Every Mid-Autumn Festival, the "war of words" in the mooncake industry always takes place as scheduled. In recent years, the competition has become even more intense, with more and more new mooncakes with novel flavors and fashionable styles joining the battle.
If traditional mooncakes are the "predecessors" and new mooncakes are the "back wave", then "Wu Ren" can be regarded as the veteran of the mooncake industry.
When it comes to Wuren mooncakes, we have to mention Wuchuan, a small town in western Guangdong.
This is a famous "hometown of mooncakes". The Golden Moon Cake produced in Wuchuan is especially famous for its five kernels, which is the taste of many Wuchuan people's childhood.

Many years ago, CCTV "Far Home" went to Wuchuan to collect news, and the program host Wu Dan and Wuchuan Mooncakes formed an indissoluble bond. Picture/Weibo@CCTV-Wu Dan

Golden Moon Cake does not like to be sold individually, but is sold by the pound. The mooncake pot has a large lid, making it suitable for sharing with the whole family.
This is also a nationally renowned "rich place". There are so many rich people that you can hardly imagine. The lineup of wedding cars is comparable to a luxury car show, and some even drive helicopters.
Wuchuan is also the most open county-level city in western Guangdong in terms of ideology and culture. It has a different style from Zhanjiang, Leizhou, Lianjiang and even other counties and cities in western Guangdong in terms of language, customs and concepts.
This is one of the smallest county-level cities in Guangdong Province, but it shines brightly that a small city should not have.

In Wuchuan, an acre of fertile land is worth thousands of gold. Picture/Network

01
Behind the scenes of "I am from Wuchuan"
It’s Wu Chuan who lacks a sense of belonging to Zhanjiang
Wuchuan is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Province and is managed by Zhanjiang City. It borders Maoming to the east, Huazhou to the north, Potou District of Zhanjiang City to the west, and the South China Sea to the south.
There is also a very famous joke about the geographical location of Wuchuan:
A foreigner drove in Maoming and asked the traffic police for directions. The traffic police said, if you drive left, it will cost you 5,000 yuan (Wuchuan), if you drive right, it will cost you 6,000 yuan (Luchuan), and there will be no life here (Maoming). If you drive forward, you will get your neck cut off (Zhanjiang). ), the driver was frightened when he heard it. No matter which direction he drove in, it would be a dead end.

Schematic diagram of Wu Chuan's location. Picture/Network

Of course, this is just a joke. When talking about dialects, we have to mention the relationship between Wuchuan and Zhanjiang, Leizhou and Lianjiang.
Today's Zhanjiang City is more like a "hodgepodge" area, which includes all of Leizhou Prefecture and part of Gaozhou Prefecture in history.
Xuwen, Haikang (now Leizhou City) and Suixi, the "Three Thunder" areas of Leizhou Prefecture, all belong to Zhanjiang. The scope of Suixi is larger. In addition to the existing Suixi County, it also includes Xiashan District, Chikan District, Development Zone, Mazhang District, Donghai Island and other places.
Wuchuan County (including current Wuchuan City and Potou District) and Shicheng County (currently Lianjiang City) in Gaozhou Prefecture also belong to Zhanjiang.
Interestingly, the name Zhanjiang was given by the Wuchuan people, but the Wuchuan people do not have that strong sense of belonging to Zhanjiang.
Wuchuan people in other places rarely say "Wuchuan, Zhanjiang", but "Wuchuan, Guangdong"; to the outside world, they only say "I am a Wuchuan person", and rarely say "I am a Zhanjiang person". Sometimes they are even considered to be from Zhanjiang. Will also argue.
Lianjiang people also have this tendency. They just regard Zhanjiang as a place without much sense of belonging.
Going back to the source, there is no other reason. Zhanjiang's predecessor is Guangzhou Bay. Most of Guangzhou Bay is the territory of Suixi County, Leizhou Prefecture. Leizhou culture is popular among the people, but Wuchuan and Lianjiang from Gaozhou Prefecture are a bit difficult to integrate into.
However, Potou, Nansan and Naozhou Island, which all belong to Wuchuan County, were once part of Guangzhou Bay, and these areas have a relatively high degree of identification with Zhanjiang City. Most people in Potou regard Zhanjiang urban area as the direction of their efforts and are proud to take root and settle in the prosperous areas of the urban area.
As for the residents of Xiashan, Chikan, Development Zone, Mazhang, Donghai Island and other places in the original Guangzhou Bay area, they all believe that they are well-deserved Zhanjiang people and have no sense of violation.
Among the "Three Thunders" areas in Leizhou Prefecture, Suixi County is the one that most identifies with Zhanjiang.
First, most of Guangzhou Bay once belonged to Suixi County. Second, due to its proximity, Suixi has become the back garden of Zhanjiang City. Many Suixi people enter Zhanjiang City to work and start businesses.
Although Leizhou City and Xuwen County are further away from Zhanjiang City, they identify more with Zhanjiang than people from Wuchuan and Lianjiang, perhaps because they both share Leizhou culture.
Although not many Leizhou and Xuwen people have settled and developed their careers in Zhanjiang, they are not very repulsive to the fact that they are Zhanjiang people.
In such an environment, Wuchuan has also become an area with mixed dialects: Wuchuan dialect, Li dialect (also known as Leizhou dialect or Haihua dialect) and Cantonese (Zhanjiang vernacular) .
Among them, the most unique (nan)different(dong) is Wuchuan dialect - a slang ancient Vietnamese fusion of ancient Chinese, Cantonese, and Hokkien A special hybrid language.

How much can you understand the Wuchuan dialect version of "The Deer and the Cauldron"?

One of the biggest characteristics of Wuchuan dialect is that it has a strong ancient flavor and is extremely harmonious, which is rare in the country.
For example:
Go to study = attend class/study
Car cannon = lying
Blind = speechless
The atmosphere is booming = coming fiercely
Collect your rice book = clean you up
Shu Fazi = What do you want?
In a test = where
Luck with ghosts and monsters = unruly
Dad and grandma = grandpa and grandma

Of course, not all areas in Wuchuan speak Wuchuan dialect. In order to better communicate with the outside world, Wuchuan people also speak Cantonese and Li dialect.
Just like Mandarin has different accents across the country, the Cantonese spoken by Wuchuan people also has a strong Wuchuan flavor, and perhaps even Cantonese people in other places cannot fully understand it.
Even neighboring villages have differences in language, often giving people the feeling that "chickens speak like ducks".
02
"Jews" in Western Guangdong:
How did the people of Wuchuan become rich?
The soil and water support the people. In addition to language, people in various areas of Zhanjiang also have different personalities.
For example, Leizhou people attach great importance to feelings and loyalty, and pay more attention to cultural construction. Another example is that Lianjiang people have a softer personality and are more tolerant.
The Wuchuan people are brave enough to venture and fight hard, and have a shrewd business mind. They put survival first and are prepared for danger in times of peace. That's why the little-known Wuchuan is so rich, and Wuchuan's rich people have become one of the local characteristics like fresh seafood.
According to statistics, there are more than 500 people in Wu Chuan whose net worth exceeds 100 million yuan, of which more than 50 are worth more than 5 billion yuan, and more than 110 are worth more than 2 billion yuan.
Among Wuchuan people, there is one multi-millionaire for every 100 people, and the proportion of rich people in the population ranks first in the country. This is also unmatched by many prefecture-level cities.

"Rongju", Dashan Village, Wuyang, is the largest mansion in Wuchuan costing 280 million. Picture/Network

As the saying goes, if you want anything to happen, you need the right time, right place, and right people. But in Wuchuan, the "unfavorable location" has created this feng shui treasure land for the rich.
The most fertile area in Wuchuan is the coastal alluvial plain, with relatively large paddy fields and limited fertile land suitable for farming. However, Wuchuan's population density is the highest among surrounding counties and cities.
In order to survive, the people of Wuchuan "speak Wuchuan dialect when they pick up the hammer". They are willing to do any dirty work and are willing to put down their dignity and do some small businesses that are looked down upon by others.
Wuchuan people are willing to do all kinds of strange businesses such as barrel hoisting, blacksmithing, small salesmen, rag men, plasterers, shed builders...

Wuchuan street scene. Picture/Network

After the reform and opening up, these hungry Wuchuan people had a strong sense of crisis. They set their sights on the outside world: "Everyone goes into business, and everyone wants to be a boss." They will go wherever there is money.
For a time, individual, private, joint venture, joint-stock cooperation and other forms of business emerged, which were unique in Guangdong Province and kept pace with the "Wenzhou Model" at that time, and was known as the "Wuchuan Model".
Coincidentally, they caught up with the development of the Pearl River Delta and the tide of the real estate economy. Their hard-working temperament made them quickly become a new force in the construction industry.

In Yangchili Village, an entrepreneur spent 100 million to build 45 villas for all the villagers, with a single area of ​​370 square meters, a two-and-a-half-story building with main and auxiliary buildings. Picture/Network

It is said that during the concrete excavation project in the 1980s and 1990s, only Wuchuan people in Guangzhou were willing to dig wells more than ten or twenty meters deep. Later, they were basically contracted by Wuchuan people;
70% of the hardware waste recycling companies in Dali, Foshan are from Wuchuan;
Four out of ten demolitions in Shenzhen are from the Wuchuan Dianbai area;
50% of the people on Kunming Tire Street are from Wuchuan, with a turnover of more than 500 million in the 1990s...

Mingcun has raised about 30 million yuan to build an ecologically modern and civilized new village. Picture/Network

"From the 1970s to the 1990s, three out of every 10 buildings in Guangzhou and Shenzhen were built by Wuchuan people."
There are still 200,000 construction troops from Wuchuan, active across the country and Southeast Asia.
Over the past few decades, Wuchuan architects have created miracles one after another. Those buildings you have visited may have been built by them.

Small waist@Guangzhou. Picture/Network

Kingkey 100 Building@Shenzhen. Picture/Kingkey

Bird's Nest@Beijing. Picture/National Wisdom

Tianjin Modern City - the tallest building in Tianjin. Picture/Weibo @天jincitydrawing board

World Expo Pavilion@Shanghai. Picture/Expo Tongjin

Expo Park@Kunming. Picture/Weibo@李 Xutongsha Yunnan

If "Hometown of Architecture" is Wu Chuan's first business card, then Wu Chuan's second business card is "Hometown of Tires".
The reason why Wuchuan has won this reputation is not because Wuchuan is rich in tires, but because Wuchuan's tire business covers the whole country.
Among them, the tire street in Guangzhou is the most representative. There are hundreds of large and small tire shops on this street, almost all run by Wuchuan people.
The people of Wuchuan are so well-hidden that they "make a fortune silently", but they accidentally end up with a few more billionaires.

Picture/Zhanjiang Window

03
What Wuchuan people miss most
Those “Wuchuan flavors”
After working hard outside for a long time, there will always be some smells that instantly remind people of home.
For Wuchuan people, the thing that best represents the taste of Wuchuan is the big five-nut mooncake .
No matter how far apart they are, Wuchuan people always send a Golden Moon cake to their relatives and friends far away during the Mid-Autumn Festival, so that they can see things and miss people and eat the mooncakes from their hometown even if they are alone in a foreign land.
In addition to mooncakes, there are also many "Wuchuan flavors" that Wuchuan people have grown up eating.
For example, Tian Aizhen, which is the most childhood-like dish, can be made in almost every household.

Tian Aizhen. Picture/Network

During festivals, Wuchuan people always gather around the table to make Tian Ai Zhen, using Tian Ai mixed with flour as a skin and wrapping the fried stuffing.
Then it is wrapped with the leaves of a tree called "Nengmu" and steamed. It can also be stored for a period of time and taken out to be steamed and heated when you want to eat it.

Tian Aizhen. Picture/Network

When making it, the children will always think about it and twist it into various shapes. When it is steamed, they will recognize that this is the one they made and eat it.
Another example is the pink skin that cannot miss.
Almost every city will form a food culture related to "fen", and Wuchuan is no exception. When I was a child, at dawn, the shouts of "pinpiyue" were always the first to break the silence of the morning, which was the itinerant vendors hawking along the street.
Wuchuan's vermicelli is thin, tough and smooth, and can be eaten in a variety of ways: it can be scooped, stir-fried, or boiled in soup.

Pink skin. Picture/Network

Scoop out the vermicelli, roll the lumps into strips, then cut into sections, and serve with sesame oil, sesame and soy sauce.
The special thing is that the sesame oil that is poured over it is cooked with peanut oil and leeks for a long time, so the fragrance is particularly strong, and the soy sauce is sweet.

Mixed vermicelli. Picture/Network

Fried vermicelli, Powei fried vermicelli is the most famous. Powei people have to use a "rotten wok" to make stir-fried noodles: first remove the two ears of the wok, and then trim the edge of the wok.
The vermicelli will be placed in the wok first. When someone orders it, some of it will be removed. In the corner of the wok, stir-fry with barbecued pork, soybean sprouts and green onions, and finally served with coriander.

Fried vermicelli. Picture/Network

Rice noodles cooked in soup is another way of eating that Wuchuan people love.
Cut the vermicelli into thin strips and put it in the pan, blanch it in boiling water until soft, pour it into a bowl, pour it with pork soup, add pork offal or lean meat and sweet mustard greens, lightly dip it in garlic soy sauce, then Not to mention how fresh the taste is.

Soup boiled vermicelli . Picture/Network

You can enjoy seafood by the sea. Wuchuan is located on the seashore and is also extremely rich in aquatic products.
Sandworms are a flavor that Wuchuan people have to mention.
Some people say that it looks like a heavy-tasting delicacy, but those who like it think that its deliciousness is enough to put aside the four heavenly kings of abalone, ginseng, wing belly and so on.
Sandworms are very picky about their environment and require an extremely high-quality environment to survive. Therefore, they are also known as "environmental marker organisms" and are truly "clean" delicacies.

Sandworm. Picture/Network

Among whole grains, Wuchuan people especially love sweet potatoes. “Wuchuan sweet potatoes are more expensive than rice” . Basically, every Wuchuan person grew up eating sweet potatoes.
Simply steam it and eat it with the whole family to start the day. And building a "sweet potato kiln" on the edge of the field adds an indelible and interesting color to childhood memories.

"Sweet potato kiln". Picture/Network

——
It has to be said that in recent years, the development of Wuchuan has indeed been controversial: although there are indeed many rich people in Wuchuan, the regional GDP ranks low among the counties and cities in Zhanjiang.
But there is no doubt that Wu Chuan has great potential for future development:
The Shenzhen-Maoming-Zhanjiang High-Speed ​​Railway has a station in Wuchuan, and can reach the Pearl River Delta in 2 hours; Zhanjiang International Airport, the third largest airport in Guangdong Province, has been relocated to Wuchuan. Once completed, it will only take half an hour to connect with the world.
While you are on vacation, you might as well take a walk to Wuchuan and experience the local scenery, scenery, customs and customs.

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