Liangpi: Shaanxi's Chilled Noodle Sheets

World Travel 编辑部 · 2026-09-16 · 5 min read

Also called pizi, niangpizi, mianpi, ganmianpi or mipi, liangpi originates in the Guanzhong plain of Shaanxi and is widely held to be the province's most popular snack. It is known for being white, thin, glossy, soft, fermented and fragrant.

What it is made from

Its origins are disputed: one account traces it to the reign of the First Emperor, over two thousand years ago; another to the "cold-rinsed noodles" of the Tang. Liangpi can be eaten year-round, though its chill makes it more popular in summer.

By method it divides into steamed, hand-rolled and griddle-finished. For the steamed kind, flour — with the gluten washed out — or rice flour is mixed to a batter, poured into a round flat metal tray, swirled level and steamed in a pot or steamer. The finished sheet is about 0.5 cm thick and nearly a metre across.

Cutting and dressing

The sheet is cooled in cold water and cut with a huge blade nearly a metre long and 20 cm wide into strips 0.5 to 2 cm wide, their colour varying with the material.

It is dressed to taste with salt, vinegar, sesame paste, chilli oil, gluten, cucumber, bean sprouts, garlic juice and seasonal vegetables. It also divides into cold and hot versions, and by material into rice and wheat.

Common styles

Gluten liangpi prevails in Guanzhong, with wheat gluten as the main garnish; sesame-paste liangpi takes its name from the dressing, usually with cucumber, and is halal; Qinzhen liangpi, from Qinzhen in Huxian and made from rice flour, is also called Qinzhen rice noodles.

Liangpi is now street fast food in Beijing and other big cities, but in Shaanxi it is still best judged made and cut to order.