Wuzhan Ji (Longjin Middle Road)

Wuzhan Ji has served congee from its Longjin Middle Road storefront in Liwan District since the early 1900s, making it one of the older continuously operating congee shops in old Xiguan and a genuine neighborhood fixture rather than a restored heritage attraction. Its best-known dish, jidi zhou or scholar's congee, combines pork, pork liver and other pork-based garnishes in a smooth rice porridge, and the dish carries a long-standing local tradition in which students preparing for important exams order a bowl for good luck, a custom the shop's reputation has helped keep alive across generations of Guangzhou families. Alongside the scholar's congee, a version modeled on sampan congee -- the style once cooked and sold from small boats on the Pearl River and its canals -- is prepared with fish skin, sliced egg and roast pork folded into a fine, delicate porridge base. Simple steamed rice rolls and freshly fried dough sticks round out a menu built for a quick, inexpensive breakfast or light meal rather than an evening dinner, and prices remain low even by Guangzhou standards, with a full meal typically running CNY 20-40 (about USD 3-6) per person. The shop's plain, functional interior and steady queue of local regulars reflect its role as an everyday neighborhood spot, and it sits close enough to Ximenkou to combine easily with a walk through the surrounding old Xiguan lanes.