No Zhuanghe feast for guests is complete without a big-boned chicken. Large, broad-framed and strong-legged, it is an old native breed and a nationally protected geographical indication. Old folk call it the ‘strolling chicken’ — free-ranging on slopes, in orchards and on the mudflats, eating insects and grass seeds, drinking spring water. ‘Tight skin, firm meat’ is its fame: the golden skin, the clear fragrant broth. The classic dish is chicken stewed with mushrooms — local fowl with sun-dried hazel or pine mushrooms, simmered slowly with corn buns on the side. White-cut, salt-baked or smoked, it is the most down-to-earth taste of Zhuanghe.