The Beauty of Dongyang

Dongyang River is clear and beautiful, with a long history running through the entire Dongyang area, dividing it into the north and south parts, commonly known as “Nanxiang” and “Beixiang”. The land nourishes the people, and also nurtures the local delicacies.

One of the famous local delicacies is Dongyang Wonton, especially the Shanglu Wonton in Dongyang, which is widely known and loved by people from all over. Many travelers who return to their hometowns would want to eat Shanglu Wonton first thing. Rumor has it that Shanglu Wonton is the “second largest wonton” in China!

To satisfy my craving for these delicious wontons, during the seven-day National Day holiday, I went to Shanglu to have a meal. Check out the picture below!

According to the official website, the ideal L9 CLTC has a range of 1315 kilometers and a WLTC range of 1100 kilometers, in addition to the newly added “mandatory pure electric” mode.

So I was really curious to try it out – could the ideal L9 complete the 134-kilometer distance from Hangzhou to Dongyang entirely on electric power in “pure electric” mode? (I’ve tried this with the ideal ONE before, but I always fell just short of making it.) Check out the photo below to see if I succeeded!

(Did I succeed in completing the 134km distance in pure electric mode using the Ideal L9? Guess in the comments below!)

During the National Day holiday, the roads were packed with traffic. As a working-class hero, there was no other option but to brave the crowds during the holiday season. Finally, after N+1 hours, I arrived at Shanglu Town in Dongyang, the place where my heart had been longing for. Actually, there are many shops selling Shanglu Wonton, but I prefer to eat from local stores.

Just like how I went to Lanzhou for a bowl of Lanzhou noodles only to find out that the locals don’t even know it’s called Lanzhou noodles but rather beef noodles, or how I went to Yangzhou for a plate of Yangzhou fried rice only to find out that there’s no such thing as Yangzhou fried rice. But the people of Yangzhou would still insist that “fried rice made by the people of Yangzhou is called Yangzhou fried rice”.So I believe that any kind of food needs to be eaten locally, if for nothing else, for the stubbornness in that one bite.

For Shanglu wonton, the most authentic one is in Shanglu vegetable market in Jiangbei, Dongyang city, where the firewood stove is burning red and strong. After a few minutes, the steaming hot wontons are served. Although the market shed is simple, it’s worth trying the authentic “Shanglu wonton”. The ingredients for the filling are carefully selected, with pork belly selected from between the front leg and head of the pig.

Ginger and pepper must be added to the meat filling to increase the flavor. The dough skin is handmade, and the type of wheat flour used is not particularly important but it must be handmade. In Shanglu, wontons are divided into 3 sizes: large, medium and small. Among them, I particularly love the small wontons. However, in order to try more, this time I chose the medium-sized wontons. After eating them, I still recommend that everyone must try the small wontons.

As I was quite hungry this time, I also ordered several other Dongyang specialty foods besides wontons:

Dongyang Red Skin White Cut Lamb: Hmm, just lamb, Dongyang lamb is really unique, wrapped in lotus leaves, the fragrance of the lotus leaves enters the lamb itself, and the taste is really good. Every time I come to Dongyang to eat wontons, I must also have a lotus leaf lamb.

Dongyang Lotus Root Cake: Hmm, just lotus root cake, Dongyang lotus root cake is really delicious, I pour vinegar and chili on it, and I can eat several in a row.

Dongyang Tofu: Hmm, just tofu, the taste is very light and needs to be seasoned myself. Add some vinegar? Soy sauce? Chili?

Dongyang Chicken Feet: Hmm, just chicken feet, but the spiciness is unique, and the more I eat, the more addicted I become! “`
Still, there is one sentence that must be said, which was told to me by an elderly person from Shanglu while we were eating wonton: “You must eat Shanglu wonton in Shanglu.” If you take it away, the taste of Shanglu wonton will not be the same.

According to the memories of the elderly people at the entrance of the village: the original market is gone now, and the lively atmosphere of the market has faded a lot compared to the past, but the wonton shops have not decreased, instead, there are even more now. People from surrounding areas no longer come to Shanglu to sell firewood and baskets, but come specially for Shanglu wonton. The vehicles parked next to the wonton shops are no longer unicycles, but cars, many of them with out-of-town license plates. From time to time, there are even a few blonde and blue-eyed girls.

Shanglu wonton in Dongyang, a rural delicacy that is getting more and more popular. Ideal car friends, when will you go and taste it? I plan to go and have another bowl when my 7-day vacation is over. (I promise, it’s not because of the blonde and blue-eyed girls.)

PS: There is a free nucleic acid testing site on the cultural square of Shanglu Town. If your nucleic acid test is about to expire, you can do one here without affecting your self-driving tour later.
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This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.