Wuhan is one of China's great food cities — a stop on any serious Chinese food trip, with a distinct regional cuisine built around freshwater fish, lotus root, and the alkaline noodles known as re gan mian. Breakfast — guo zao — is taken with unusual seriousness in Wuhan: locals will queue at dawn for the right bowl of noodles, and the early-morning food stalls are one of the city's pleasures. For dinner, head for Hubu Alley in Wuchang or the night-food strips of Jiqing Street and Tan Hualin in Hankou.