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When talking about Dongguan, there is more or less a hint of ambiguity in people's eyes.
It seems that not many people still remember the charming ancient town of Lingnan hidden behind the hustle and bustle, the landscape garden praised as "an enviable paradise on earth and a fairy palace in heaven", the literary town that privately houses the South China Art Museum and many well-known bookstores, and the blend of fresh and salt water at the mouth of the Pearl River that gives birth to countless delicious foods!
However, recently, a blockbuster film "Searching for Dongguan Flavors" focusing on Dongguan's cuisine has reflected the local culture and customs of Dongguan through its food. Foodies have also turned their attention to this city that once had "color"!
Dongguan is finally popular!
For every foodie heading to Guangdong, Shunde and Chaoshan are often their first choice. What they don’t know is that Dongguan, with a history of 1,700 years, can also be so delicious!
The unique climate, diverse landforms, and well-developed water systems have created abundant products. As the seasons change, Dongguan people condense these gifts of nature into delicious dishes on the table.
From the southwest coast to the southeast mountains, every town and street has its own traditional delicacies, including Linpang Zongzi (rice dumplings), bean curd and soy milk, Jinyinrun (gold and silver run), shrimp and crab paste, Zhongtang fish buns, salty ginger water, roast goose rice noodles, taro braised pork, and Tangbushuang (sweet soup).
Dongguan cuisine, an ancient secret hidden behind the steel and concrete of this city, is grandly revealed at this moment.
A bowl of crispy, juicy roast goose rice noodles begins brewing at 4 a.m.! The exclusive morning bean curd and soy milk dish is a tradition the master chef has been serving for nearly 20 years! The comings and goings of the crowds bring a constant flow of flavors.
This time, we will follow these authentic flavors to explore the human relationships and fireworks behind the "world factory" and restore Dongguan's reputation!
This treasure town on the coast of the South China Sea has never been monotonous. Its history is not in books, but preserved in the markets, ancient villages and old city areas .
Xiaohongshu @叶小梦is a big foodie
Some people say that Dongguan is an immigrant city, and a large number of foreign populations have broken the inherent flavor of this city. In fact, if you think about it from another perspective, it is the foreigners and Dongguan natives who have created the rich flavor of Dongguan today, sticking to the traditional old flavor while also being inclusive.
This magical fusion gave birth to Houjie, a city known as "Little Taiwan", which is enough to make you fall in love with the city of Dongguan.
Xiaohongshu @叶小梦is a big foodie
Many time-honored brands gather here, the most famous of which must be rice noodles.
A breakfast of roast goose rice noodles is a Dongguan tradition. Made from rice slurry and then boiled in water, the rice noodles are paired with the juicy, tender roast goose. The sweet broth and the rich, meaty aroma create a delicious fusion.
Xiaohongshu @叶小梦is a big foodie
At 3 pm every day, the neighbors of Houjie love to stroll around Damingtang, where there is a snack street where Houjie people have been eating since they were young. You can get a satisfying meal for only 20 yuan per person.
Xiaohongshu @叶小梦is a big foodie
The dessert shop in Damingtang serves more than just desserts. It also sells a variety of fried food skewers, pig skin and blood, and secret beef offal. It's just like the snack stand at the entrance of an elementary school, full of nostalgia.
Xiaohongshu @叶小梦is a big foodie
Youci is a favorite fried food of Dongguan people. A spoonful of batter and a spoonful of radish are put into the oil pan and fried until golden brown, with crispy edges and soft and glutinous shredded radish inside. This is the taste of childhood of Dongguan people.
Xiaohongshu @叶小梦is a big foodie
During afternoon tea time, how can you miss Dongguan’s sweet soup and snacks? A bowl of refreshing kelp and mung bean sweet soup, paired with sticky glutinous candy sprinkled with crushed peanuts, is something that many sweet-loving foodies will never forget.
The whole street is filled with fragrance and the noisy sounds of neighbors discussing delicious food. The two together make up the unique Damingtang for Houjie people.
Keyuan Garden in Dongguan, together with Qinghui Garden, Yuyin Mountain Villa and Liang Garden, is known as one of the "Four Great Gardens of Lingnan" in the Qing Dynasty.
Its charm lies in its compact size and exquisite design. Within its three mu (approximately 1.3 acres) of land, pavilions, terraces, bridges, halls, and courtyards are all available. The well-connected Ke Garden, incorporating Sun Tzu's Art of War, is a key feature of the garden, making it easy to get lost.
Find a weekend when the weather is as sunny as it can be, and set out on a journey to Keyuan to explore its secluded surroundings, take a look at the red walls and green tiles, the small bridges and flowing water, play with the swans enjoying the cool air and playing in the water by the lake, and look for the koi carp swimming happily.
Xiaohongshu @叶小梦is a big foodie
Bring a relaxed mood, take a lazy walk, pretend to be the owner of the garden, stroll leisurely, and enjoy the peace and tranquility.
Ke Garden has remained unchanged throughout history, but the people who visit the garden have changed countless times, leaving only this landscape garden to tell the story of the past over and over again.
Xiaohongshu @叶小梦is a big foodie
If you get up early for your visit to the park, you can also go to the Sen Ji Bean Curd Shop in Wanjiang New Village on the "Exploring Dongguan Flavors" website and have a bowl of bean curd skin soy milk or bean curd skin soup.
Uncle Sen, who is nearly 80 years old, starts making soy milk at three o'clock in the morning every day. When the soy milk solidifies, he skillfully picks up the bean curd skin, folds and compresses it, and bean curd sheets are born.
The soy milk used to make bean curd skin is particularly fragrant. There is a long queue at the door early in the morning just to taste a bowl of hot and sticky bean curd skin soy milk.
The pronunciation of "yuba" is similar to "rich", which is an extraordinary auspicious sign in Guangdong, where people pay attention to auspicious words. The handmade yuba that has been preserved to this day is not just a craft, but more of a heritage of tradition and a respect for ancestors.
Recently, the Nanshe Ancient Village of the Ming and Qing Dynasties was featured in Travel World, one of China's most influential tourism media. The history and cultural heritage hidden behind this city of creation is gradually becoming known to people.
"Great sounds are silent, great images are invisible" is the most appropriate way to describe the ancient village of Nanshe.
It seems inconspicuous, but it has gone through 800 years and has retained the complete style of the ancient town in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The rows of residential houses and ancient temples are simple, elegant, exquisite and beautiful, full of strong Lingnan style and Pearl River Delta water town characteristics.
This is not only an ancient Lingnan village, but also a museum of Lingnan architecture.
Nanshe Ancient Village is the first village to use the traditional manufacturing method. Here you can experience the traditional handmade production of Wanxiang sachets.
From the original evil-warding item to its later evolution into a fragrant carry-on item, it is full of the scent of nature, hand-sewn stitch by stitch, wishing for peace and health throughout the year, and is filled with warmth.
When you come to Nanshe Ancient Village, you must try the local authentic private dishes, such as the Wanxiang chicken raised naturally under the Wanxiang tree and the General Rice, which is an improvement on the traditional carp rice. The unique flavor is worth a try.
The historical culture that has been accumulated over the years has never been replaced, but has been passed down from generation to generation by the villagers, just like fine wine in a deep alley, constantly attracting old friends who come for the fragrance.
From the ever-changing new city area to the old city area full of arcades, Zhongxing Road-Daxi Road, just across the street, is Dongguan's historical and cultural district, and it is also Dongguan's largest and best-preserved old arcade street.
The shop is filled with a wide variety of grocery stores, hung on bamboo racks, and placed on the ground. The traditional trade is dazzling, but it also brings back strong memories, and my thoughts unconsciously return to my childhood.
Today, the old arcade street has lost its former prosperity, but it has added a lot of breath of life. Old people in Dongguan bring small stools to the outer corridor to drink tea leisurely, cats are daydreaming comfortably on the table, and the boss is sitting in a rocking chair with a fan.
Xiaohongshu @叶小梦is a big foodie
On this inconspicuous street, there are many moving time-honored brands, such as the hemp tea that is well-known to everyone in Dongguan and has been passed down for four generations.
From its humble beginnings as a street cart to its current small shop, only time has passed, but the freshly ground and brewed sesame tea remains unchanged. Its flavor is similar to sesame, but sweeter, and at just 5 yuan a cup, it's incredibly affordable.
During afternoon tea time, you might as well order some mascarpone tea with beef offal, which is a favorite food combination among people in Dongguan.
Xiaohongshu @叶小梦is a big foodie
Whenever you go to a restaurant, there will be a long queue at the inconspicuous street sparerib restaurant. The Zhiting Street sparerib rice, which has been popular for 30 years, can be said to have nurtured more than half of the neighbors here.
The soft ribs with less bones and more meat are marinated with the boss’s secret soy sauce. The meat is tender and crispy, salty and delicious, with a mouthful of oily aroma and a full sense of happiness.
Xiaohongshu @叶小梦is a big foodie
When you have nothing to do, chat with the old people drinking tea in the streets and alleys. These witnesses of history will tell you about the customs and practices of the past.
Xiaohongshu @叶小梦is a big foodie
The 33-town, which is made up of 32 renovated old factory buildings, is a successful "Renaissance" born from the collision of industrial elements and art.
Here, you can find traces of Dongguan's industrial development, as well as many graffiti and decorations full of creative elements.
Xiaohongshu @叶小梦is a big foodie
The town combines food, accommodation, entertainment and recreation. One of the bookstores and hotels, which combines industrial memory with the city, has become a hit on Xiaohongshu. With a 15-meter-high book wall and books in every corner of the hotel, you can sleep in the fragrance of books in the library, read books, travel and take photos at the same time.
Xiaohongshu @叶小梦is a big foodie
Another popular check-in spot for young artists is the "Meet Yourself" bookstore, with its four-story "Stairway to Heaven" leading directly to the rooftop.
If you don’t know where to go on the weekend, you can choose to stay here for the whole day, find a comfortable corner, bask in the sun, relax yourself, and read a good book.
Xiaohongshu@ʚ衰子ɞ
There is also a niche treasure art gallery hidden in the town, with a minimalist Nordic style, simple yet beautiful.
The first floor displays the history of Dongguan's urban development, the second floor is for occasional art exhibitions, and the third floor features black and white landscape paintings. Although the venue is small, it is not crowded, so you can enjoy the view at your leisure and get a high yield of photos.
Xiaohongshu @叶小梦is a big foodie
Town 33 is just as charming after dark, with music, food, bars, and night views. Lazy and relaxing time unfolds here, which is completely different from the mood during the day.
As a pioneer of China's economic rise, no matter how fast its economic development is, its 1,700-year-old local memory and cultural heritage can still be seen.
In the fragrant meals of Wanzhou, in every brick and tile of the ancient village, and in the shouts of the old arcades.
This city is old, this city is younger.
As long as you explore carefully, you will discover the historical changes and the collision of time and space behind the flow of flavors.
