For Wuzhong people in Ningxia who live on the Bank of the Yellow River, whether it is family and friends' leisure dinners or business partners' business talks, they often start with a twoorthree hour morning tea. The fragrant special beef noodles, the rich Babao tea, the smooth and delicious beef, a wide variety of pastries and refreshing appetizers... People sit around the table and taste the delicious food. At the same time, their feelings are warming up and their cooperation is upgrading. "We cook more than 200 kilograms of beef every day. Many customers are old acquaintances, so they value the old taste of the store, which has been passed on for more than 40 years. They will come every once in a while." Ma Xiang, head of an "old" morning tea shop in Wuzhong City, said. Relying on the unique geographical advantages of the Yellow River, Wuzhong has been an important commercial port on the ancient Silk Road since ancient times. An endless stream of businessmen from all over the world has not only promoted the prosperity of the local economy, but also led to the mutual collision and influence of local food cultures. Hujiandong, director of the Research Office of party history and local chronicles of Wuzhong City, said that according to historical documents, people in the northwest have loved drinking tea since the Tang Dynasty, because local people like to eat beef, mutton and dairy products. Drinking tea can relieve greasiness. The composition of hot tea is also changing with the times, and gradually developed into today's Babao tea. However, the real rise of Wuzhong morning tea shop began with the Ramen restaurant. In the 1980s, many Lanzhou people brought Ramen to Ningxia, and then Wuzhong people made innovation and improvement, realizing the perfect integration of Babao tea and Lanzhou ramen. In Wuzhong, people also used to call Ramen beef noodles. Ma Xiang's grandfather opened a beef noodle restaurant in that era. Ma Xiang remembers that in the beginning, a bowl of beef noodles cost 35 cents, and he had to ask for food stamps, so basically the guests ate a bowl of noodles. "Gradually, people have more money in their pockets and more needs. The store gradually adds Babao tea, beef, tea eggs and various side dishes and pastries." He said. In a morning tea shop in Wuzhong, the master is pulling noodles. (photographed by Xinhua News Agency reporter yangzhisen) In addition to rich food, consumers also pay attention to eating comfortably. To this end, more and more beef noodle restaurants in Wuzhong began to work hard on the catering environment and quality, and the local government also vigorously supported the development of the morning tea industry. Ma Xiang spent more than one million yuan five years ago to renovate this 600 square meter store, with the lobby, seats and private rooms. "It's normal for customers to 'drink morning tea' and stay for twoorthree hours. They have long been not only drinking tea and tasting delicious food, but also a social and leisure life." He said. In July, 2021, Wuzhong was awarded the honorary title of "landmark city of early tea culture" by China Cuisine Association. At present, there are more than 570 morning tea restaurants in the city. In 2021, the sales revenue will reach about 1billion yuan, which will drive more than 10000 people to work. It has become a new economic growth pole in Wuzhong City. "The vigorous development of the 'Wuzhong morning tea' industry has in turn promoted the development of the primary and secondary industries. Now the beef cattle and vegetables raised by the local people have more sales. Some people have specially targeted a large number of Babao tea and pastries needed by the morning tea shops to build processing enterprises." Hujiandong said. In October last year, Ma Baojun, 51, opened a unique industrial style morning tea shop by using the "boiler room" of the Qinhan canal family courtyard preserved locally, attracting many people to "punch in" to nostalgia. This is his fifth store. Each store has different styles, including retro, Chinese style, desert style and Mediterranean style. This is Babao tea from a morning tea shop in Wuzhong City. (photographed by Xinhua News Agency reporter yangzhisen) "The same products and different decoration styles are designed to attract different audiences. Despite the impact of the epidemic, it is still difficult to get private rooms without advance booking on holidays." Mabaojun said. The reporter also learned that in order to reduce the impact of the epidemic and promote economic development, Wuzhong City is also actively promoting the integrated development of morning tea and tourism industry. During the May Day holiday this year, Wuzhong City upgraded and launched 14 high-quality tourist routes focusing on the seven themes of "morning tea, the Yellow River, the starry sky, winery, red, the great wall and leisure", providing tourists with a variety of travel options. In these two days, 2022 China pasta Expo and the second Wuzhong morning tea food culture festival are being held. Free transportation, cultural performances and a large number of consumer vouchers attract many Ningxia people to enjoy delicious food and beautiful scenery on weekends. "Today, Wuzhong morning tea is far from finalized. All morning tea shops are still exploring and innovating in dishes, tea products, decoration and other aspects, so as to gain the advantages of many families, with a view to attracting customers with better taste and dining experience and developing." Hujiandong said. (outlook new era)