Qi Fang Ge (West Gongyuan Street)

Qi Fang Ge is a historic snack house at 12 West Gongyuan Street in the Qinhuai District of Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, a short walk from the Confucius Temple and the Jiangnan Examination Hall. The house dates to about 1920 and is one of the best-known names among Nanjing's old tea-house and street-food establishments, sometimes grouped with the city's other long-running snack brands. It is a counter-service operation rather than a fine-dining room, so there is no chef lineage or Michelin listing to note; the reputation rests on a small set of traditional recipes that have been made for generations. The signature item is the duck-oil shaobing, a flaky sesame-crusted flatbread baked with rendered duck fat, priced at about ¥15. Other staples include shredded dried tofu dressed with sesame oil at about ¥20 and assorted-stuffing dumplings at about ¥25. Portions are small, so visitors typically order several plates and share them, treating the visit as a tasting of Nanjing tea-house snacks rather than a single meal. The dining room is casual, functional and often crowded, with tables filled by tourists and local regulars, and noise levels are high at mid-morning and weekends. Dress is informal. Tea is the usual accompaniment; there is no notable wine or spirits programme. Reservations are not accepted: customers order at the counter, pay, and then look for a free table, and queues at the counter are common on weekends and public holidays. The shop opens from 9:30AM to 9PM, which allows visits outside the main lunch rush. Prices are low by any standard, with most snacks costing between ¥12 and ¥30, and a filling grazing meal for two typically comes to around ¥60 to ¥100. Its position on West Gongyuan Street places it in the middle of the Fuzimiao snack district, making it easy to pair with neighbouring pastry and dessert shops.