Liu An Tofu Origin Site

The traditional origin of tofu is attributed to Liu An, the Han dynasty Prince of Huainan who ruled from this area around 150 BCE. The claim is contested by food historians, but Huainan has embraced it enthusiastically — there is a memorial park dedicated to Liu An near the site of his palace, and the annual Tofu Culture Festival draws visitors from across China to celebrate the city's putative claim to having invented one of the world's most important foods.

The Liu An Memorial is a modest but pleasant complex with exhibits on his life and philosophy as well as the tofu story. The local tofu, made from soybeans and water from a specific local spring, is considered particularly fine and is served in multiple forms at restaurants throughout the city. Whether or not you believe the invention story, eating fresh silken tofu in the place that claims to have originated it is a reasonable way to spend part of an afternoon.

things to do sight
A story
Liu An, the Han dynasty Prince of Huainan, was one of the great polymaths of his era — a philosopher, alchemist, and patron of learning who compiled the Huainanzi, an encyclopedic philosophical text that remains important to this day. The claim that he accidentally invented tofu while attempting to make an immortality elixir using soybeans and mineral-water coagulants is probably legendary, but the story has been told continuously for over two thousand years and the people of Huainan maintain it with genuine pride.

Other places in Things to Do