Yu Zhenling
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Yu Zhenling, Female, Han, from Zhongweishizhongning, Ningxia, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Chuantongmianshi Making Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-160). The tradition is documented in Zhongweishizhongning, Ningxia. Within the regional tradition and school record of Chuantongmianshi Making Craftsmanship in Zhongweishizhongning, Ningxia: In Zhongning itself, wormwood noodles appear on the table at festivals, weddings and funerals, birthday banquets, and when welcoming guests, and are endowed with auspicious meanings such as health and longevity, marital bliss, and lasting happiness, making them one of the local folk customs. According to relevant historical records, during the Western Xia period contemporaneous with the Song dynasty, people living in this area discovered that grinding the seeds of sand wormwood (sha hao) into powder yielded a sticky substance when mixed with water; dough made with it was not only pliable and smooth but also aided digestion, cleared heat, and strengthened the stomach.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Yu Zhenling is anchored in the documented technical standards of Chuantongmianshi Making Craftsmanship in Zhongweishizhongning, Ningxia. Within the documented technical tradition of Chuantongmianshi Making Craftsmanship in Zhongweishizhongning, Ningxia: The craft of making Zhongning wormwood noodles is a signature traditional local food-making skill of the Ningxia region, originating in and spreading through Zhongning County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Zhongning County lies at the southern end of the Ningxia Plain, in the transition zone between the Inner Mongolia Plateau and the Loess Plateau; its mountainous and hilly areas are arid and receive little rain, forming desert and semi-desert terrain. The unique geography provides suitable growing conditions for sand wormwood, supplying the wormwood-noodle craft with its special raw material. The main ingredients of wormwood noodles are additive-free high-grade flour, wormwood flour (hao mian zi), and alkaline water. Its preparation is complex and its proportions are well balanced. In making it, flour, wormwood flour, and alkaline water are blended in a set ratio, then formed into wormwood noodles through the steps of mixing, kneading, resting, rolling, airing, folding, and cutting. Rolling must apply even force, and cutting demands fine knife work; the dough must be rolled thin and cut fine to produce noodles uniform in thickness, width, and length. Boiling and rinsing the noodles require control of heat and timing to achieve a springy, refreshing bite. The accompanying vegetables for wormwood noodles are made by dicing various vegetables and lean meat. The saozi (topping) comes in meat and vegetarian forms: meat saozi uses mainly lamb (or pork, beef, chicken), green radish, and potato, while vegetarian saozi uses mainly potato, tofu, and shiitake mushrooms. The finished wormwood noodles have eight distinct traits: first, clarity (clear broth); second, whiteness (white noodles); third, redness (red chili and red goji berries); fourth, greenness (green vegetables); fifth, smoothness (silky noodles); sixth, refreshment (springy, non-mushy bite); seventh, fragrance (enticing aroma); and eighth, length (noodles long and thread-like, golden, bright, and resilient). From then on, the habit of adding wormwood to noodles became popular in the Zhongning area. Over more than 600 years of transmission, the Zhongning wormwood-noodle craft has passed from mother to daughter and mother-in-law to daughter-in-law, generation after generation, giving rise to the local characteristic that every household in Zhongning can make it and every village has its experts. The Zhongning wormwood-noodle craft is the crystallized wisdom of the working people of northwest China in transforming and using nature through production and daily life, and is part of the local people's everyday life and customs. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "": "Archived Records of Process Steps": Its preparation is complex and its proportions are well balanced. In making it, flour, wormwood flour, and alkaline water are blended in a set ratio, then formed into wormwood noodles through the steps of mixing, kneading, resting, rolling, airing, folding, and cutting.
Archived Records of Process Steps
Its preparation is complex and its proportions are well balanced. In making it, flour, wormwood flour, and alkaline water are blended in a set ratio, then formed into wormwood noodles through the steps of mixing, kneading, resting, rolling, airing, folding, and cutting.
Core Technique I
The craft of making Zhongning wormwood noodles is a signature traditional local food-making skill of the Ningxia region, originating in and spreading through Zhongning County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Core Technique II
Zhongning County lies at the southern end of the Ningxia Plain, in the transition zone between the Inner Mongolia Plateau and the Loess Plateau;
Core Technique III
its mountainous and hilly areas are arid and receive little rain, forming desert and semi-desert terrain.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Yu Zhenling was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Chuantongmianshi Making Craftsmanship, with Zhongweishizhongning, Ningxia as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Chuantongmianshi Making Craftsmanship in Zhongweishizhongning, Ningxia: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Zhongweishizhongning, Ningxia as its declared area, and Zhongning County Cultural Center as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
According to relevant historical records, during the Western Xia period contemporaneous with the Song dynasty, people living in this area discovered that grinding the seeds of sand wormwood (sha hao) into powder yielded a sticky substance when mixed with water; dough made with it was not only pliable and smooth but also aided digestion, cleared heat, and strengthened the stomach.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wang Qingai | Jishan, Shanxi | 04-1907 | Other regional school |
| Li Huizhong | Hexi, Tianjin | 05-2858 | Other regional school |
| Li Jiangang | Jiading, Shanghai | 05-2859 | Other regional school |
| Jia Zhiliang | Shaanxi | — | Other regional school |
| Rexiti Yimiti | Xinjiang | — | Other regional school |
| Hatamusha Nuer | Xinjiang | — | Other regional school |
| Yu Zhenling | Zhongweishizhongning, Ningxia | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。