Thousands enjoy giant noodle feast at Chinese temple to celebrate Dragon festival

The Chinese are famed for the ancient art of noodle making. But this giant wok of ‘dragon beard’ noodles, made for 2,000 people at a temple in Henan province in central China, took it to the next level. The temple put on the incredible feast in celebration of ‘Dragon Head Raising Day’, which is marked across the country by various traditions that have been passed on down the years, reported the People's Daily Online. Legend has it that on this day the dragon, an important symbol in Chinese culture, will awaken and bring rain to produce a bumper harvest. It is considered good luck to eat foods that are named after body parts of the dragon, including ‘dragon beard’ noodles, ‘dragon’s ears’ dumplings and ‘dragon’s scales’ pancakes. Earlier this month, chefs at the White Dragon Temple in Fucheng village used four massive woks to cook noodles for visitors that came from miles around to pray for good fortune and prosperity. Amazingly, all the food was gone within an hour. The feast on ‘Dragon Head Raising Day’, celebrated on the second day of the second lunar month, is particularly significant because it is believed to ward off diseases. The ‘dragon beard’ noodles are extraordinarily fine and made by hand. They symbolise longevity, which is why it is unlucky to cut them when you are eating. Just three pounds of wheat flour can be made into 144,000 hair-like noodles, according to experts. When the noodles are made, one rope of dough is stretched up to 12 times to produce thousands of strands. It is reported that some masters of the art are able to make noodles so fine that one strand can be threaded through the eye of a needle.