MUZIChinese Matrix
Hand-Pulled Noodles · FFET10107
Hand-pulled Lanzhou wheat noodles in a clear beef-bone broth, judged by clear, white, red, green and yellow.
A large white porcelain bowl holds clear beef broth under a thin film of red chili oil, with bright yellow pulled noodles, a few beef slices, white radish, garlic sprouts and cilantro, and chopsticks across the rim.
Noodles made by stretching a dough by hand, often folding it and stretching it again many times, into strands thick or fine.
Lanzhou beef noodle soup is the hand-pulled noodle dish of Lanzhou in Gansu: a clear broth of beef and beef bones with sliced beef, white radish, chili oil, green garlic sprouts and cilantro, judged by clear broth, white radish, red chili oil, green greens and yellow noodles. Origin accounts cite the early Qing, Jiaqing or Guangxu years, or credit the present clear-broth style to a Hui vendor named Ma Baozi; these accounts conflict, and no dated primary text was found. The craft was added in 2021 as an extension to the national intangible cultural heritage item Traditional Wheat-Food Craft, supported by related entries in the national list, though the Lanzhou entry itself was not checked.
Lanzhou beef noodle soup is a noodle dish of Lanzhou in Gansu. Hand-pulled wheat noodles go into a clear broth of beef and beef bones, with sliced beef, white radish, chili oil, green garlic sprouts and cilantro. A bowl is judged by a saying about five colors: the broth clear, the radish white, the chili oil red, the greens green and the noodles a bright yellow.1,3,4,6,10
Origin accounts include a shop called Yueyanglou in the early Qing and the dish's creation in the Guangxu years. A 2021 feature invokes a poem by the Jiaqing-era poet Zhang Shu as evidence that the noodles were already a local food then; a 2023 article describes a Dongxiang man bringing small-cart beef noodles from Henan to Lanzhou in the Jiaqing years. The present clear-broth style is also credited to a Hui vendor named Ma Baozi. These accounts conflict on dates and details, and no dated primary text was found; the 2021 feature does not quote the poem, which was not found either, so no origin year is established here.1,3,4,5,6
Lanzhou, Gansu. A 2021 account describes the craft's rapid spread among the Dongxiang, Salar and Bonan peoples.3
The dough is wheat flour mixed with alkaline water. Traditionally the alkali came from penghui, a plant ash, and today food-grade alkali or a noodle improver is common. After resting, the dough is pulled by hand into different thicknesses, with 9 widths listed in a 2023 account. Beef and bones simmer slowly with more than 10 spices; cooking times vary between accounts, from 5 to 7 hours in 2021 to 4 to 5 hours in 2023. The bowl is finished with sliced beef, white radish, chili oil, green garlic sprouts and cilantro.1,3,6,10
Lanzhou's beef noodle shops open at about 6:30 a.m., and a bowl is good value, with both early opening and affordability also noted in a 2023 account.1,6
The Lanzhou beef noodle craft was listed in 2021 as an extension in the 5th batch under the national intangible cultural heritage item Traditional Wheat-Food Craft (no. VIII-160); related entries in the national list corroborate this, though the Lanzhou entry itself was not opened for verification. A January 2026 report records more than 1,500 beef noodle shops in Lanzhou and about 80 billion yuan in revenue across the industry chain in 2025. A September 2025 report records beef noodle maker among the new occupations announced in July 2025.1,2,7,8
Legend has it that a Hui vendor in Lanzhou named Ma Baozi began by selling hot beef noodles from a shoulder pole, then opened a shop and gave every guest a free bowl of broth. His son made the clear broth more refined, and the style spread among the Muslim communities of Lanzhou.
Told in: Told in Lanzhou and recorded in a November 2021 heritage feature on The Paper. Articles differ on the year and the details, so no year is given here.
Legend has it that a Dongxiang man named Ma Liuqi learned small-cart beef noodle soup in Henan and brought the method to Lanzhou, where it slowly grew into the bowl of today. A 2022 article in Our China Story also says only that the dish is "said to" come from Henan, and gives no source.
Told in: An oral tradition, found in a March 2023 article by a single author on The Paper's contributor platform; a September 2022 article in Our China Story says only "it is said" and gives no source. No document was found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
Pulling noodles is a craft that takes practice, so my way at home is to make the broth properly and to shape the noodles from an alkaline dough that I roll out, cut into strips and stretch. If the pulling is uneven the noodles are still good, a little thick, and you can also buy fresh wheat noodles. The amounts and timings are my own choices at home, and I use food-grade alkali, not the traditional penghui ash.
Allergens: wheat, sesame
