Baise's Tianyang County sits in a pocket of Guangxi where the food is as bold and unfussy as the landscape itself. The local cuisine leans heavily on the flavors of the Zhuang ethnic majority — think rice-based everything, fermented condiments, and a confident hand with chili. Sour bamboo shoots turn up in soups and stir-fries alike, cutting through rich broths with a tangy brightness that wakes up the palate. Don't be surprised if a bowl of rice noodles arrives steaming at your table before you've even had a chance to sit down properly.

The morning markets are where the real cooking education happens. Vendors set up before dawn, selling hand-rolled rice noodles, sticky rice parcels wrapped in banana leaf, and char-grilled corn slicked with chili oil. Look out for zha chong — fried insects that locals eat without ceremony alongside a cold beer — and the slow-braised pork belly that vendors ladle over rice from enormous earthenware pots. Tianyang's mango orchards, arguably the finest in China, mean mango features everywhere from fresh-cut stalls to sticky rice desserts dusted with coconut.

For a sit-down meal, seek out small family-run places along Tianyang's older commercial streets, where handwritten menus list dishes you won't find in guidebooks. The local dog meat hot pot is a divisive but deeply traditional dish served through cooler months, while steamed river fish seasoned with ginger, scallion, and pickled chili is a gentler crowd-pleaser. Wash everything down with Zhuang rice wine, poured from clay jugs and drunk slowly — the locals consider rushing a meal through Tianyang an act of genuine disrespect to the cook.