An instant fish rice noodle factory in Qifengdu Town, Chenzhou has been operating at full capacity just after the Spring Festival holiday. Workers are busy fulfilling orders destined for Uzbekistan. 

"Following the shipment of the first sampling order, the client placed a follow-on order valued at one million CNY in mid-January," said the chairperson of the fish rice noodle company. "During the 2025 Food2China Expo held in Guangzhou last September, some Uzbekistan clients noticed our fish rice noodles. They recognized it as a distinctive example of Chinese intangible cultural heritage and were satisfied with the taste," he added. "Within a month, they placed an order."  

Qifengdu fish rice noodles, with a long history of over 1,000 years, have traveled from Chenzhu to the world, served on the dining tables far beyound their homeland. 

Workers load fish rice noodles onto trucks at the warehouse of an instant fish rice noodles company in Qifengdu Town, Suxian District, Chenzhou, on February 27. (Photo/Ou Haikun)

Before that, Qifengdu fish rice noodles have been exported to several countries and regions through traders, including the USA, Germany, Australia, and some Southeast Asian countries. Now, the company has established its own foreign trade team to expand the export of its own brand products.

"As our fish rice noodle products were shipped to Central Asia, local distributors started to launch online and offline channel promotions. "They described the rice noodles 'with distinctive flavor as well as a story to tell' during their livestreaming," the chairperson said, adding that the clients may voluntarily share the story behind the fish noodles and promote this Chinese intangible cultural heritage.

At the Qifengdu fish rice noodles inheritance center in Wazao Village, Qifengdu Town, 75-year-old inheritor Wu Anying can still be found cooking fish rice noodles for visitors. 

"We developed instant fish rice noodles for diners who can't make it to our restaurant," Wu said with a smile. "Many foreign friends who once tasted fish rice noodles in our restaurant here bought our instant products. They've even video-called me to say, 'I can finally taste that Chinese home-style flavor again. It's great.' I'm really happy to see our fish rice noodles so well-loved by friends from abroad," she said.

A bowl of freshly cooked fish rice noodles at the Qifengdu fish rice noodles inheritance center in Wazao Village, Qifengdu Town, Chenzhou.

The soup is the soul of fish rice noodles. Wu introduced that, the soup stock is simmered with fresh local silver carp, camellia oil, soybean oil, ginger, garlic, chili, and other ingredients for at least eight hours. The rice noodles are made from local early-season indica rice. The rice is processed through multiple steps such as soaking, grinding, steaming, and drying to produce dried noodles which are chewy, resistant to overcooking.

As its markets have expanded, the company has achieved an annual output value of 250 million CNY. Its industrial chain now extends to silver carp breeding and pepper planting, creating nearly 30,000 jobs and helping increase income of over 50,000 local households.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunantoday