Nanchang has absorbed the national hotpot enthusiasm and added local color to it. The city's own variation tends toward a clear or lightly spiced broth rather than the numbing Sichuan style, emphasizing the flavor of the ingredients — particularly the local river fish, pork offal, and seasonal vegetables — rather than the sauce. The student neighborhoods in the western part of the city and the commercial streets around Bayi Square both have concentrations of hotpot restaurants.
For a more local version than the national chains (Haidilao is everywhere), look for the small neighborhood restaurants advertising 砂锅 (shāguō, clay-pot) or 农家乐 (farmhouse-style) cooking. A two-person hotpot meal with drinks typically costs 80 to 150 yuan at a local place, versus 150 to 250 at a chain.