Chinese Food Culture 
China's cuisine has evolved into one of the great cuisines of the world. For more than 5,000 years, food has played an auspicious role in nearly all aspects of Chinese society from health and medicine to business and celebration and it is no less important today. The overall importance of food in China can't be understated; upon greeting, Westerners will inquire about your health, the Chinese will ask if you've eaten.
- Lu Cuisine (Shandong Cuisine)
- Chuan Cuisine (Sichuan Cuisine)
- Yue Cuisine (Guangdong Cuisine)
- Min Cuisine (Fujian Cuisine)
- Su Cuisine (Jiangsu Cuisine)
- Zhe Cuisine (Zhejiang Cuisine)
- Xiang Cuisine (Hunan Cuisine)
- Hui Cuisine (Anhui Cuisine)
- Chinese Tea Culture
Lu Cuisine (Shandong Cuisine)
As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, more than 3,000 years ago, Shandong was territory of Qi and Lu. Both states were economically and culturally developed. Because they bordered the sea, and had mountains and fertile plains, they had abundant aquatic products and grains as well as sea salt. The people of the area have stressed seasonings and flavorings since ancient times...
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Chuan Cuisine (Sichuan Cuisine)
People immediately think of Sichuan food as being hot, sour, sweet, and salty; using fish sauce; or having a strange taste. Actually, these flavors were introduced only in the last 100 years, and initially were popular only in the lower strata of society. Hot pepper, an important flavoring in Sichuan cuisine, was introduced into China only 200 to 300 years ago...
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Yue Cuisine (Guangdong Cuisine)
Guangdong cuisine is unique among the Chinese cuisines. Its raw materials, cooking methods, and flavorings all differ from the other cuisines. Guangdong is located in southern China. Bordered by the mountain ranges to the north and the South China Sea to the south, it has long been separated from the hinterland. In ancient times the Baiyue people lived there, but many immigrants from the hinterland moved in during the Qin and Han Dynasties. The dietetic culture of Guangdong has retained many eating habits and customs of the ancient people, such as eating snakes. In short, to the people of Guangdong, everything that walks, crawls, flies, or swims is edible. Many of these strange foods no longer appeal to today’s refined tastes, and some have been eliminated out of respect for the eating habits of people in other areas, but some strange foods still remain...
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Min Cuisine (Fujian Cuisine)
Fujian cuisine was a latecomer in southeast China along the coast. The cuisine emphasizes seafood, river fish, and shrimp. The Fujian coastal area produces 167 varieties of fish and 90 kinds of turtles and shellfish. It also produces edible bird’s nest, cuttlefish, and sturgeon. These special products are all used in Fujian cuisine...
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Su Cuisine (Jiangsu Cuisine)
Jiangsu cuisine, also known as Su Cai for short, is one of the major components of Chinese cuisine, and consists of the styles of Yangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou and Zhenjiang dishes. It is very famous in the whole world for its distinctive style and taste. It is especially popular in the lower reach of the Yangtze River...
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Zhe Cuisine (Zhejiang Cuisine)
Zhejiang cuisine, also called Zhe Cai for short, is one of the eight famous culinary schools in China. Comprising the specialties of Hangzhou, Ningbo and Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province regarded as "land of fish and rice", Zhejiang cuisine, not greasy, wins its reputation for freshness, tenderness, softness, and smoothness of its dishes with mellow fragrance. Hangzhou cuisine is the most famous one among the three...
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Xiang Cuisine (Hunan Cuisine)
The cooking skills employed in the Hunan cuisine reached a high standard as early as the Western Han Dynasty, giving it a history of more than 2,100 years. Hunan is located in southeastern China along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, north of the Five Ridges. It contains rivers, lakes, mountains, rolling hills, plains, and pools, which provide abundant delicacies, such as game, fish, shrimp, crab, and turtle. Making full use of these rich resources, local people created a wide variety of delicacies. Hunan cuisine consists of more than 4,000 dishes, among which more than 300 are very famous. Hunan food is characterized by its hot and sour flavor, fresh aroma, greasiness, deep color, and the prominence of the main flavor in each dish. It consists of regional cuisines from the Xiangjiang River Valley, the Tongting Lake region, and the western mountainous area...
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Hui Cuisine (Anhui Cuisine)
Anhui cuisine (Hui Cai for short), one of the eight most famous cuisines in China, features the local culinary arts of Huizhou. It comprises the specialties of South Anhui, Yanjiang and Huai Bei. The highly distinctive characteristic of Anhui cuisine lies not only in the elaborate choices of cooking materials but also in the strict control of cooking process...
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Chinese Tea Culture
Drinking tea has become a part of people’s daily life. Tea culture as the crystallization of Chinese tradition has a long history. China is the homeland of tea. Tea as one of important exports has made a great contribution to economic development of Ancient China. Tasting tea is a unique culture of China. The tea quality, teahouse’s atmosphere and tea wares are all considered to be very important when tasting. With a long time of the habit of drinking tea, Chinese people have given tea the special spirit: clearness, respect, joy and truthfulness...
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