A funeral home in China’s Guizhou province has become an unexpected food hotspot. The canteen at Erlong Funeral Home serves a noodle dish that went viral on social media. Initially, the food was only for mourners. However, as word spread, many visitors started coming just to try it.
Funeral Home Turns into a Popular Eatery
Erlong Funeral Home offers various noodle dishes for breakfast and dinner. Each bowl costs 10 yuan ($1.38; £1.09). Among them, the minced pork and peanut noodles stand out as the favorite. At first, the canteen only served those handling funeral matters. But soon, many outsiders arrived—some even pretending to be mourners—to get a taste.
Struggling to Manage the Growing Crowd
As more people flocked to the canteen, managing them became a challenge. An Erlong worker told Jiupai News, “There have been people pretending to be relatives of the deceased. It’s hard to tell them apart when it gets crowded, and it’s hard to manage.” Consequently, long queues formed, with some diners waiting for hours. To handle the demand, the funeral home introduced a new rule. Now, it provides 50 free bowls daily but only to those who do not disturb genuine mourners.
Social Media Sparks the Trend
The craze began when a social media user shared their experience on Xiaohongshu (RedNote). They wrote, “My friend says the food at this funeral home is so good. The queue for food is longer than the queue to lay flowers for the deceased.” Unfortunately, they couldn’t try the noodles since their friend’s family wasn’t attending a funeral.
Soon after, many users started posting about the dish. On Douyin (China’s TikTok), one person shared a photo of meal tickets and a long queue. “I heard the noodles here were very good. I thought about how short life was, and got another bowl,” they wrote.
Balancing Fame and Tradition
As a result of this unexpected attention, Erlong Funeral Home now faces a new challenge. While it embraces its growing popularity, it must also respect its primary role—offering comfort to grieving families.