fengzhen-noodlesIt’s November 14, and at last, it’s starting to feel like it. For the next few months, northern North America is looking at low temperatures, icy winds and freezing precipitation—and not nearly enough Suzhou noodle bowls to warm up with.

With that remarkable transition, I introduce the “Suzhou Noodles” Instagram contest, which begins today. For the next five days, Suzhou, China—an ancient, canal-woven city known as the “Venice of the East”—will be bringing its great noodle tradition to the forefront of social media by asking users across the world to share their photos and videos of big, piping-hot bowls of hand-pulled noodles. Have one? Just post it on Instagram with the hashtag #suzhounoodles (and make sure you follow Visit Suzhou on Instagram), and you’ll be entered to win. Enter each day, and you’ll be competing for five different prizes (one a day).

What’s at stake? “A culinary-inspired craft made in Suzhou such as a handmade chopsticks,” which will be awarded to a winner, five different times, at 9 am ET the next day—and countless opportunities to pour over mouth-watering, only-in-Suzhou noodles from afar.

I got my first taste of #suzhounoodles back in April, when I took in the UNESCO-crested city on a five-day, exploratory press trip. Upon my return to New York, I wrote at length about the strange comforts of this weird and wonderful place, noodles very much included. From my first noodle bowl in Suzhou, served with an inexhaustible buffet of plated flavors and add-ons from chilis to bean curds (great) at Tong De Xing noodle restaurant, I warmed quickly to #suzhounoodles, and now back in Brooklyn, on a cold November Monday, I’m thinking nostalgically about my days in Suzhou and that noodle bonanza I’ll someday return to.

For now, here’s what I’ll be entering in the “Suzhou Noodles” contest:

Suzhou noodles
Suzhou noodles

How to enter:
First, follow visitsuzhou on Instagram.

Then, share a photo or video of soup noodles using the hashtag #suzhounoodles anytime before 11:59 pm EST each day of the contest. A total of five winners (one each day) will be announced on Instagram, each at 9 am ET the following day.

Dates:
The contest will run from today, Monday, November 14, 2016 until 11:59 pm ET on Friday, November 18, 2016.

Good luck!

This is a sponsored post.


For more on noodles and more in Suzhou, check out: A Quick Guide to Suzhou, the “Venice of the East”

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