Yichang Longsnout Catfish 宜昌肥鱼
Yichang Longsnout Catfish is featured among the local specialties of Hubei.
Yichang Longsnout Catfish (宜昌肥鱼) is feiyu, "fat fish", the everyday name in Yichang (宜昌) for the Yangtze longsnout catfish (长江鮰鱼). The Zhijiang (枝江) city government calls it a genuine Yichang speciality.
Flavour and texture
The Zhijiang Media Centre describes the flesh as firm and springy, and says the soup stewed from the fish is so savoury that it is "鲜掉眉毛" (fresh enough to make your eyebrows fall off). It calls the fish a prized food since ancient times.
Where it comes from
The fish is farmed in Zhijiang, a city within Yichang that the Zhijiang Media Centre calls the eastern gate of the Three Gorges and Yichang's only plains county, and a "鱼米之乡" (land of fish and rice). At the Kangyi (康益) farm in Xiannü Town (仙女镇), the fish are kept in six large tanks; from the end of September, fish of 2.5 to 5 jin (about 1.25 to 2.5 kilograms) are packed and trucked live to Shanghai, Beijing and other large cities.
Zhijiang is building its own supply base for feiyu fry, and the city names the longsnout catfish (长吻鮠) among its characteristic farmed fish, alongside mandarin fish, largemouth bass and yellow catfish.
More dishes to compare
Explore related local specialties and compare their names, preparation notes and ordering guidance.
Wuchang fish 武昌鱼 →
Another Hubei freshwater fish known by a place name: Wuchang fish is a bream, while Yichang's feiyu is a Yangtze catfish prized for its stewed soup.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and fact-checked against them on 2026-09-25. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.