XINING/LANZHOU: Lamian noodles, or hand-pulled noodles, is a traditional Chinese dish. It has a variety of appetizing flavors such as Qinghai Lamian noodles and Lanzhou beef Lamian noodles.
In recent years, Lamian noodles have become a calling card and important industry in northwest China, including the provinces of Qinghai and Gansu.
In Qinghai, there are 199,500 people engaged in the Lamian noodles industry, while more than 35,000 Lanzhou beef Lamian noodles restaurants have been set up in Gansu and many other regions nationwide, creating jobs for over 600,000 people and generating an annual turnover of about 65 billion yuan (about 9.47 billion U.S. dollars). The successful development of the Lamian noodles industry has helped people blaze a path of poverty alleviation and prosperity. Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, more noodles makers have pursued new business opportunities in Belt and Road countries and regions, sharing this Chinese flavor with more people worldwide.
Ma Xueming, 41, is from Hualong Hui Autonomous County in the city of Haidong, Qinghai. In 2002, Ma left the poverty-stricken mountainous county and opened a Lamian noodles restaurant in Shanghai. A stove, a chopping board, several tables and chairs. His 30-square-meter restaurant opened to the public soon after he reached Shanghai, which became the starting point of his business journey. ”I had to work for more than 10 hours every day. After a day’s work, I couldn’t even lift my arms but still had to stick with it. Living a good life was my motivation,” Ma recalled his startup experience.
Tasty and authentic Lamian noodles won more and more customers for Ma. By 2005, he had opened three Lamian noodles restaurants in Shanghai, earning a total income of 100,000 yuan in 2005. Ma’s business is expanding. He has set up his own Lamian noodles brand. At present, he has over 60 noodles restaurant outlets nationwide, including franchised ones. The noodles soup he developed has been supplied to more than 2,000 Lamian noodles restaurants across the country.
As is the case for Ma, a bowl of Lamian noodles has changed the lives of many people. In Haidong, dubbed “the hometown of Lamian noodles,” 72,600 people had been lifted out of poverty by engaging in the industry as of 2021. –Agencies
