Qizi Shaobing, a local specialty of Tangshan, got its name for its shape of Chinese chess, or Qizi in Chinese. Qizi Shaobing is normally stuffed with meat paste and garnished with sesame seeds. It was said in1960s, Zhou Enlai once presented other foreign leaders with Qizi Shaobing as a national gift. 

Qizi Shaobing originated in Fengrun County which embraced convenient transportation and where businessmen and scholars who left their hometown for Beijing chose to have a rest. Therefore, Fengrun County enjoyed a flourishing business and economy. 

In the Guangxu’s reign of the Qing Dynasty, there was an inn called Yushengxuan which sold steamed buns, baked flatbread and Shaobing for travelers. However, these staple food were easy to be dried up and hard to chew and digest. 

One day, when a scholar who went to Beijing for the imperial national examination, he suggested to the owner of Yushengxuan that “Why don’t you make smaller Shaobing like a piece of Chinese chess and stuff it with bean paste? I think it’ll be more delicious and easier to carry.” The owner followed the advice from this scholar and decided to improve his Shaobing. 

After serval times of errors and trials, the owner of Yushengxuan finally created the method of adding chicken oil into the flour and stuff Shaobing with sweet red bean paste. So Qizi Shaobing was created, with crispy fillings and soft paste, garnished with sesame seeds. 

In 1920s, a famous restaurant called Jiumeizhai was open in Tangshan. Its owner Zhao Dongfu heard of the fame of Qizi Shaobing and decided to compete in the local food market. Through careful discussion with his cook, Zhao improved Qizi Shaobing with meat ball paste and refined flour. Soon his improved Qizi Shaobing, with a golden color and the fragrant mixed with chicken oil and sesame seed, gained wide popularity in Tangshan. 

Translator: ZHANG Ruochen

Reviewer: SHI Meiling