You can be certain of finding one food anywhere in China.Here in Beijing, noodles are on almost every menu.If you are the manufacture of instant noodles, then you are onto a good thing.The Chinese consume more instant noodles than any other nation in the world, getting through 40 billion packs a year.But noodles are more than just a convenient snack, they are part of the culture.Chinese archaeologists even discovered them in the ruins of a 4,000 year old house.They are particularly important for birthdays and Chinese New Yearwhile one noodle in particular and that is the longevity noodlebecause it is supposed to symbolise long life.Now don't think of longevity noodle as a single strand like spaghetti.It is actually made in one enormously long length and producing them is quite an art.The longer the noodle, the more luck and long life you get.So I travelled an hour outside Beijing to meet the chef Li Hui,holder of the Shanghai Great World Guinness record for the longest handmade noodle.
