Qinghe Hunuo (Mixed Pot)

The Qinghe Hunuo restaurant grew out of the old Qinghe restaurant in Shanhaiguan, which renamed itself for the mixed pot that won it such a following. The Shanhaiguan hunuo is said to date back more than three centuries, with origins traced either to Qing troops entering the pass or to Ming-dynasty Great-Wall builders, and the old Qinghe restaurant carried the craft forward to become the town's most famous hunuo name.

To name Shanhaiguan is to think of Qinghe hunuo; it is regarded as the culinary mark of the old town. In 2015 Qinghe hunuo was named a Hebei Provincial Gold-Medal Tourism Snack, and the Shanhaiguan Hunuo Festival held year after year has carried its fame far beyond the pass.

Hunuo is made in a traditional red-copper hot-pot: a base of pickled sauerkraut is layered with ribs, meatballs, pork, frozen tofu, kelp and local seafood such as prawns and crab, then simmered in old chicken broth and eaten with a dip of sesame paste, fermented bean curd and chive flowers, a single pot in which savoury, meat and vegetable run together.