Chinese astronaut Nie Haisheng helps popularize famous hometown beef offal noodles

Beef offal noodles, one of the most popular breakfast foods in Xiangyang city of central China’s Hubei province, has recently gained popularity after Chinese astronaut Nie Haisheng said he craved a bite of the dish in his hometown following his upcoming return to Earth.

People from outside Xiangyang in central China’s Hubei province learn beef noodle-making skills in a beef noodle restaurant in the city. (Photo/Yang Dong)

Nie made the remarks in a video interview with China Central Television’s flagship TV program “First Class of the New Semester” on Sept. 1, when he was flying high in the country’s space station. Some beef noodle restaurants have put up banners saying “we are looking forward to your victorious homecoming, and we have enough beef offal noodles for you.”

After that, more and more people from other cities and provinces have started to learn some beef noodle-making skills, according to Zhang Hu, owner of a local beef offal noodle restaurant, which also offers patrons courses in beef noodle-making skills. Zhang said over 1,000 people from outside the city have come to learn the skills every year for the past five years.

Photo shows a banner saying “welcome astronaut Nie Haisheng to eat beef offal noodles in hometown” in front of a beef noodle restaurant in Xiangyang, central China’s Hubei province. (Photo/Hu Chuanlin)

Zhang Yu, a female learner from Nanyang city in central China’s Henan province, said she had been longing to run a beef noodle restaurant and became determined to learn how to make beef noodles in Xiangyang after watching Nie’s interview.

There are over 4,300 beef noodle restaurants in the city, with total annual revenues hitting nearly 3 billion yuan (about $464.9 million), said Li Wei, chairman of the Xiangyang beef noodle association, adding that there are also more than 10,000 Xiangyang beef noodle restaurants in other places around China.

A customer eats beef noodles at a beef noodle restaurant in Xiangyang, central China’s Hubei province. (Photo/Yang Dong)

A collective trademark for Xiangyang beef noodles was registered last year, Li said, adding that the association plans to take measures to boost the development of the beef noodle industry.