Daxin： A Treasure Trove of Specialties

By Mo Tingting

On the map of China， Daxin County in the southern border is like a piece of uncut jade which keeps emitting glaring brilliance as time goes on. This is an ancient town， attracting people with mysterious stories in the Tusi sites by ancient people thousands of years ago. In this land， there are vast stretches of paddy fields， with high standard in nutrition. Here， the Kuding Tea will wake you up with a pleasure of enjoying the rich taste， leaving lingering flavor in your mouth. In autumn， tropical fruit longan is hanging on the trees in the garden. What an excellent harvest it will be！

Bitter first and sweet later

With a profound history of over 4，000 years， Chinese tea is regarded as an exquisite art. Now it has become a national drink and one of the three most popular drinks in the world. Everything from planting tea to processing and drinking originated in China — along with the famous tea ceremony. Known as the Hometown of Tea， the land can be divided into four growing regions： south China， southwestern China， and Yangtze Rivers north and south banks.

For a long time， the wild Kuding Trees， naturally distributed in Hainan Island， have been spread and appreciated in Daxin County， Chongzuo. The word “Ku” means “bitter” and the Chinese character “Ding” means “spike” as is the shape this tea. The long narrow leaves are twisted together to form distinctive long spike-like shapes. Kuding Tea or Ligustrum purpurascens， commonly known as Chading， Fuding tea and Gaolu tea， is a particularly bitter-tasting tea produced mainly in Guandong and Fujian provinces. It is one of the most famous types of tea in Chinese history.

Kuding Tea， a healthy drink for thousands of years made from the buds of the Ilex Kuding Tree， is known for its various medical properties. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine， it disperses wind-heat， reduces inflammation， eliminates toxins， improves digestion， promotes blood circulation， and enhances memory. While you may not enjoy the taste of this tea， you are sure to enjoy what it can do for you. Kuding Tea is appreciated more for its valuable medicinal properties than its taste. In addition， there is a distinctive feature of the taste of Kuding Tea. Genuine Kuding Tea tastes bitter at first and then slightly sweet， but never acerb， spicy， smelly， sour or others； it can be infused several times.

Several cups of Kuding Tea a day is conductive to reducing blood pressure and controlling obesity. In Daxin County， Kuding Tea has been dubbed as the “healthy tea”， “beauty care tea”， “slimming tea”， “anti-hypertensive tea”， and “l(fā)ongevity tea”， and popular among all people regardless of age and sex. When making Kuding Tea its a good idea to use just 2 needles if its your first experience of the tea because of its strong bitter taste. As you become accustomed to the tea， then you could increase it to 3-4 needles. Begin by warming your tea cup and teapot with hot water， and then steep the Kuding Tea in the pot using hot water for two minutes. The tea can be used several times — after the second brewing you need to increase the steeping time.

For local people， Kuding Tea is not only a source of income， but also a way to welcome visitors and bring people together. If you are a tea aficionado， you should sample the famous Kuding Tea. With only a cup a Kuding Tea， your worries and tiredness can be washed away.

The delicate flavors and aromas

Daxin is a place renowned for not only its picturesque scenery， but also its minerals， crops， rice， sugar cane and longan. Longan， sweet， warm-natured and rich in glucose， sucrose and protein， can be made into dried fruit. The Eight-Treasure Tea we often see is comprised of eight ingredients such as tea， crystal sugar， red date， walnut， longan， sesame， raisin and rose buds. There is a tradition in Daxin that eating longan on the day of White Dew can help nourish the human body， and one longan is as nutritious as an egg. Although it sounds exaggerated， it makes sense in certain ways. Longan does have the benefits of reinforcing the spleen， nourishing the blood， calming the nerves and improving ones looks. In addition， longan is also helpful for curing anemia， insomnia and neurasthenia. Moreover， Longan before the White Dew is big， sweet and tastes great. Therefore， eating longan in White Dew season is a very good choice. People in Daxin have long got used to this tradition.

Chinese cuisine and drink play a major role in its culture， making great contributions to the world in regard to food resource exploration， dietary treatment， nutrition and health care， dishware design， and cuisine aesthetics. Zhuangs cuisine in Daxin is known for its snacks and the use of spice. Five-spice powder is a mixture of five spices often used in Chinese cuisine. The exquisite flavor will take ground in your mouth and linger in there. Depending on the perfect growing conditions， star anise， one of the five spices in Chinese five-spice powder， is highly produced in Daxin. Between March and May， this spice can be harvested. Like an eight-pointed star， star anise plays a major role in Chinese cuisine and has made great contributions to the world.

Mingshi Pearl Duck， tender， unctuous， blander than pork， but stronger than chicken， is a special delicacy in Daxin County. Gracilaria Lemaneiformis serves as a famous potherb in Daxin. With unique fragrance， it can be fried or made into soup. As a kind of pollution-free food， Gracilaria Lemaneiformis has the function of detoxification. Zhuangs roasted suckling pig， Zhuangs sweet potato glutinous rice cake and Zhuangs sliced boiled chicken are considered as the countys Three Cuisine Treasures. To make the pigskin yellow and bright silk of Zhuangs roasted suckling pig， the pig should be roasted meticulously with unique craft and skilled fire worker. Its flavor is crisp， fragrant and delicate. Particularly， the suckling pig needs to be raised with the polished glutinous rice to make its thin cover tender. Glutinous Rice Cake Made of glutinous rice tastes soft and sweet. Serving as an important part of the eating culture， this dessert originated from eastern China is mild and less of oil， with many shapes. Without adding any other flavor except boiled water， Sliced Boiled Chicken can maintain the tenderness of the chicken， but also makes it tastier and more refreshing. In addition， this simple cuisine can be cooked at home or be served in the banquet.