by Xinhua Writer Yao Yuan
BEIJING, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- It is probably the most scrumptious show of solidarity amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.
In a heartwarming and mouth-watering move, Chinese netizens shared pictures of the signature noodles of their hometowns and the "hot dry noodles" of Wuhan, capital city of central China's Hubei Province which is the center of the epidemic, in one bowl to show their support for the virus-hit city.
Hot dry noodles, or reganmian, are Wuhan's most popular noodle snack, cooked with sesame oil, pickled vegetables and chili oil. During breakfast hours, the spicy noodles appear in the metropolis' many eateries, stands and the hands of walking pedestrians.
It became the spiritual icon of the city, which is on lockdown to fight the novel coronavirus infection, after a cartoonist on Thursday evening posted a drawing of a personified reganmian lying on a hospital bed, while other Chinese snacks press on the ward window, holding posters saying "Be strong, reganmian!"
Within a day, the post was forwarded 77,000 times and received over 202,000 likes on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.
Media outlets and netizens also weighed in on the food-themed show of solidarity with self-made photo collages pairing up reganmian and noodles of their own provinces and cities, from Beijing's iconic "fried sauce noodles," zhajiangmian, to the "crossing-the-bridge rice noodles" of Yunnan Province.
"I'm in Gansu, the Lanzhou beef noodles stand with reganmian!" reads one post on Sina Weibo.
The novel solidarity campaign emerged as Chinese citizens followed the guidance of officials to stay at home and avoid parties and hang-outs to reduce the risks of infection during the Spring Festival, which otherwise would feature a revelry in both traditional local dishes and snacks from across China.
"Wuhan, please hang on! I've planned a trip there after (the retreat of the virus) to eat my lost share of the reganmian," remarked one netizen.
It is not the first time that foods and gastrology, a source of national pride in China, have been used to unite the country during the epidemic.
During the Spring Festival, when the vegetable demands usually outstretch supplies, several Chinese provinces sent hundreds of tonnes of vegetables to aid Wuhan. Netizens were quick to notice that many such ingredients were top-notch specialties from the donor provinces, including turnips from Jiangxi and Chinese cabbages from Liaoning.
