Clay-Baked Flour Bites 土馍
Clay-Baked Flour Bites is featured among the local specialties of Henan.
Image notes
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Clay-Baked Flour Bites (土馍) are a baked wheat snack from Wangwu Mountain (王屋山) in Jiyuan (济源), Henan, which China News Service describes as a traditional local product of the Wangwu mountain area, the home of the Foolish Old Man (愚公) of the legend.
How it is made
Flour is the main ingredient, with egg, sesame and sesame oil added to it. The baking medium is what sets the snack apart: the pieces are baked in a white clay (白面土) found only on Wangwu Mountain. The Chinese name tu mo means, literally, earth bread.
Flavour and texture
Clay-Baked Flour Bites have a clean, fragrant taste, and each piece is crisp on the outside and soft inside.
Where it comes from
On 22 September 2018, the first day of the Mid-Autumn holiday, Wangwu Mountain held a thousand-person contest to eat "tu" (土, earth) at Daojing Square (道境广场). More than a thousand competitive eaters took part, and more than 5,000 jin (about 2,500 kilograms) of the bites were eaten in no time. At each contestant's place the pieces were laid out to form the character for earth, and the traditional making process was shown to the crowd on site.
More dishes to compare
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Geji braised flatbread strips 葛记焖饼 →
Both are Henan wheat-flour foods, but Geji flatbread strips are braised while Clay-Baked Flour Bites are baked in white clay.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and fact-checked against them on 2026-09-24. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.