Goubuli

Goubuli was founded in 1858 by Gao Guiyou, a young cook from nearby Wuqing whose childhood nickname was "Gouzi" (Puppy). His buns sold so briskly that he had no time to chat with customers, so people joked that "Gouzi sells buns and ignores everyone" — and the name Goubuli ("the dog pays no heed") stuck.

Goubuli is prized for thin skins, juicy fillings and a signature pleated crown of eighteen folds. Together with Shibajie fried-dough twists and Erduoyan fried rice cakes, it forms Tianjin's celebrated "Three Wonders."

The craft centres on a semi-leavened dough, a soup-laden filling beaten by hand, and pleats folded one by one so each finished bun opens like a chrysanthemum — thin-skinned, full of broth, and emblematic of Tianjin bun-making.