Jiangsu

1) Baipu Bean-curd

　　Baipu Shanxiangzai bean-curd can be called Baipu bean-curd for short. With a long history of three hundred years, it is a famous special local product of traditional feature. With selected bean, spices, Baipu bean-curd Contains digestible high-quality protein, vitamins B1,B2 necessary for human body,Ca,P,Fe and so on . It also contains unsaturated fatty acid lacked in animal food which do benefit to the nutrition of human body. For its good taste and tenacity , bean-curd is very popular and famous in the country.

2)Sausage of Rugao style

With history of about more than 100 years, Rugao sausage has been appraised as Excellent Product of Commercial Department and Jiangsu province The product is very popular for its regular shape,tight meat,bright color,rich nutrition and so on.

3)Rugao Gam

First produced in early XiangFeng era of Qing Dynasty,
Rugao gam is one of three famous gams in the country and enjoys
the same reputation with the gams of Jinghu and Xuangwei.Skin of
Rugao gam is very thin ,and color of it red like fire.Its flavor
is distinguished. To sum up , the color , flavor , shape and
smelling of Rugao gam made it be well-known at home and abroad.
To eat gam in every season,it can be well stored for a long time.
For edible use , it can be cooked , fried , stewed , steamed and
other cooking ways.

4)Rugao Sausage

With a long history of one hundred years, Rugao sausage was first produced in Tongzhi era of Qing Dynasty. It has won the second prize of Nanyang Industry-Encouraging Community. Rugao sausage could be compared with sausage of Guangzhou style.
　　Rugao meat products group has inherited the traditional technology and developed advanced ways . Its products are well known at home and abroad . Rugao brand sausage has won many prizes.In 1982,it was praised as Excellent Special Local Product of Commercial Department. In 1985, it won National Silver Medal Prize.In 1988,it has won gold prize in Chinese Food Fair.In 1992,
it won gold prize in HongKong International Food Fair.

5) Dried Meat Floss

Rugao Dried Meat Floss was first produced in 1914. After the foundation of nation, Rugao Dried Meat Floss was produced by Rugao Meat Product Factory. Because of the improvement of technology, Rugao dried meat floss has formed its own flavor instead of TaiChang style. Since 1982, Jingmei brand dried meat floss has been continuously appraised as excellent special local product of Commercial Department. In 1985, it has won the first gold medal we ever won in Paris awarded by International Food Institute and Tourism and Sightseeing Committee. In 1988, it won gold medal in National Food Fair. In 1992, it won gold prize in HongKong International Food Fair.

6)Lingzi Cake

With a history of more than 200 years old, Lingzi cake was first made in A. D.1732. As a special local product of Jiangsu Province , it was known around the country and was introduced in Famous Dishes and Pastries. Lingzi cake was made of selected material such as current high-quality polished glutinous rice which was ground into powder and then mixed with white sugar, and
gold osmanthus flowers and pine kernel. When processing, Lingzi cake was shaped into circular and was cushioned by lotus leaf. When put out, the cake was elastic like sponge and the flavor of rice,osmanthus ,lotus were mixed together and smelt well. For its good taste, Lingzi cake is not only a dessert, but also a high-grade present to relatives.

7) Radish

Radish has been planted in Rugao for thousands of years. It is said that during Taihe area of Tang Dynasty(A. D.827-A.D.836), the monks of Dinghui Temple had planted the radishes and presented them to guests for medical use. The radish was spread to folk and widely planted. Annal of Rugao County compiled in A.D.1750. As recorded: Radish could be divided into two groups such as white and red. It could be planted in every season especially in Autumn. When planted in less soil, the radish tasted sweet and crisp ; When planted in poor soil, it tasted peppery . In these days , few red radish was planted , which was on sale only on the Dragon Boat Festival.
　　With good climate and rich soil, white radish grows well there. After several hundreds of years' plantation and breeding, Rugao radish are famous around the country for its superiority over other counties .Many new types of white radish are breeded ,and all of them are well known for their delicate, crisp, and sweet taste, such as"Head of Egg"shaped like duck's egg, "One Hundred Days'Radish"which could be gathered after a hundred days,and so on. The common features of them are : thin skin, delicate flesh, juicy , and sweet taste.
　　It is said that Rugao dried radish has a history of 900 years. Rugao soy and vinegar factory has inherited traditional technology and found out new making ways. Shaped like leaf, Rugao dried radish has fresh color and unique taste,and tasted sweet ,crisp and delicate. In 1985, it has won honorary certificate awarded by Economic Minister , and honorary title of National High -Quality Export.

8)Dong Candies

Dong Candies was first made by Dongxiaowan herself, the wife of patriotic gentleman, Maopijiang. Dong Candies tastes sweet and crisp. Besides, it has rich nutrition and good for both young and old. After eating them, the flavor will remain in mouth .
Dong Candies is well known around the country.

9)DONGTING BILUOCHUN TEA

　Produced in Dongting East & West hills, Biluochun Tea is one of the ten most famous in China featuring ample buds, tender fragrance, clear soup, and mellow taste.

　Biluochun has a history of more than a thousand years. Originally it was called among the people “Dongting Tea” or “Scaring Tea”. It is said that a nun was once on her spring outing in the hill. She picked several tea leaves and soaked them with boiled water. The striking fragrance made her blurt out: Alas, what scaring fragrance! Hence the name “scaring tea” was handed down.

　Later, Emperor Kang Xi visited Taihu Lake on his inspection in the south. The governor of Jiangsu served the emperor with “Scaring Tea”. Kang Xi highly appreciated it, but he thought the name was not elegant enough. Since the tea was produced in Biluo Peak in Dongting East Hill, he calld it “Biluochun”.

　10)TIGER HILL CAMELLIA&TEA

　The Tiger Hill is a major camellia growing area in China. Around the Beginning of Summer every year, the springtime scenery there is picturesque featuring the boundless fragrant blooming tea trees. The camellia-planting in the Tiger Hill has a rather long history. As early as the period of the Five Kingdoms, there were jasmines planted as ornamentals.

　Lagered with the camellias in Tiger Hill, the Camellia Tea embodies the fragrance of both the common tea and fresh flowers. Thus it is also called “Special Tea”. Lagered with different kinds of camellias, the tea would taste a different flavor. The jasmine tea is fresh and while bitter orange flower tastes mellow; cinnabar orchid tea tastes light while white orchid tea tastes strong. The jasmine tea is famed as “the ten most famous teas in China. Lagered with fresh bitter orange flowers, the tea can be seasoned with other types of tea and exhibits a special flavor featuring freshness and honey. It also serves to whet the appetite and supplement the vital energy.

　Nowadays, the annual output of camellia tea of Suzhou Tea Factory reaches 40,000 dan and sells well in more than 20 cities in China.

11)TAIHU LAKE FRUITS

　Dongting East&West hills by Taihu Lake are famous not only for the attractive scenery but for the abundant fruits including mainly tangerines, loquats and red bayberries. Thus the hills are also called “hills of flowers&fruits”. As early as Tang dynasty, “Dongting Hong” tangerines were listed as a tribute to the emperor. Among Dongting tangerines, there is a kind “Liao Tangerine” that has a long maturation period and is fit for long-time storing. The color, fragrance and taste of them have no change even when they are put to the market as late as the Spring Festival. The loquats here have two types, white sand & red sand, including some 30 categories. Among the white sand loquats, there is a kind of grey loquats featuring spotted yet thin pools, single pit, thick fresh, abundant juice and fragrant honey. The red bayberries here have around ten categories including large-leave-thin-base, small-leave-thin-base, dark plum, and so forth, among which the dark plum is the best highlighted by large fruit, dark color, copious juice and fragrant honey. Besides, there are other types of fruits such as peaches, plums, apricots, Chinese chestnuts, ginglcos, etc.

12)TAIHU LAKE WATER SHIELD

　Water shield is a kind of perennial water plants. Originally, it grows wild in the lakes and ponds south to the Yangtse River, especially in Taihu Lake and West Lake of Hangzhou. The leaves of water shield are oval and dark green. The back of the leaves can secrete agar-like mucilage, which possesses abundant protein, dextrose, etc. The water shield can be boiled or fried. It is not only a kind of vegetable with distinct flavor but also functions to clear away heat, nourish the lung&stomach, smooth the urine, promote the subsidence of swelling, remove the toxic materials and cease diarrhoea.

13)TAIHU LAKE WHITEBAIT

　Whitebait, also called noodle dish, are mainly distributed in eastern Asia, in which China boasts the highest yield and the most kinds. It has been one of the chief export aquatic products of China. The growing areas of whitebaits in China are mainly the swallow lakes on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and Huai River, among which the whitebaits from Taihu Lake enjoy the greatest fame. Taihu Lake whitebait, some 10cm long, is famed for its white tender flesh and sparse bones. It is called one of the three Taihu Lake treasures and has been listed as one of the main national protective aquatic resources.

　There are four kinds of Taihu Lake whitebaits: big whitebait, Lei whitebait, Taihu short-mouth whitebait and toothless whitebait, among which the big whitebait and Taihu short-mouth whitebait are at the edge of extinction. The fishing time of Taihu whitebaits is from the mid of May until the late June. Most of the whitebaits are frozen for export. The Taihu Lake Brand frozen fresh whitebait has been a famous brand in Japan. The dried whitebaits not only sell well in the Asian countries but also have a ready market in Europe&America.

14)YANG-CHENG LAKE CRAB

　There are many kinds of crabs, among which the freshwater lakes boast more than 20, which in turn are highlighted by the golden-claw crabs in Yang-cheng Lake. After the Mid-autumn, fresh plump Yang-cheng crabs appear on the markets in large quantities, adding to the dining-boards another delicacy throughout china.

　Yangcheng Lake lies in the northeast of Suzhou, traversing the cities of Wu Xian, Changshu and Kunshan. It has an area of some 80 square li. The clear water and abundant insects&grasses provide an excellent environment for the crabs. Crab is a kind of migration fish. It stays in freshwater lakes before September. About a fortnight after the crabs cast their shells in September comes the mating & spawing season. At this time they would crawl eastward to the juncture of the Yangtze River and the sea, thus making an annual crabbing season. The waterways in Kunshan city east to Yangcheng Lake are the only way of these migration crabs, so the place there becomes the main crabbing area. Each year during the period of September and October, the fishermen go there crabbing with nets, fishing grates, baskets, and even bamboo poles, ,making a scenery bustling with excitement.

15)TAI-CHANG WINE-PICKLED OIL & DRIED MEAT FLOSS

　Tai-chang wine-pickled oil is made with polished glutinous rice according to secret traditional recipe. The heavy perfume of the oil can ease fishy smell, adding freshness and whet the appetite. It is one of the specialities in Tai-chang and is regarded as an unparelleled spice in China. It has won its fame in Japan, Southeast Asia, Hongkong and Macau since the early 20th century. In 1915, it won the first prize in Panama International Fair.

　Tai-chang pickled oil is also a convenient condiment. Added a little bit when preparing, it would give special flavor to the meat or vegetarian dishes, either braised or boiled, either cool or hot. It would taste more fragrantly delicious if the noodles or dumplings are eaten immersed in the oil. Thus the oil is always a standing condiment in families and restaurants.

　16)CHANG-SHU BEGGAR-CHICKEN

　Chang-shu Beggar-chicken is also called stewed chicken. It is said there was a beggar in Yu-shan, Chang-shu. He once caught a chicken but he had no cookers or condiments with him. So he killed and emptied the chicken. Without plucking it up, he daubed it with mud and roasted in fire. After it was ready he rejected the mud, with which the feather fell off. It turned out to be limp and fragrant when eating. Later, people seasoned such kind of chicken with condiments and produced distinct flavors. It is thus named “Beggar-chicken”.