LANZHOU, March 21 (Xinhua) — At dawn, the bustling snack streets of Tianshui, a city in northwest China’s Gansu Province, were already teeming with activity, with visitors eager to taste the local specialty, malatang, literally meaning a numbingly spicy hotpot.
Dong Liangyan, 29, hailing from Daqing in the northernmost province of Heilongjiang, said she has come all the way traveling over 2,000 km just to savor this delicacy that has intrigued her for quite some time.
“When I unlocked my phone, all I could see was promotional messages about Tianshui malatang spicy hotpot,” she said, adding that the aromatic chili oil and the velvety texture of hand-pulled noodles made her culinary quest all the more rewarding.