If you have ever eaten laziji (辣子鸡) – spicy chicken with chilies – you know the drill. A massive plate arrives, piled high with a blazing red mountain of dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns. Somewhere in that sea of red, small, golden-brown nuggets of crispy chicken are hiding. The dish is less a meal…
In the sprawling, mountainous city of Chongqing, where the Yangtze and Jialing rivers converge and the air hums with the energy of one of China’s most vibrant metropolises, a single dish has become a legend. This is Shuǐ Zhǔ Yú (水煮鱼), or “Boiled Fish.” But don’t let the simple name fool you. This is…
In the tumultuous late Yuan Dynasty, amidst widespread peasant uprisings, a charismatic leader emerged in southwestern China to establish a short-lived yet significant regime: the Great Xia. Its founder, Ming Yuzhen (1331–1366), holds a unique place in history as the only emperor to ever establish his capital in the mountainous city of Chongqing.
–Mao Zedong, April, 1949 Tea talks in Canton still fresh in my mind,Verses sought in Chongqing when leaves declined.Thirty-one years back to our native land,When flowers fall I read your writing grand.Beware too much grief that tears your frame;See all things wide with a long, calm aim.Do not say Kunming Lake’s waters are thin;Watching…