Eat like a local: Yangzhou

Don't miss dim sum breakfast

Yangzhou has some of the best traditional Chinese gardens in the country, Ge Yuan and He Yuan, as well as the Thin West Lake, beside the old site of the Grand Canal.

It's less famous among tourists than its neighbor Suzhou, but the food is more interesting as it represents Huaiyang cuisine, one of China's four most famous food cultures.

Most guides will take you to either the Ye Chun or Fu Chun Tea restaurants, both known for their dim sum breakfast.

On offer are a variety of delicious stuffed buns, including a "soup bun". Other delicacies include dried chicken, marinated mushroom, sauteed shelled shrimp, and dried bean curd slices in soup (pictured).

The breakfast is best rounded off with a tasty bowl of "spring noodles", cooked in chicken broth, with side dishes of spinach and black fungus.

Afterward, take a walk into some ancient alleys to see the true face of the city. Yangzhou is also known for places offering back massage and bath rubs.

If you go

Ye Chun Tea Restaurant

10 Fengle Xiajie, Guangling district, near the east gate of Hongyuan bird and flower market, Yangzhou.

Tel: 0514-8731-4650