Water Shield Soup

Water Shield in Taihu Lake has long enjoyed equal fame with basses. In the Book of Jin History, such a record can be found: Zhang Han, a litterateur in West Jin Dynasty, once was an official in north China. After a long time, he missed the Water Shield soup and the bass dish he tasted in his early years so much that he resigned and returned to his hometown in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Therefore, the missing for Water Shield and the bass had become an allusion referring to missing one’s hometown.
In the end of Ming Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty, residents along the banks of Taihu Lake had already known the way of artificial cultivation of Water Shield, and could have good harvests from Spring to Autumn. In Winter and Spring, there is bottled Water Shield on sale. The bottled Water Shield produced by the Factory of Flower, Fruit and Food in Wu county has been awarded the title of the Famous and Superior product for foreign trade.
Water Shield, tender, smooth and tasty, has many benefits such as replenishing man’s blood, clearing away heat and toxic materials within, moistening lungs, making urination smooth. It enjoys a distinctive reputation even in all Soochow cuisines. This dish, if added with other ingredients, can be made into other famous soups.
Source: Suzhou Municipal People's Government