even when entertaining guests.

However, Shanxi people are very hospitable and will always bring out their own collection of Fenjiu to entertain guests when they come to their home. This has created the "strange" phenomenon of "Fenjiu hutou treating guests like no other".

The Jinzhong Plain is dry with little rain, few trees, and a lot of dust. There are not many crops suitable for growing.

The geographical environment has resulted in the local abundance of potatoes and cabbage.

Shanxi is located in the north of the temperate zone, and the climate is relatively cold in winter, so people have to store more winter vegetables.

Potatoes and cabbage are rich in nutrients, easy to preserve, and easy to process. They are the main varieties for people to save winter vegetables.

Black stones are used to bake pancakes. The stones are heated in an iron pot first. When pancakes are made, the cakes are placed on top and then a layer of stones is spread.

Stone cake, a local specialty, is handmade, crispy, delicious and unique.

It is indeed strange to use stones to make pancakes.