Cross-bridge noodles, or crossing-the-bridge noodles, are a special dish that originated (起源) in Yunnan Province. It has become such a popular part of Yunnan's culture that in 2008, it was listed as an item of the intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) of Kunming City.
There is a story behind the first creation of cross-bridge noodles. It is said that there was a learner during the Qing Dynasty. He studied every day on an island of Mengzi City in Yunnan. His favorite food was rice noodles, and his wife brought him the noodles every day. But she was disappointed because the noodles would get cold on the way to the island. One day, she discovered that boiling the rice noodles separately could make them taste better. The chicken soup could also stay warm during the trip. It was the oil layer (层) on top of the soup that kept the cold outside and the heat inside. Realizing this, the wife then came up with an idea. She brought the chicken soup, rice noodles, and other ingredients (原料) separately and then mixed them after she arrived on the island. That way, the dish stayed hot and the noodles were fresh when they were added just before eating.
The word spread of the delicious dish and the wife's smart way of keeping the food hot. The dish became known as "crossing-the-bridge noodles" or simply "cross-bridge noodles" in memory of the wife.
