On December 21, the 19th Lamb Gourmet Cultural and Tourism Festival Event 
opened in Jianyang City, Sichuan Province, China. The event is themed "Happy 
Chengdu, Winter Solstice of Jianyang". The Jianyang Municipal People's 
Government, as the host of the event, hopes that more people can get to know 
Jianyang through the Jianyang mutton soup in the event. Also, the people coming 
to Jianyang can enjoy their tours by tasting the authentic mutton soup and 
appreciating the beautiful scenery in the winter of Jianyang.

Winter Solstice is the 22nd among the 24 solar terms in traditional Chinese 
culture, signifying the arrival of the cold winter. On this day, people in 
northern China mostly eat dumplings, while in south of China, Sichuan has a 
tradition of eating mutton soup, especially famous for Jianyang mutton soup.

Jianyang City is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Chengdu, the 
City of Pandas, located in the south-east of Chengdu, just about 50 km from 
Chengdu's city centre. A bowl of mutton soup in Jianyang in winter is an 
"exclusive recipe" for people from Chengdu or many nearby regions to ward off 
the cold.

The Jianyang mutton soup is so famous mainly lies on the time-honored history 
of the custom, the unique raw materials, and the unique making method. It is 
said that the origin of Jianyang mutton soup is related to Zhu Geliang, a 
Chinese celebrity in the ancient times of Three Kingdoms, and the real record 
of Jianyang mutton soup based on the reality dates back to the Qing Dynasty. It 
is estimated that it has a history of more than 100 years. Jianyang mutton soup 
is made from the unique big-eared sheep in the local area. Since the lamb made 
from the sheep is low in fat and cholesterol, high in protein, soft in fibre, 
high in lean meat and non-stinky, the Jianyang mutton soup is white as milk in 
color, with fresh, tasty and non-stinky mutton. Featuring the unique 
traditional cooking technique, it has become a unique famous lamb dish 
characterized by good and fresh taste.

As Jianyang mutton soup gains popularity among more and more people, it has 
also become an indispensable city card for Jianyang. Since 2003, Jianyang has 
successively held 18 lamb gourmet cultural and tourism events, and the number 
of Jianyang mutton soup restaurants in this city has grown to over 320.

In addition, Jianyang is only 15 km away from Chengdu Tianfu International 
Airport. With such advantage of location, Jianyang mutton soup will go to the 
world in the future with the help of Tianfu International Airport. Hopefully, 
it can attract more people arriving in Chengdu from Tianfu International 
Airport to taste the Jianyang mutton soup as they get off the plane.

Source: Jianyang Municipal People's Government