A few days ago, UNESCO approved 66 cities around the world to join its creative city network. Among them, Nanjing was named "World Literature Capital" and Yangzhou was named "World Food Capital".

Yangzhou has become the fourth "food capital of the world" in China after Shunde, Chengdu and Macau.

The canals are criss-crossed, so the capital is full of tolerance, and the charm of Guangling is great. Why did Yangzhou become the "gourmet capital of the world"?

Grass snake gray line, graceful and generous. Perhaps, the snacks, bowls of noodles, and sections of teahouse leisure that are scattered all over the old streets and ancient geography and hidden in the prosperous time are the most favorable evidence of the world food capital.

"Wu Chenghan, communication jianghuai. 」

Yangzhou's predecessor was Han City, which was built 2,500 years ago. Since then, the city has become a stage in the long river of history, a piece of Long song.

The success or failure of various historical figures, the thrills of various historical events and the sorrows and joys of various historical echoes are interpreted into magnificent and magnificent symphonies.

In fact, this small town in the north of the Yangtze River with the most Jiangnan temperament has long been the "food capital" in the hearts of many foodies: Yangzhou has been rich since ancient times, and Huaiyang cuisine has sprung up here. Thanks to the blessings of thoroughfares and the contributions of salt merchants, Yangzhou's food culture always has a delicate and exquisite background. In Yangzhou, the fresh fragrance of a lion's head, the leisure, romantic aftertaste and delicacy of a morning tea have been affecting the daily diet of Yangzhou.

Taiwan Province philosopher Zhang Qijun commented on Huaiyang cuisine in Cooking Principles: Huaiyang cuisine, if Shandong cuisine is expensive, Huaiyang cuisine is rich.

Huaiyang cuisine takes Yangzhou as the center. The prosperity of Yangzhou began when Emperor Yangdi opened the canal. After the opening of the canal, Yangzhou became the intersection of the Yangtze River and the canal, bringing together commercial ships from Guanshan and Sichuan in the west, Zhuojun in the north and Jiangnan in the south. At that time, it was equivalent to modern new york, Tokyo and Paris.

In the Five Dynasties, Yangzhou was once robbed, but after the disaster, it finally resumed its grand occasion because of the relationship between transportation and business. Later, salt merchants gathered here, adding to the icing on the cake.

This grand occasion continued into modern times. Due to the opening of shipping, the position of the Yangtze River was replaced by Shanghai: the Jin-Pu railway was completed, and the shipping value of the canal was no longer the same, and Yangzhou declined since then.

However, after thousands of years of prosperity, Yangzhou has finally become the center of southern life enjoyment, and its cuisine has become the representative of Jiangnan cuisine and even southern cuisine.

Many people are curious, when a city is experiencing its peak and heading for decline, what kind of mentality should the residents of the city use to adapt to the gap?

Perhaps the attitude of Yangzhou people towards morning tea has become the best sample.

Yangzhou people have never given up the tradition of morning tea, and this lifestyle has deeply penetrated into the bones of Yangzhou people. It is related to the tolerance and dignity of literati, decent lifestyle and exquisite food culture, all of which embody the life concept of Yangzhou people to the extreme.

Interestingly, when it comes to breakfast, everyone will think that delicious and grounded breakfasts are always hidden in the streets and lanes. Yangzhou is different. A formal morning tea usually takes an hour or two.

Whether it's old tea clubs such as Yechun and Fun Garden, or ordinary "social tea clubs", it's casual in grandeur and subtle in leisure, and Yangzhou people's sense of dependence and superiority on eating morning tea is completely revealed.

Exquisite taste and exquisite ceremony are not only the face of Yangzhou people, but also the foundation of many years' culture.

How can Yangzhou people eat?

In the old days, Yangzhou people ate five meals a day:

Early in the morning, from morning tea to breakfast, count as a meal;

At noon, the food in the morning has not been digested, but it must be eaten, so lunch is simply called "small noon";

Have another afternoon tea in the afternoon, which is called "eating afternoon";

Dinner, like breakfast, is also very formal. You should eat more, eat meat, drink and eat big dishes.

Have some supper before you go to bed at night! Eating less is meaningful, but it is also an indispensable meal.

In the teahouse, a cup of tea comes first after ordering. Tea is not a high-grade green tea. The green Yang Chun produced in Yangzhou and Yizheng is brewed with boiling water, and the tea leaves are curled with tiny bubbles, which opens the morning.

Dishes of pickles have been placed on the table, and dried silk, steamed buns, three diced siu mai, thousand layers of oil cakes and king kong umbilical are served one after another;

There are noodles, too. The simplest one is a bowl of Yangchun noodles, soy sauce, lard, shrimp seeds and pepper. After the water is boiled, the noodles are fished, and the head is deeply buried in the bowl against the hot air.

The prosperous years are fading, and the old alleys of the ancient city have been intertwined with the high-rise buildings of the city, regardless of each other. The history of mumbling and the legend of unconstrained style seem to have been looted by time in a few years.

However, we will still look for the tastes and memories left in the old days in the food. It's the legend of Wensi Tofu, the attitude of the lion's head in the complicated production process, the glory of Yangzhou fried rice called "broken gold rice", and the real soul of Yangzhou people in the morning tea and restaurants.