Bamboo shoots in Suichang county are extremely fresh and tender. [Photo/WeChat account: suichangly]

The small mountain town of Suichang – nestling in the region administered by Lishui city, in East China's Zhejiang province – is an infinitely charming location set in the lush countryside.

With a forest coverage rate of 83.64 percent and a vast bamboo forest, the place is known as the Green Sea in the south of the Yangtze River.

Its arresting and rugged terrain has created the food culture of the Suichang people, who rely on the mountains and eat from the mountains.

But among all the kinds of local delicacies, there is one that is the clear favorite – winter bamboo shoots.

The aroma is always irresistible: A bamboo shoot dish. [Photo/WeChat account: suichangly]

The area's four distinct seasons, superior altitude and rich terrain have made the winter bamboo shoots produced there extremely fresh and tender – without the rough and hollow texture of other types of bamboo shoots.

This means they can be used for cooking or stir-frying and they're a favorite delicacy of the Suichang people in winter.

In the first season of A Bite of China – a popular documentary television series on the history of food, eating and cooking – the winter bamboo shoots produced in Suichang's deep mountains were introduced in the first episode, entitled Nature's Gift.

Whenever it's the season to dig winter bamboo shoots, local people eagerly fetch their hoes and hunt for this rustic delicacy in the pristine alpine bamboo forests.