A bowl of rice noodles, a taste of Changsha city

People say that Changsha, in central China's Hunan Province, is a city of hustle and bustle. For local residents, the day often starts with a steaming bowl of rice noodles.

Chen Xueyi, 48, has run his rice noodle restaurant for 27 years. This humble shop may be tucked away on an obscure street, but its fragrant rice noodles have brought it fame and popularity.

Chen Xueyi, 48, has run his rice noodle restaurant for 27 years. (People's Daily Online/Yuan Meng)

Chen starts work at 4 a.m. every day and stays busy until the evening -- braising soup, preparing toppings, and cooking rice noodles...

Simmered bone broth is the soup base, and more is later added such as lard, chopped spring onions, salt, soy sauce, and shredded meat. A fried egg is a nice touch. If you like, you can put pickled green beans, pickled mustard tuber or chopped chilies in the noodles.

Photo shows a bowl of Changsha rice noodles. (People's Daily Online/Yuan Meng)

The tasty dish brings in a continuous stream of guests every day.

Now, Chen sells three to four hundred bowls of rice noodles a day, more than he did last year. As well as local residents, travelers now come to his restaurant too. “I'm happy to have more customers, but I can't handle too many, so it would be good to keep it at the current level,” Chen said with a big smile.

"To make nice rice noodles, the ingredients need to be fresh, and you have to put your heart and soul into it,” said Chen. 

Photo shows a bowl of Changsha rice noodles. (People's Daily Online/Yuan Meng)

A customer puts chopped chilies in the Changsha rice noodles. (People's Daily Online/Yuan Meng)