Oatmeal noodles, also called Oatmeal Wowo in Inner Mongolia, is a home-cooked delicacy in the alpine areas of central and northern Shanxi. It is very popular as a cereal snack in hotels and restaurants. Its production method and origin of its name can be traced back to the late Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty 1,400 years ago. According to folklore, when Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang Dynasty, was demoted to stay in Taiyuan, he and his family passed by Pangu Temple, an ancient temple in Lingkong Mountain. The old abbot made this oatmeal food as a treat. Li Yuan asked: "What is in your hand?" The old abbot replied: "栲栳栳". Castanopsis is a general name for plants, and Castanopsis refers to utensils made of bamboo strips or wickers ("Cihai"). Tang Yinyou's poem says: "The words written on the pipa become resentful, and the money bought by the pipa can buy spring." It seems that the abbot at that time answered with the small cage in his hand. Later, when Li Yuan became emperor, he sent the old abbot to Mount Wutai to be the abbot. The old abbot led the monks to take office and passed by Jingle County. Seeing the first harvest of oats, he passed on the method of making oats noodles to the local area. Later, this kind of folk pasta spread throughout Shanxi, Shaanxi, Mongolia, Hebei, Shandong and other places, becoming a home-cooked delicacy for people in the northern mountainous areas. There is also a folk saying that it is said that Li Shimin and his son used this kind of pasta to reward the three armies when they raised troops in Taiyuan, and established the Tang Dynasty in one fell swoop. Castanopsis is derived from the word reward.

This is a folk legend, but in addition to being a home-cooked delicacy in Shanxi, the oatmeal noodles are indeed meant to reward relatives, friends and distinguished guests. In the Yanbei and Luliang mountainous areas, people endow eating noodles with beautiful symbols such as "reliability" and "harmony". Every time it is the birthday of the elderly, the full moon of a child, or when entertaining guests during festivals, people often eat with this dish. In some families in mountainous areas, when getting married, the bride and groom also eat it, which means that the couple will grow old together. It is even more important to eat at the end of the year to pray for family harmony and prosperity.

Food customs are mostly derived from local products and historical heritage. There is a widely circulated proverb in Datong: "Forty miles of oatmeal noodles, thirty miles of cakes, and twenty miles of buckwheat noodles will break your waist if you are hungry." It means that people can walk forty miles after eating noodles. He could only walk twenty miles without getting soba noodles. Therefore, people here are particularly fond of oatmeal and regard it as a treasure. Oatmeal noodles and fish noodles have become Tianzhen’s unique flavor foods. The alpine area in northern Shanxi is rich in oats (also known as oats and jade wheat), which can be seen from the folk song "The three treasures of Yanbei: oats, yam, and big leather jackets." The harsh natural conditions in the past have trained people in mountainous areas to make fine grains. A new daughter-in-law has to show off her skill at making oatmeal noodles for the first time at her husband's house; and a new son-in-law has to eat ten kinds of oatmeal noodles when he comes to visit during the Spring Festival. Oatmeal noodles are a kind of oatmeal rice. Because it looks like a "honeycomb", local people also call it "youmian wowo". There are three keys to its preparation: first, kneading the noodles with boiling water, second, quickly setting up the roll, and third, controlling the heat. According to folklore, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Yang Jian believed in the words of a treacherous man and wanted to make his second son Yang Guang the prince. However, Duke Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty refused to accept his advice and was demoted to stay in Bingzhou (Taiyuan). While passing by Lingkong Mountain, Mrs. Li unexpectedly went into labor and gave birth to her son Li Yuanba. Li Yuan stayed in the temple and often discussed world affairs with the old abbot. One day, the old abbot said to Li Yuan: "I watched the sky at night. Recently, the world has been in chaos and the heroes are fighting fiercely. The general should recharge his batteries and achieve great success in the future. Today I asked Xiangjifang to cook you a rare meal. After eating You will be refreshed and strong." At noon, the "honeycomb" tube of oatmeal noodles was brought out. After dipping it in chili pepper, Li Yuan felt refreshed and asked what kind of rice it was. The old abbot said it was made of oatmeal noodles and looked like a "honeycomb", so the local people called it "oatmeal wowo". Later, when Li Yuan became emperor, he sent the old abbot to Mount Wutai to be the abbot. When the old abbot led the monks to take office, they passed by Jingle County and saw that the area was rich in oats, so he passed on the technology of making "oatmeal nests" to the people of Jingle. From then on, Oatmeal Wowo became a popular meal for Jingle people. Later, Jingle people saw that this kind of nest resembled a straight tube "栳栳" for storing things, so they changed the name of the nest to "栲栳栳".