How a Lanzhou noodle master pulls lamian, start to finish

What happens in the video

This episode comes from the YouTube channel of Christopher St. Cavish, a Shanghai-based food writer, and was filmed and edited by Graeme Kennedy. It is the third part of a series on Lanzhou’s hand-pulled noodles, or lamian (拉面, lāmiàn); the previous episode traces how the tradition began in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province in China’s northwest.

Here the camera stays close to the work bench. Master Fan Jimei (樊吉梅), a teacher at the Ding Le Noodle School, demonstrates the whole technique. According to the channel’s description, the demonstration covers kneading and tearing the dough and adding the alkaline additive penghui (蓬灰), as well as the pulling itself. The creator notes that this is the same method taught to students who go on to cook in Lanzhou-style noodle shops all over China, which makes the episode less a show-off clip and more a lesson.

At 17 minutes it is unhurried. Rather than a single dramatic stretch, it follows the dough through each stage, which is exactly what a casual diner never sees from the counter.

The craft behind a bowl of lamian

The secret ingredient is penghui. In a 2020 Goldthread report from a Lanzhou noodle school, writer Clarissa Wei explains that it was traditionally made from a plant that grows in Gansu’s dry region: the plant was roasted and compacted into a stone, which was then boiled for hours to make the alkaline water mixed into the dough. Most shops now use a synthetic version based on potassium carbonate. In the same report, Fan Jimei says penghui makes the noodles more elastic and that getting the dough’s texture and the amount of ash right is the hardest part.

Schools like hers exist because the skill is in demand. In September 2025 Xinhua visited a Lanzhou training school, the Gansu Dingle Lanzhou Beef Lamian Vocational Training School, and reported that it was founded in 2012, has trained close to 10,000 people, and runs a one-month course covering mixing and kneading dough, pulling, cooking the beef and making the broth. That year China’s human resources ministry also listed “beef lamian maker” as a new official job type.

The dish itself carries national recognition: in June 2021 the cooking skill of Lanzhou beef noodles was added to China’s list of national intangible cultural heritage, China Daily reported. A classic bowl follows a formula locals sum up as “one clear, two white, three red, four green, five yellow”: clear broth, white radish, red chili oil, green herbs such as cilantro and garlic sprouts, and yellow noodles, as described by the deputy secretary-general of the Lanzhou Beef Noodle Industry Association in a 2026 China Daily feature.

How to order beef noodles in Lanzhou

Beef noodles are an everyday breakfast in Lanzhou. China Daily reports that some shops open as early as 5 a.m., and a 2023 China Daily article cited a university report counting more than 1,600 beef noodle shops in the city. Ordering is quick once you know the routine:

1. Pay first Order and pay at the counter or by scanning the shop’s QR code; the QR payment lesson covers what the cashier says.
2. Choose a thickness Each thickness has its own name. The thinnest is 毛细 (máoxì) and the widest, belt-like ribbon is 大宽 (dàkuān), according to SmartShanghai; a Lanzhou diner in a People’s Daily report orders 二细 (èrxì), a thin round noodle. If in doubt, point at someone else’s bowl.
3. Watch it pulled Hand your ticket or order to the noodle window. The puller makes your portion on the spot and drops it straight into the pot.
4. Adjust the bowl Chili oil and green herbs are part of the classic bowl, so ask for less chili or no cilantro when you order, not after it arrives.

You don’t have to go to Gansu: the same 2023 China Daily article estimated some 500,000 beef noodle shops across China, so you can try a bowl almost anywhere on a trip. For general restaurant ordering, see how to order food in China, and our Chinese menu words page helps with the board on the wall. If you have allergies or avoid meat, the allergy and vegetarian guide explains what to say.

Mandarin you can use at a noodle shop

A noodle counter is one of the easiest places to practice: the menu is short and staff are used to quick orders. Point and say “I’d like one of this”, then adjust the chili and herbs. The ordering lesson and spice and allergy lesson have the full set with audio.