Produce market has surprise guest

"I've shaken hands with the German chancellor," said a cheerful Wang Mingguang, recalling her visit to his market stall in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

During her whirlwind one-day visit to Chengdu on Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited an agricultural produce market and got a taste of a well-known Sichuan dish.

On a brief stop at the Shen-xianshu Agricultural Produce Market, Merkel bought a small bag of bean paste made in Pixian, a suburban county of Chengdu, and some pepper powder and anise. Bean paste made in Pixian is a condiment essential to Sichuan cuisine.