Sanzao Oyster Sauce Production [Photo by Zhang Zhou / Guanhai App]

Situated between Modaomen and Jitimen waterways, the Sanzao Town promontory and mudflats where fresh and salt water interface provide an ideal habitat for oysters. Sanzao oyster breeding and sauce production date back 200 years to the 1821-50 reign of Emperor Tao-kuang (Daoguang) in the Qing Dynasty.

Local fishermen have developed mature techniques that involve a meticulous selection of fresh oysters and soup preparation as well as heat control over a 10-hour period of boiling and concentrating into a sauce. The oyster sauce sold wildly in Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Guangzhou, and other Pearl River Delta cities back then.

In the late Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) and early Republic of China (1912-49) the oyster sauce was mainly produced in Yuyue, Yunong, Yulin, and Caotang villages in northern Sanzao, and marketed in Hong Kong and Macao as a local specialty.

Sanzao Oyster Sauce Production Techniques were designated a district-level intangible cultural heritage in November 2020.