A student stands in front of the Fuchun Tea House and shows off her painting of Fuchun baozi, or steamed stuffed buns, the representative dish of Huaiyang Cuisine, one of the eight major cuisines in China. [Photo/jschina.com.cn]

A group of students from Yangzhou University spent a month exploring Yangzhou streets and painting its many mouthwatering specialties. 

Zhan Ziying, a third-year student, took a liking to Yangzhou's fermented tofu, which has a strong smell and unique taste. 

"It's stinky but delicious, my stomach always has room for some fermented tofu," Zhan said. After just a few hours of painting, the greasy food appeared as lip-smackingly scrumptious as ever. 

Fuchun Tea House, a time-honored brand founded in 1885, also caught the attention of the painters. The color, aroma, taste and style of Fuchun's widely acknowledged baozi, or steamed stuffed buns, were vividly depicted by the students. Fuchun baozi are regarded as the representative dish of Huaiyang Cuisine, one of the eight major cuisines in China. By using high-quality ingredients, the baozi achieves a delightful balance of salty and sweet. 

"The baozi is shaped like a water chestnut and its wrinkles are connected to form a fish mouth style, which is rather appealing," said a student named Wang Shiya, "Every summer and winter holiday, I would bring two boxes of Fuchun baozi back home to share with my family and friends. My mother told me to bring another box this year." 

The students painted many other delicacies as well, such as Japanese-style beef hotpot, duck blood soup with vermicelli, and pork trotter aspic. 

"Hearing that Yangzhou was crowned the world gourmet capital made us proud to live here. The many reports about local people trying their best to promote Yangzhou food have inspired us to contribute in our own way," said a student painter.