Compared to banquet dinner, the difference of snacks may refer to the price and the dining environment. That is to say, if you sit in an elegant hall and eat a sharksfin, it is banquet and if you squat in a roadside shop and eat eight bowls of rice noodles, it is snacks. The Chinese context is too complex. The meaning of praise or censure is often convertible between extravagant eating and frugal eating. Extravagant eating usually represents extravagance, corruption and voracious eaters; while frugal eating is a symbol of thrift, casualness and naturalness. Extravagant eating can make people so satiated with food; while frugal eating always satisfies people¡¯s craving for good food. But if you let someone who eat rice noodles every day disdain poultry, meat, or fish, he would retort: who would like to eat rice noodles every day ?

Of course, the persons who said this are definitely not Guilinese. In this place which boasts No. 1 landscape in the world, there are countless people who eat rice noodles as breakfast every day and who will feel sick if they haven¡¯t eaten rice noodles for just one day. Rice noodle shops, big or small in size, can be seen everywhere on the streets, and diners are in constant flow. People seem never bored of rice noodles.

Guilinese love to eat rice noodles. It is not an ordinary love. It is said that several years ago, people had controversy and complaints about the quality, quantity, health and other problems of rice noodles sold in the market. In order to meet the needs of the masses, through macro-control and micro-management, Guilin relevant government departments had taken a series of measures to standardize the sales standards, price, cutlery and cutlery disinfection procedures of Guilin¡¯s rice noodle shops. It had become one of the most practical and pragmatic things that the government had done for the people. Until now, the cutlery used in Guilin¡¯s rice noodle shops are all white aluminum bowl marked with the words ¡°Disinfected¡± on the edge. The sales standard of rice noodles are counted by liang, One liang (50g) is 2.00 yuan, two (100g) is 2.50 yuan, and three liangs (150g) is 3.00 yuan, and so on. If it is vegetarian noodles, subtract 0.5 yuan for each corresponding sales units. By conversion, the spiced formula of each share of rice noodles is 1 yuan, and each liang of net rice noodles is 0.5 yuan. Besides, seasonings of shallot, coriander, pepper and pepper sauce, etc are charged free. Those who consume one liang(50g) rice noodles and those who consume 100 liangs(5000g) of rice noodles can equally enjoy them as much as they like .
 
It is a little funny. If you say it in Beijing dialect, it is ¡°Do you need to go so far? ¡± Even Guilin rice noodles are the best delicacy in the world and tastes extremely delicious, it is after all a local snack. Why you are so fussy about it ?

Each city with a long history has its own public food representing its local food culture, such as the Beijing¡¯s Noodles in Fried Sauce, Xi'an¡¯s Steamed Bread with Mutton, Yibin¡¯s Ran Noodles, Kunming¡¯s Guoqiao Rice Noodles and so on. In the eyes of some northerners, the so-called rice noodles is just an alternative noodles made with rice flour, it is only a snack. But people who have once eaten genuine Guilin rice noodles will sigh: although Guangxi is rich in rice produce and it had the habit of eating rice noodles from an early time with a wide range of varieties in different tastes, such as the Nanning Laoyou Noodles, Yulin Niuba Noodles, Guiping Pig Feet Noodles, or Liuzhou Snail Noodles, etc. Among them, Guilin rice noodles, with an unforgettable taste, is the dominator.

Three elements worth narration about Guilin rice noodles are: the brine, glutinous rice and Li River water.

The preparing process of good brine is very complicated. Each renowned local rice noodle shop all boasts brines different from others. How different? A few words are not enough, but verbose narration is even more unclear. In fact, those shops making the brines don't intend to explain it clear at all. However, actually almost every Guilinese is trying to tell the secret formula of Guilin rice noodles. They stress that only those noodles made with the Li River water and Guilin glutinous rice deserve the name of Guilin rice noodles. Some people even think that the brine could be variable, while remaining the same in principle, however, the Li River water and Guilin glutinous rice are absolutely irreplaceable.

This argument of Guilin people may evoke snickers from the people of Xing¡¯an County, which is also one part of Guilin region. The Xing¡¯an people stated according to historical data, as early as 221 BC, rice noodles were invented when Emperor Qin Shihuang sent Shi Lu to lead workers in digging the Ling Canal. At that time, most of the Qin generals and soldiers were from the northwest, who were born and grew up eating wheat noodles and were not used to rice. However, the south is rich in rice, with no wheat. So the Qin cooks ground rice into flour and made it into noodles based on the way they prepared the baked noodles, and supplied it to the soldiers to eat. To the people of the northwest, the rice noodles were not as delicious as the wheat flour noodles were. Coupled with lack of acclimatization, a large number of generals and soldiers of the Qin suffered from windy stomachs, vomiting and diarrhea. The military doctors adopted and decocted local herbal materials treating the symptoms of abdominal fullness and distention, indigestion, and vomiting, and handed out to the soldiers to take. It had immediate extraordinary efficacy. The decoction had the sweet taste of licorice and was not unpleasant to drink, so it was generally welcomed by the generals and soldiers who would drink a few mouthfuls every day. Over time, it had become a habit. But there were fierce battles, the Qin soldiers often had to throw down a bowl to fight in the war. To save time, they put together the rice noodles and the decoction and took it. Little did one thought that, this eating method, which was forced out of war, had set a precedent for the habit of eating Guilin rice noodles while adding brines. According to story of Xing'an people, from the Qin Dynasty to the present, Guilinese have eaten rice noodles for more than 2000 years.

Nonetheless, there is evidence for the Xing¡¯an people to hold that Guilin rice noodles were produced in Xing¡¯an in the Qin Dynasty. The most original rice flour pressing machine which can be seen in Guilin Rice Noodles Culture & Art Museum is in fact the machine to press baked noodles of the northwestern people. The "clutch" on it is in the shape of the farm tool "Lei" of the Qin Dynasty. According to legends, the vendors who sold "shoulder pole noodles" in the past were all wearing wooden shoes when they went to the streets, while wooden shoes are one kind of shoes of the Qin Dynasty.

Although Guilinese have some disputes over the history of rice noodles held by the Xing¡¯an people, they basically agree to it. After all, Xing¡¯an is also a county of Guilin, the origin place of rice noodles is still in Guilin. But what makes Guilinese ill-affected is that the rice noodles festival which is named after "Guilin rice noodles " is held in Xing¡¯an.

Some Xing¡¯an people say: the birthplace of the rice noodles is eligible to hold the rice noodles festival.

Some Guilinese say: Guilin rice noodles is developed in Guilin. Guilin which is known as a tourist destination should be the first place to hold the rice noodles festival.

Xing¡¯an is 60 kilometers away from Guilin. It is only an hour¡¯s ride. Xing¡¯an¡¯s Guilin rice noodles festival is also Guilin¡¯s rice noodles festival. Any part of Guilin can host the rice noodles festival. Why do we have to be so particular?

In fact, the dispute over the rising place of Guilin rice noodles is only temporary. For the unanimous determination to find the birth place of Guilin rice noodles, Guilin people including the Xing¡¯an people seem more willing to stand shoulder to shoulder to defend the genuineness of Guilin rice noodles. Guilinese only identify with those rice noodle shops opened by Guilinese within Guilin city, and basically sniff and even are filled with indignation at those opened outside Guilin. Some Guilinese seem not willing to admit forever that all the court snacks and those snacks that have entered the polite company all have basically betrayed the original tastes, but have been extended. To stick to being genuine in Guilin rice noodles taste, the price is ultimately Guilin¡¯s rice noodles can not be made outside Guilin.

Are the McDonald in the US and the McDonald in Guilin of the same tastes? The answer is ¡°No¡±!

McDonald's stores of the United States spread throughout almost all corners of the world. The producers of Big Mac do not stick to the original tastes of the delicacy, but find ways to integrate it into the local dietary habit. It will not be a fantasy if one day, the McDonald's store on Guilin street promotes a brine flavored hamburger, as long as the people of Guilin like it.

Why McDonald intends to change its tastes in different places?

Why do people of Guilin insist on the genuine taste of Guilin rice noodles?

Maybe, this is the topic to be discussed about for Guilin rice noodles.