As a Gansu variety of “malatang” goes viral online, we delve into the history and appeal of one of China’s most ubiquitous dishes
Mao Zhenhua, a college student from Changsha in central China’s Hunan province, has picked Tianshui, over 1,300 kilometers away, as her next travel destination. The absence of direct flights means it will take at least 6.5 hours to get to the small city in Gansu province via high-speed train. Once Mao arrives, she expects to do hours more queuing to get to the city’s main attraction: a bowl of Tianshui malatang.