Introduction

Located in the center of Jiangsu province, Yangzhou is a stronghold of Huaiyang Cuisine, one of the four major cooking styles in China. Huaiyang cuisine is the representative flavor of Huaihe River basin and the mid and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. 

Yangzhou, with the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal flowing through it, has seen the biggest flow of China's salt business and rendered one third of the country's annual revenue during the country's most flourishing ages, the reign of emperors Kangxi (1654-1722) and Qianlong (1711-99). 

For diners, one delightful fact about Huaiyang Cuisine is, the dishes may look simple but they are tasty due to their complicated cooking methods. For example, dazhu gansi, water-boiled bean curd slices, and yangchunmian, or "plain noodles", with shrimp sauce and pieces of green onion.