Laoyou Fen Trail: Qixing Road to Zhongshan Road

The Laoyou Fen Trail from Qixing Road to Zhongshan Road is a self-guided comparison route across Nanning's best-known laoyoufen counters, running through Qingxiu District. No single operator runs the trail; it is an informal noodle crawl built around three specific, long-established shops, each doing its own version of the sour, spicy, fermented-bamboo rice noodle that is Nanning's signature dish. The route covers three stops over about three hours, opening at Shuji Laoyoufen at 46 Qixing Road, a counter that trades 24 hours a day. The second stop is Lianji Fenjiao Huang at 46-1 Qixing Road, for fenjiao dumplings and duck blood soup, giving the trail a second savoury dish alongside the noodles rather than a sweet course. The trail closes at Fuji Laoyoufen at 237-1 Zhongshan Road with a bowl of bazhen fen, an eight-treasure variation on the classic bowl, allowing a direct side-by-side comparison of soup-based and dry-tossed laoyou preparations across the three shops. Total spend runs ¥45-80 per person for three bowls and sides; no transit or guide fee is built in, since each stop is paid for individually in cash or by mobile payment. The trail suits solo diners or small groups of two to four, since seating at each of the three counters is limited. Staff at all three shops speak Mandarin or the local Guangxi dialect only. Dietary substitutions are minimal since laoyou fen's fermented bamboo and chilli base is fixed, but shops can typically leave out peanuts or offal on request for those with allergies or preferences.