Donkey Meat Soup 驴肉汤
Donkey Meat Soup is featured among the local specialties of Henan.
Donkey Meat Soup (驴肉汤) is donkey meat stewed in a clear broth, which Luoyang Net (洛阳网), the Luoyang Daily news site, presents as a Luoyang (洛阳) speciality belonging to Henan cuisine (豫菜).
How it is made
The soup is made by stewing donkey meat in clear broth, and donkey bone goes into the pot as well: Luoyang Net explains that meat on its own cannot give a broth its real depth. Garlic is named as the one indispensable seasoning, the ingredient that brings the flavour of the soup to its peak, and yellow garlic shoots (蒜黄) can take its place.
Flavour and texture
In the finished bowl the meat and the broth stay distinct. The meat is tender without being greasy, and the broth is milk-white, rich and appetising, with a strong aroma. Luoyang Net says the taste is unlike that of beef or mutton soup and hard to put into words. It links the soup's rising popularity to the saying "dragon meat in heaven, donkey meat on earth" (天上的龙肉地下的驴肉).
Where it comes from
The best-known donkey soup in Luoyang is the one from the Big Stone Bridge (大石桥) in the Dongguan (东关) district, and Luoyang Net names it as the version to try. No one knows exactly when it began; its story is carried by word of mouth. Writing in 2017, Luoyang Net reported that urban redevelopment had moved the stone-bridge donkey-soup restaurant to Jiudu Road (九都路).
More dishes to compare
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Beef Soup 牛肉汤 →
Luoyang Net says donkey soup tastes unlike beef or mutton soup; this is the page for Luoyang beef soup.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and fact-checked against them on 2026-09-24. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.