Yongning, tucked in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, wears its culinary identity with quiet pride. The local food scene is shaped almost entirely by Hui Muslim traditions, meaning lamb is king here — slow-braised, hand-pulled, or skewered over charcoal. Hand-stretched noodles arrive at the table in rich, bone-deep broths fragrant with cumin and dried chilies, and a bowl of niuroumian in the early morning is as close to a local ritual as you'll find anywhere in northwest China.

The old wet market near the town center is worth an unhurried visit, especially on weekend mornings when vendors lay out everything from freshly slaughtered lamb cuts to plump dried apricots and ropes of air-dried sausage seasoned with fennel. Street stalls along the main commercial strip do a brisk trade in yangrou paomo — crumbled flatbread soaked in mutton soup — and crispy fried dough rings that locals dip into sweetened black sesame paste. Don't overlook the roasted sunflower seeds sold by the bag; Ningxia grows some of the finest in the country.

For a sit-down meal, look for the cluster of family-run Qingzhen restaurants near the central mosque — the word Qingzhen signals halal certification and usually guarantees a kitchen taking its craft seriously. Signature dishes include hongshao yangtui, a glossy red-braised lamb shank that falls off the bone, and a local take on dry-fried river fish from the nearby Yellow River tributaries. Pair any meal with a pot of goji berry tea, since Ningxia's wolfberries are famous throughout China and the locals treat them as both medicine and dessert.