Craving Snail Noodles in Liuzhou: My 5-Day, 10-Bowl Luosifen Feast

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This trip to Liuzhou had one major agenda: eating snail noodles. As a Luosifen connoisseur, I've tried many brands and visited numerous shops, but I've always longed for the authentic Liuzhou version. Now, I've finally made it.

For this Liuzhou trip, I pre-booked a car from a rental company called Mou Hi, picking it up and returning it at Liuzhou Station. If you have travel plans, you can follow their official account—they often have promotions or Q&A activities where you can get coupons.

After arriving in Liuzhou, we picked up the car and headed straight to the city center. Our first stop was Fengzhang Luosifen.

The broth of Liuzhou snail noodles is a fusion of northern and southern styles: on one hand, it uses pork bones and snail meat to simmer a rich broth, typical of Cantonese slow-cooked soup; on the other hand, it adds star anise, cinnamon, cloves, chili, and other spices for flavor, topped with a big spoonful of vinegar and chili oil before serving. It combines the boldness of Hunan-Jiangxi cuisine with the pure, original flavors of Cantonese cuisine.

In my opinion, a good bowl of snail noodles must have excellent broth, bouncy and sauce-coated noodles, and flavorful toppings. Fengzhang's broth was good, but the rest was just average—still tasty, though. The big tofu puffs were especially delicious.

Not far from the shop is Beizhan Night Market. Feeling a bit spicy from the noodles, we went straight to Yaoji Tofu Pudding and ordered corn syrup water—sweet glutinous corn cooked in brown sugar water. The corn didn't taste much like corn; it was more like Job's tears, and the brown sugar flavor was strong. The icy brown sugar water was very soothing after the spicy food. My friend ordered tofu pudding and said it was good too. After eating, we walked a bit and saw that Zhangji had set up their stall.

We ordered stewed egg with ginkgo, and my friend got stewed egg with longan, and stewed pig brain with gastrodia. The stewed egg was cooked with brown sugar—smooth and eggy, no fishy smell, with rich and mellow brown sugar. Delicious. My friend said the stewed pig brain with gastrodia was also good—fresh soup and no off-putting taste.

After finishing the stewed eggs, Beizhan Night Market was still quiet and deserted, nothing like the lively scenes online. When we asked, we found out it was only 9 PM—too early. The market runs until 5 AM and only gets busy after 11 PM. Some stalls hadn't even set up yet. Sure enough, turning around, we saw someone setting up a stall—and it was soy milk and fried dough sticks! I confirmed with the vendor: it's for late-night snacks! Who eats soy milk and fried dough sticks as a midnight snack?

A night market without people has no soul, and we were too full anyway, so we took a taxi to Wuxing Pedestrian Street to walk off the food. Wuxing Pedestrian Street isn't just one street—it's a whole block of streets, very lively. After strolling for a while, we felt a bit of room in our stomachs, and my friend wanted to try stir-fried ice cream.

Qingyun Market was originally a place where locals buy groceries and grab breakfast in the morning. Because of its affordable breakfast and unique local snacks, it became a popular spot after some influencers posted videos. Now it's gradually turning into a tourist check-in spot.

Qingyun Market still retains the look of a small-town market from the 1980s. Most stalls sell vegetables and meat, local specialties, wild mushrooms, wild herbs and medicinal plants, and live chickens and fish that are slaughtered on the spot. If you come early to avoid the crowds, you can wander around, try some snacks, and experience the local street life that you can't find in big cities—a good choice.

We went to Fulaosan Dew Tangyuan and ordered dew tangyuan and black sesame paste, sitting down to eat slowly. Zhangji's corn juice, sticky rice, and dew tangyuan were all delicious. The black sesame paste was just average.

Originally, we planned to visit Liuzhou Museum and Liuzhou Industrial Museum today, but we only remembered it was Monday—both museums are closed. The Dongmen City Wall was nearby, so we decided to check it out. But it was closed on Mondays too! Inside, there's supposedly an exhibition of Liuzhou's ancient city, a sand table model of the Ming city, and ancient fort batteries. We took photos outside and left dejectedly.

Well, Liuhou Park was also nearby—surely a park wouldn't be closed on Monday. So we drove to Liuhou Park.

Liuhou Park is small, and we were out in no time. My friend said Dalongtan Park is beautiful, so we went there. Oh my! Going to a park at noon! We struggled between returning to the hotel and braving the sun, but decided to just go. To our surprise, Dalongtan Park is a national 4A scenic area and quite large.

The park was more beautiful than expected, with three main photo spots: Fengyu Bridge, Mirror Mountain, and the crooked tree. It started raining when we reached the crooked tree, and it was crowded—hard to get a good spot. We couldn't find the entrance to Mirror Mountain. Fengyu Bridge was beautiful but packed. I don't understand how so many people could be strolling in the park under the blazing sun. Dalongtan Park is best visited early in the morning to avoid the sun and crowds.

In the evening, we planned to see the night view along the river, as Liuzhou's night scenery is said to be beautiful. But it started raining. It rained a bit every day during our trip—not heavy, and not long, but it's best to carry an umbrella when going out. After resting enough, we went out to eat again.

We went back to Beizhan Night Market first. Yesterday, I wanted to try the sour beef intestines but was too full; I've been craving them since. They're similar to Guangdong's beef offal, but with a different sauce—sour and spicy.

Liuzhou's night markets set up late and run until 5 AM. At first, I couldn't understand why, but after some research, I learned that Liuzhou has always been an industrial city with three shifts, and a large number of night-shift workers. That's why the night markets are thriving.

After breakfast, we spent the whole day visiting museums. I like visiting museums because... in this heat and with such strong sun, I don't want to go anywhere else. Museums are cool and shaded. First, we went to Liuzhou Museum.

We rented an audio guide at the front desk. There were free guided tours by elementary school volunteers. I followed a ten-year-old girl who explained things very well—confident and composed. When asked questions, she could improvise. Liuzhou's education is impressive! Some kids were misbehaving, and the little guide would remind them: "Kids, don't touch" or "Kids, don't climb."

After leaving, we took a taxi to Liuzhou Industrial Museum. The museum is built in a former textile factory, so the architecture has an industrial vibe.

Since Liuzhou is a heavy industrial city and the hometown of Wuling Hongguang, the museum has a huge number of large exhibits used in manufacturing, and an entire floor of cars! It's really impressive! Liuzhou Industrial Museum is definitely worth a visit. After finishing, it was 1 PM. We drove to find food. We hadn't eaten rice in days, and everything was very spicy, so everyone wanted something light. We searched and found Chunji Roasted Goose, which is relatively light, and they also have porridge.

The 109 yuan set meal plus an order of roasted goose was both cheap and delicious. The goose sauce wasn't the typical Cantonese plum sauce, but it was good. After eating, it was 3 PM. We had planned to visit the Bailiandong Cave Museum in the afternoon, but time was tight, and Bailiandong is also closed on Tuesdays, so we gave up.

Table of Contents

1. Day 1: First Taste of Liuzhou Cuisine

2. Day 2: Starting the Day at Qingyun Market

3. Day 3: Liuzhou Museums