Grain Worms Cultural Festival will be held at Qinghe Farm in Dongwan Village, Lianzhou Town of Doumen District from Oct 27 to 28. Featured are grain worm feasts, cultural exhibitions, and stunning local natural scenery. 

Grain worms, which live on paddy root, can be found in the surface soil layer of paddy fields twice a year when the plants have ears and blossoms. Locals have a long history of catching grain worms with well-woven bamboo traps during the wee hours and then cooking them.

Lianzhou Grain Worms were listed among the 9th group of Zhuhai intangible cultural heritage items in May 2016. The town was also named Hometown of Grain Worms by China Aquatic Products Processing & Marketing Alliance (CAPPMA) in June.

Grain worm cuisine

The festival will offer grain worm banquets and cultural exhibitions, with grain wood breeding inheritors to recite a background story of the practice.

Lianzhou is home to abundant resources and Lingnan waterfront cuisines, including Hengshan Preserved Duck Bundles (Ya Zha Bao), Shangheng Steamed Yellow Sand Clams, Hengshan Arrowroot, and Fenzhou Grain Worms. A delicacy exhibition area will be earmarked for sampling them. 

Additionally, visitors are encouraged to hike or cycle through the town to take in the refreshing rural scenery. Children can take part in small games and garden tours.

The festival, sponsored by the People's Government of Lianzhou Town, will be locally overseen by Zhuhai Zhongle Xijiang Culture & Tourism.

Cultural nourishment

Cycling [Photos courtesy nanfangplus]