The day for people in Wuzhong often begins with a cup of health-nourishing and soothing Eight-Treasure Tea, along with a steaming bowl of morning tea beef noodle soup.

(Photo by He Chunzhong / China Youth Daily)

Wuzhong City is located in central Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, nestled on the banks of the Yellow River, and enjoys the reputation of being a “Land of Milk and Honey in the North.” It has a resident population of 1.3991 million, including 36 ethnic groups such as Han, Hui, Manchu, and Mongolian.

The habit of drinking morning tea in Wuzhong involves “Drinking Tea and eating pastries first, then having pulled noodles,” with the initial beverage being Eight-Treasure Tea. Recently, during the “Solidifying the Community of Common Destiny, One Family Under the Chinese Nation” themed promotional event in Ningxia, the local intangible cultural heritage, “Liu Sanduo” Eight-Treasure Tea, was featured in Wuzhong.

Ryang Wei, General Manager of Ningxia Liu Sanduo Eight-Treasure Tea Technology Co., Ltd., introduced that “Liu Sanduo” Eight-Treasure Tea was founded in 1861 and has been passed down through five generations. It is now a Ningxia intangible cultural heritage project and an industry benchmark. The origin of Eight-Treasure Tea can be traced back to the court teas used during the Tang and Song dynasties. Ming Dynasty scholar Qiu Jun noted, “Since the time when the Uyghurs traded horses for tea in the Tang Dynasty, it is clear that people in the northwest have had a fondness for tea. The northwest region is abundant in dairy products, which can be heavy on the stomach, while tea, with its cleansing properties, can help digest them.”

The habit of drinking tea in Wuzhong has been maintained and is closely tied to the geographical environment and dietary customs. People in Wuzhong enjoy eating beef and mutton, and hot tea is effective at removing greasiness and clearing the palate. Moreover, every ingredient in Eight-Treasure Tea is a treasure, making it sweet and delicious to drink, a truly colorful, fragrant, and nutritious “health tea.” “Eight-Treasure Tea contains tea leaves, sesame seeds, and longans from the south, and jujubes and desert jujubes from the north. It can be said to be the crystallization of the wisdom of all ethnic groups, a blend of cultures in a single cup,” Ryang Wei said.

“Beneath the green rocks of Lingzhou, tender sprouts first scatter their fragrance,” a line from a poem by Tang Dynasty poet Wu Yuanheng, verifies that the custom of drinking morning tea dates back to the Tang Dynasty. The “Dietary Rules for Health” written by Huisi Hui in the Yuan Dynasty also records methods for preparing Wuzhong's fried bread and twisted dough sticks. From the Wei-Jin period, the Tang Dynasty, and the Ming-Qing periods, the methods of drinking tea and the ingredients changed over time, gradually evolving into today's Eight-Treasure Tea.

Another highlight of Wuzhong morning tea is beef pulled noodles. Although beef pulled noodles originated in Lanzhou, Wuzhong residents, known for their culinary skills, incorporated local characteristics and created unique variations like knife-cut beef noodles and stir-fried pulled noodles.

Wu Tao, manager of Wuzhong's Shiming Restaurant, explained to reporters that the features of beef noodles are “clear broth, white radish slices, red chili oil, and green coriander and leek leaves.” In terms of shape, there are over ten varieties of Wuzhong beef noodles, including broad, medium, thin, thick, triangular, fine, superfine, and more. Superfine is the thinnest type of noodle, formed after eight rounds of pulling. Broad is the widest type, formed after three rounds of pulling.

In recent years, Wuzhong City has promoted the development of its catering industry by leveraging morning tea, launching integrated tourism routes that combine “eating, staying, traveling, shopping, and entertainment,” and establishing the brand “Travel in Ningxia, Eat in Wuzhong.” Wuzhong morning tea has become synonymous with Wuzhong's cuisine and a new calling card for the city.

The Wuzhong municipal government issued “The Decision on Promoting High-Quality Development of the Wuzhong Morning Tea Industry” and formulated and released 22 group standards for morning tea to promote the industry's growth. It has cultivated a cluster of restaurant brands, represented by Du You Su, Liu Sanduo, and Xixian Ji, ensuring the quality of ingredients for Wuzhong morning tea.

The cooking methods for Wuzhong morning tea have absorbed the distinctive techniques of cuisines like Beijing and Shandong. Whether it's beef noodles, pastries, or small dishes, each dish has been refined over time. Each old-established enterprise and morning tea demonstration store has its own secret recipe. Cooking techniques range from simple to complex, encompassing stir-frying, sautéing, braising, stewing, boiling, pan-frying, deep-frying, caramelizing, honey glazing, and frosting, among others.

The hospitality and openness of the people in Wuzhong are also reflected in the morning Tea culture. Wuzhong morning tea dishes are primarily northern-style but incorporate the delicate style of Cantonese and Yangzhou morning teas. They have evolved from the original “three classics” and “new three classics” to the current three basic types of Eight-Treasure Tea, beef noodles, and sheep offal, alongside five series comprising over 200 main varieties in pastry, side dishes, beef dishes, liquid foods, and tea beverages.

As a result, Wuzhong morning tea has gained fame and earned the accolade of “Cantonese morning tea in the south, Wuzhong morning tea in the north.” Currently, Wuzhong has three “China Time-Honored Brands,” five “Ningxia Time-Honored Brands,” 12 “Chinese Cuisine Specialty Food” enterprises, and 57 “Chinese Cuisine Specialty Dishes.”

In the rapid development of Wuzhong morning tea, issues such as low levels of industrial scale and standardization, uneven quality of personnel, weak industrial integration capabilities, and the need for improved business environments and service quality have emerged. Ding Xuebao, head of the Consumer Promotion Department of the Wuzhong Bureau of Commerce and Investment Promotion, stated that in 2025, to break through the bottlenecks in the development of the Wuzhong morning tea industry and promote high-quality growth, the bureau led a team to conduct special research in places like Yangzhou, Taizhou, and Nanjing in Jiangsu Province, widely soliciting opinions from government departments, experts and scholars, catering establishments, and industry associations.

With assistance from various parties, the morning tea economy derived from Wuzhong's morning tea culture has become a focal point and driving force for the high-quality development of the city's service industry. According to data provided by the Wuzhong Cultural Tourism, Sports, and Radio, Film, and Television Bureau, in 2025, the city had 787 morning tea restaurants, achieving sales revenue of 1.5 billion yuan, serving 13.73 million tourists, and generating tourism income of 8 billion yuan, representing increases of 69% and 62% respectively compared to the previous year.

“Wuzhong morning tea supports employment for over 20,000 people, half of whom are from other regions, effectively driving the development of tourism and related industries. At the same time, Wuzhong morning tea is inclusive and combines elements from both the north and the south, reflecting the rich historical roots and innovation of Wuzhong's culinary culture. It is a vivid example of the longstanding interactions and exchanges among ethnic groups in Wuzhong, solidifying the common consciousness of the Chinese nation,” said Ding Xuebao.

(By reporter He Chunzhong)