Jilin, April 4 (Li Dan) Frying, frying, stewing, boiling, stir-frying... In front of the stove, 30 chefs were busy with sweat - "braised katooth fish in sauce", "steamed croaker", "red braised seasonal croaker", "dry fried island fish"... Plates of delicious "Kaijiang fish" are quickly placed in front of tourists, which is mouthwatering.

On April 4th, the second Hunwu Expressway Jiaohe Service Area "Kaijiang Fish" Food Festival hosted by Jilin Expressway Group Co., Ltd. was opened.

Jiaohe City is located in the east of Jilin Province, at the western foot of Changbai Mountain, on the shore of Songhua Lake. The local "Qingling Live Fish" with fatty meat and unique flavor is famous far and wide.

14 years ago, Jigao Group introduced merchants from Live Fish Street in Qingling Town into the Jiaohe Service Area, which not only solved the difficult operation problem of merchants in the town at that time, but also allowed drivers and passengers from south to north to taste regional cuisine.

In the American Food Tasting Area, tourists are tasting "Kaijiang fish". Photo by Li Dan

The "Sanhua and One Island" of the live fish restaurant in the service area is very popular. "Three flowers and one island" refers to the four precious fish products in the Songhua River basin, namely anchovy (mandarin fish), bream (side fish), seasonal flower fish (jihua fish, crucian carp) and island fish. Many tourists call the live fish house in advance to make reservations when they first get on the highway.

The "Kaijiang Fish" food festival specially set up cultural performances, food tastings, rural fairs and intangible cultural heritage product displays.

In the food tasting session, the masters used the secret recipe of artemisia stewed fish passed down from Jiaohe Live Fish Village for more than 30 years to prepare umami. Green and pollution-free wild vegetables such as "prickly old sprout omelette egg", "mixed willow sprouts" and "stir-fried meat with celery" were also delicious dishes on the stage.

On the tasting counter, 27 freshly baked dishes were neatly arranged, and visitors picked up chopsticks to taste. "This time, I came to taste 'Qingling Live Fish', and it was delicious and worth the trip." Cong Fuzi, who traveled to Jilin City by car from Yanbian Prefecture, said.

Zhao Ying, general manager of Jiqing Live Fish House, said that business was very hot on the first day of the holiday, receiving nearly 200 tables of guests. "Artemisia is an indispensable seasoning for stewed fish, which can remove the fishy smell of fish, we use the most primitive iron pot to stew, the flavor is unique, and many old customers deliberately drive hundreds of kilometers to eat."

In recent years, self-driving tours have become more and more popular. In order to meet the needs of such tourists, the transportation department and the culture and tourism department actively strengthen the combination of "travel" and "travel", so that the highway service area not only becomes a rest station on the way, but also a part of the comprehensive tourism experience product.

In the Food Tasting Zone, visitors rate their favorite fish restaurants. Photo by Li Dan

"With the advantage of Jilin Province's rich tourism resources, we have explored a path of integration of 'service area + tourism', allowing tourists to 'stay' and making the travel experience better by providing a variety of supporting services." Yang Yi, secretary of the general party branch and chairman of Jilin Jilin Jigao Service Area Management Co., Ltd., introduced that in recent years, the company has actively built theme service areas with local characteristics, such as Chagan Lake Fishing and Hunting Cultural Service Area, Siping Manchu Cultural Service Area, Jingyu Anti-Union Cultural Service Area, Huinan Ice and Snow Cultural Service Area, and Fusong Ginseng Cultural Service Area.

"In the future, we will continue to take 'one district, one characteristic, one district and one brand' as the construction idea, and successively carry out various forms of characteristic activities in other service areas in the province, and introduce local culture, food, specialties, tourism and other projects into the service area." Yang Yi said that the company will continue to build new service areas such as "service area + local characteristics", "service area + red culture" and "service area + tourism" to drive local economic development and promote the deep integration of tourism culture. (End)