Anhui Food

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Anhui Food covers the varied food traditions of Anhui Province, including Hui cuisine (徽菜), the region's best-known named culinary tradition. The terms Anhui food and Hui cuisine overlap, but are not exact synonyms: Hui cuisine developed in historic Huizhou, a six-county area that today lies across southern Anhui and Wuyuan County in Jiangxi.

Hui cuisine is commonly counted among China's Eight Great Cuisines, and its cooking techniques were added to China's national intangible cultural heritage list in 2021. Anhui's food map is broader than Hui cuisine alone: local specialties from places such as Hefei, Sanhe and Huainan have their own ingredients and foodways.

Regions
Local foodways across Anhui

Historic Huizhou
Southern Anhui traditions

Hefei and Sanhe
Central Anhui specialties

Huainan
Local soup and tofu

Cooking
Ingredients and techniques

Local dishes
Signature Anhui foods

Food heritage
Trade and tradition

Food map
Explore food across China

Regional food traditions

Anhui stretches from the Huai River plain in the north to the Yangtze basin and the mountain country of the south. The names below are a practical guide to local food traditions, not a claim that every town belongs to one rigid culinary school.

Historic Huizhou and southern Anhui

Hui cuisine's historical home is the mountainous Huizhou region. The landscape of hills, narrow valleys and a mild, rainy climate supplied varied plant and animal ingredients; local food traditions also developed alongside household customs, seasonal life and the movement of Huizhou merchants. Today, many of the best-known Hui dishes are associated with Huangshan, She County, Jixi and other communities in southern Anhui. Wuyuan, also part of historic Huizhou, is now in Jiangxi.

Hefei and the Jianghuai area

Hefei and nearby towns have specialties distinct from the Huizhou dishes most often used to represent Hui cuisine. Sanhe, a historic town in Feixi County, is associated with Sanhe rice dumplings and Sanhe shrimp paste; local descriptions also mention these among the area's traditional breakfast and food customs. Luzhou roast duck and Wushan imperial goose are among foods featured in official Anhui visitor guides.

Huainan and the Huai River area

Huainan is known for beef soup and tofu foods. The municipal government lists Huainan beef soup as a local specialty, while the city's agriculture bureau describes Bagongshan tofu as a product associated with the Huainan area. These examples help show why a page about all Anhui food should not treat every dish as a Huizhou recipe.

Ingredients and cooking methods

Traditional Hui cooking makes careful use of heat and is known for braising, stewing and steaming. Historical descriptions of the cuisine also emphasize oil, color and fire control: these refer to the flavoring and texture of particular regional cooking traditions, rather than a rule that every modern Hui dish must be oily or dark.

The historic Huizhou repertoire draws on mountain and valley produce and on methods that preserve ingredients for later use. Fermented mandarin fish and fermented tofu are two very different examples: one brings a pronounced aroma to freshwater fish, while the other transforms the texture of tofu. Bamboo shoots, cured foods and slow-cooked combinations also appear in local dishes.

Representative dishes and local foods

The table highlights foods tied to different parts of Anhui. It is a selection, not an exhaustive list: an Anhui provincial cultural-tourism selection reviewed signature dishes at provincial, city and county levels, reflecting the range of local foodways.

Dish	Local association	Description
Stinky Mandarin Fish (臭鳜鱼)	Historic Huizhou; Huangshan	Freshwater mandarin fish is salted and aged to develop its characteristic aroma, then cooked as a savory dish. It is one of the best-known foods associated with Hui cooking.
Mao tofu (毛豆腐)	Huizhou and Huangshan	Tofu is fermented until a white growth forms on the surface, then commonly pan-fried or fried and seasoned.
Huifu Yipin Pot (徽府一品锅)	Huangshan and Huizhou	A layered casserole of meats, tofu and other ingredients, slowly simmered; it is described locally as a winter favorite.
Wenzheng Mountain bamboo shoots (问政山笋)	She County	A traditional Huizhou dish made by braising bamboo shoots from Wenzheng Mountain.
Huainan beef soup (淮南牛肉汤)	Huainan	A local soup specialty whose cooking technique is also included in Huainan's intangible cultural heritage listings.
Bagongshan tofu (八公山豆腐)	Huainan	A regional tofu product associated with Huainan's long-running soybean and tofu culture.
Sanhe rice dumplings and shrimp paste (三河米饺、三河虾糊)	Sanhe, Feixi County	Two local foods named in accounts of traditional Sanhe food customs.
Li Hongzhang chop suey (李鸿章大杂烩)	Anhui	A mixed-ingredient dish included in Anhui's cultural-tourism selection of signature foods. Stories linking dishes to historical figures are part of food lore and should not be treated as verified authorship without historical evidence.
Luzhou roast duck (庐州烤鸭) and Wushan imperial goose (吴山贡鹅)	Hefei area	Roast duck and goose specialties featured in an official Anhui visitor food guide.

Anhui food by city

The province's food culture is often described through four broad cultural regions: southern Anhui, the Yangtze River corridor, central Anhui and northern Anhui. These are useful guides, not rigid borders. A 2021 Anhui tourism selection named 200 signature foods—148 dishes and 52 snacks—from all 16 prefecture-level cities and their counties. The examples below provide a starting index; county dishes and everyday food streets deserve their own deeper coverage.

City	Examples in the provincial selection and local guides	Food notes
Hefei	Sanhe rice dumplings (三河米饺), Feixi old hen soup (肥西老母鸡汤), Luzhou duck-oil shaobing (庐州鸭油烧饼), Wushan imperial goose (吴山贡鹅)	Jianghuai home cooking, river-lake ingredients and filling breakfast snacks.
Huaibei	Zhou-style mianpi (周氏面皮), Linhuan pickled baogua (临涣酱培包瓜), stone-street oil tea (石板街油茶), charcoal-pot dishes	Northern Anhui wheat foods, savory preserved vegetables and hearty hot-pot cooking.
Bozhou	Cao Cao chicken (曹操鸡), Huatuo ten-herb soup (华佗十全汤), beef-stuffed flatbread (牛肉馍), Guoyang gan-kou noodles (涡阳干扣面)	Wheat-based breakfasts, braised foods and soups are prominent local examples; the article's herbal dish names describe culinary traditions, not medical advice.
Suzhou	Fuliji roast chicken (符离集烧鸡), Huangzangyu mushroom chicken (皇藏峪蘑菇鸡), Xiao County lamb soup (萧县羊肉汤), Dangshan pear dishes (砀山酥梨盏)	Poultry, lamb and wheat-based foods feature among the selected specialties.
Bengbu	Tuo Lake crab (沱湖螃蟹), braised river shrimp (红烧蚂虾), river clam with vermicelli (河蚌烧粉丝), Xueyuan tangyuan (雪园汤圆)	The Huai River and its lakes shape a local repertoire of freshwater foods alongside street snacks.
Fuyang	Taihe banmian (太和板面), Gela tiao (格拉条), pillow-shaped wheat bread (枕头馍), Fuyang fenji (阜阳粉鸡)	A particularly visible wheat-food tradition, including hand-worked noodles and substantial breads.
Huainan	Huainan beef soup (淮南牛肉汤), Bagongshan tofu (八公山豆腐), Shouxian Dajiujia pastry (寿县大救驾), tofu pudding (一品豆腐花)	Soybean and tofu dishes sit alongside beef soup and foods associated with the old city of Shouzhou.
Chuzhou	Machang lamb noodles (马厂羊肉面), Qinlan braised goose (秦栏卤鹅), Fengyang Hongwu tofu (凤阳洪武豆腐), Langya sesame brittle (琅琊酥糖)	A mix of noodle, goose, tofu and confectionery traditions across eastern Anhui counties.
Lu’an	Jinzhai hanging pot (金寨吊锅), Wanfo Lake fish head (万佛湖清炖鱼头), Lu'an Guapian tea (六安瓜片), mugwort rice cakes (蒿子粑粑)	Dabie Mountain foods include communal stews, freshwater fish, wild greens and tea.
Ma'anshan	Caishiji tea-dried tofu (采石矶茶干), Hanshan sealed fish (含山封扁鱼), Dangtu pork noodles (当涂大肉面), Yuncao breakfast foods (运漕早点)	Riverside and county foodways include preserved tofu, fish and noodle breakfasts.
Wuhu	Shrimp-roe noodles (虾籽面), Xiaolong soup buns (小笼汤包), radish pastry (萝卜丝酥烧饼), fried stinky tofu (油炸臭干), red-skin duck (红皮鸭子), Wuwei salted duck (无为板鸭)	A dense street-food tradition accompanies the city's Yangtze River food culture; these snacks are listed together in the provincial selection.
Xuancheng	Jixi Ta-guo (绩溪挞馃), Hu Shi Yipin Pot (胡适一品锅), Shuiyang three treasures (水阳三宝), Guangde mugwort buns (广德蒿子馍馍), Jing County braised noodles (泾县焖面)	Southern mountain-county specialties span stuffed flatbreads, layered stews, preserved foods and noodles.
Tongling	Tongling white ginger (铜陵白姜), Shun'an sesame brittle (顺安酥糖), Zongyang rice cakes (枞阳糍粑), red-braised Huayu fish (红烧华鱼)	Ginger is used both as a local agricultural product and as a table food; rice cakes and freshwater fish broaden the picture.
Chizhou	Chizhou chili zha (池州辣椒鲊), Jiuhua huangjing cake (九华黄精饼), Guichi xiaoba (贵池小粑), Qiupu mandarin fish (秋浦花鳜)	Mountain produce, rice snacks and river fish are represented in the provincial selection.
Anqing	Hu Yumei broad-bean chili sauce (胡玉美蚕豆辣酱), Tongcheng water banquet (桐城水碗), Jiangmao dumplings (江毛水饺), Nanmen beef buns (大南门牛肉包)	Fermented sauce, banquet dishes and breakfast foods are all part of the city's culinary identity.
Huangshan	Huizhou stinky mandarin fish (徽州臭鳜鱼), Mao tofu (毛豆腐), Huangshan shaobing (黄山烧饼), Wucheng dried tofu (五城干), Huizhou knife-board cured pork (刀板香), Taiping noodles (太平浇头面)	Historic Huizhou cookery combines fermented and cured foods, mountain produce, pastries and layered dishes.

Street foods, snacks and noodles

Anhui's street-food traditions are not limited to one city. Many are breakfast foods, market snacks or portable foods that travel well between villages and towns.

• Noodles: Taihe banmian and Gela tiao in Fuyang, shrimp-roe noodles in Wuhu, Guoyang gan-kou noodles in Bozhou, Machang lamb noodles in Chuzhou, Dangtu pork noodles in Ma'anshan, Huainan beef soup with noodles, and Taiping topping noodles in Huangshan are useful starting points for a province-wide noodle map. The official selection also records Feidong loach noodles, Jing County braised noodles and other county-level noodle dishes.
• Breads and filled pastries: Huangshan shaobing (also called Huizhou baked cake in local sources), Jixi Ta-guo, Bozhou beef flatbread, Mengcheng flaky shaobing, Bengbu shaobing with pork tenderloin, and Suzhou pillow bread show how wheat dough becomes both a meal and a portable snack. Huangshan shaobing traditionally combines flour, preserved greens and sesame in a crisp baked pastry.
• Dumplings and buns: Sanhe rice dumplings, Wuhu Xiaolong soup buns, Anqing Jiangmao dumplings and Nanmen beef buns are distinct local specialties; they should not be collapsed into a generic “Anhui dumpling” category.
• Other market and night-market foods: Wuhu fried stinky tofu and red-skin duck; Huainan tofu pudding; Huaibei mianpi and stone-street oil tea; Lu'an mugwort rice cakes; and Guangde mugwort buns each deserve dedicated entries when further sources and photographs are available.

Tea, drinks and alcoholic beverages

Tea is one of Anhui's most prominent agricultural and drinking traditions. Huangshan's traditional teas include Huangshan Maofeng, Qimen black tea and Taiping Houkui; Lu'an Guapian and Huoshan Huangya are further well-known Anhui teas. These names cover different growing areas and processing traditions, so they should not be used interchangeably. Huangshan's tea-making techniques are part of China's recognized traditional tea knowledge, and the city's government documents protections for its traditional tea names.

Local non-tea drinks also belong in the food map: sweet fermented-rice drinks such as Wuhu red-bean and fermented-rice dessert, seasonal chrysanthemum drinks, and contemporary local milk-tea shops. These are modern and traditional drinking habits with different histories; they should be documented as such rather than presented as one ancient beverage tradition.

Anhui also has several prominent distilled-liquor producers and local brewing traditions. Bozhou is associated with Gujing Gongjiu; Huaibei with Kouzi liquor; and Huoshan in Lu'an with Yingjia Gongjiu. These are commercial distillers and brands, not a single uniform “Anhui liquor” style. The page records their place in the regional food economy and leaves production histories to separately sourced entries.

Condiments, preserved foods and pantry ingredients

Preserving and seasoning are essential to many local foodways, but local products differ substantially from county to county. Examples documented in provincial and municipal selections include:

• Fermented sauces and pickles: Anqing Hu Yumei broad-bean chili sauce; Linhuan pickled baogua and fermented meat in Huaibei; Gaogong sweet-and-sour garlic and Guoyang tribute greens in Bozhou; and Huizhou pickled vegetables and sauces in southern Anhui.
• Tofu and bean foods: Bagongshan tofu and Huainan tofu dishes; Sanhe shrimp paste; Wucheng dried tofu, Taiping fermented tofu and preserved tofu from other Huangshan counties; plus Caishiji tea-dried tofu in Ma'anshan. These range from fresh tofu dishes to fermented and dried foods.
• Cured meats and fish: Huizhou knife-board cured pork, cured ham with winter bamboo shoots, drunken fish and crab in Tunxi, sealed fish from Hanshan and preserved meats from southern Anhui. These are ingredients and preparations as well as finished dishes; recipes and local names vary.
• Regional produce used as food: Tongling white ginger; Huangshan and Xuancheng bamboo shoots; Dabie Mountain kudzu starch, mushrooms and mugwort; Huizhou mountain vegetables; and lakeside fish, shrimp and crab from the Huai, Yangtze and Chaohu water systems.

Local food businesses and brands

Food pages benefit from recording makers and shops alongside dishes, while keeping a clear distinction between a local food tradition and a particular company's product. These are examples to begin a directory, not a ranking:

City or area	Brand or business	Food connection
Huangshan	Huiweihe (徽味和) / Maixiangcun	A Huangshan bakery associated with Huizhou shaobing and Huimo pastries; the Ministry of Commerce's time-honored-brand museum documents its role in transmitting local pastry techniques.
Anqing	Hu Yumei (胡玉美)	A long-running sauce maker associated with broad-bean chili sauce and local sauce-making traditions.
Bozhou	Gujing Gongjiu (古井贡酒)	A distiller based in Bozhou and a prominent company in the city's liquor industry.
Huaibei	Kouzi liquor (口子窖)	A distiller located in Huaibei, with city-recorded links to the area's liquor-making industry.
Lu'an / Huoshan	Yingjia Gongjiu (迎驾贡酒)	A liquor producer based in Huoshan County; its local brewing and brand history are documented by the Ministry of Commerce's brand museum.
Wuhu	Three Squirrels (三只松鼠)	A Wuhu-founded packaged-snack company and a useful example of a contemporary food business, distinct from traditional Wuhu restaurant snacks.
Hefei / Feixi	Laoxiangji (老乡鸡)	A restaurant chain whose brand profile centers on chicken soup and home-style chicken dishes; list it as a modern food business, not as a representative of all Hefei cooking.
Huangshan tea areas	Xie Yuda (谢裕大) and local tea makers	Commercial tea brands that produce and market several Anhui tea types; brand profiles should be distinguished from the protected tea names and their broader production areas.

What to expand next

This article is a province-wide index, not a complete inventory of every county, market, restaurant or producer. The provincial “200 specialty foods” selection alone includes foods from all 16 cities and many counties, and the broader “100 Cities, 1,000 Flavors” program also recorded provincial, city and county signature dishes. Future additions can deepen each city with neighborhood food streets, breakfast dishes, noodle variants, seasonal drinks, local beers and wines, sauces and preserved foods, protected-origin products, shop histories, photographs and links to standalone dish pages. Each specific origin, heritage, recipe or date should be paired with a reliable source; local stories should be identified as stories when they cannot be independently verified.

History and recognition

Hui cuisine's development is closely connected with the history of Huizhou merchants. As merchants travelled for business, they carried local tastes with them and helped Hui-style restaurants and dishes reach wider markets. The national intangible heritage record describes Hui cuisine as part of Huizhou culture and Chinese food culture, and records its protection and transmission in present-day Anhui.

The 2021 national listing recognizes Hui cuisine cooking techniques as a traditional craft. It is a recognition of the culinary practice and its cultural setting; it does not mean that every dish in Anhui belongs to one single cuisine or follows one fixed recipe.

See also

• Chinese Food Map
• Stinky Mandarin Fish
• Stinky Tofu
• Chop Suey
• Henan Food
• Hubei Food
• Jiangsu Food
• Jiangxi Food
• Zhejiang Food