Bawang Bieji Turtle and Chicken Pot 霸王别姬
Bawang Bieji Turtle and Chicken Pot is featured among the local specialties of Anhui.
Bawang Bieji Turtle and Chicken Pot (霸王别姬) is a soft-shelled turtle and chicken stew from Lingbi (灵璧) county in Suzhou (宿州), Anhui, cooked in a clay pot and named after the story of the Hegemon-King Xiang Yu (项羽) parting from his consort at Gaixia (垓下).
How it is made
The two main ingredients are a soft-shelled turtle (甲鱼) and a hen more than three years old. Both go into a large clay pot (大砂煲) with bamboo shoots, red dates and Chinese medicinal herbs, and the pot simmers over a low fire for about six hours. Lingbi's culture and tourism bureau holds up the ingredients' own flavour and colour as the ideal.
How it is eaten
Bawang Bieji Turtle and Chicken Pot is eaten for its broth more than its meat. The county bureau describes the soup as the savour of wild turtle blended with the aroma of the old hen.
Where it comes from
According to the Lingbi culture and tourism bureau, local people created the dish to commemorate the farewell at Gaixia. Lingbi Bawang Bieji is one of the entries on the hot-dish Top 20 of the Suzhou Food Map (宿州美食地图), a city-level selection. The list was drawn up from county recommendations and businesses' own nominations, then reviewed at city level with online voting and expert and departmental judging. Other Lingbi dishes on the same hot-dish list include Lingbi big-chunk beef (灵璧大块牛肉) and Lingbi Zhongkui Wangfu pork (灵璧钟馗旺福肉).
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer on 2026-09-23. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.