Essay

By Noam Backner

The Noodle Kingdom

Tracing the ancient origins and living traditions of the noodle at the Lajia site.

Ancient millet noodles preserved from the Lajia site
Ancient millet noodles preserved from the Lajia site

These 4,000-year-old noodles were unearthed at the Lajia archaeological site in Gansu province.

A bowl of Er si, the signature rice noodles of Yunnan.

A steaming serving of Thukpa in a remote Tibetan village, Qinghai, 2018.

A Hui Muslim artisan expertly pulling noodles by hand, Gansu, 2017.

Lagman: the distinct Uyghur take on the classic hand-pulled lamian.

A bowl of traditional Yunnan Er si rice noodles
A hearty bowl of Tibetan Thukpa noodle soup
A Hui Muslim man stretching dough for hand-pulled noodles
A plate of Uyghur Lagman topped with meat and vegetables
Traditional hand-pulling technique for making noodles

Related writing