''A Bite of China'' () is a Chinese

documentary television series Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

on the history and traditions of food, dining, and cooking in China directed by Chen Xiaoqing (), narrated by Li Lihong () with original music composed by Roc Chen (). It first aired 14 May 2012 on

China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...

and quickly gained high ratings and widespread popularity. The seven-episode documentary series, which began filming in March 2011, introduces the history and story behind foods of various kinds in more than 60 locations in mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong. The documentary has also been actively encouraged as a means of introducing Chinese food culture to those unfamiliar with local cuisine. Various notable chefs such as Shen Hongfei and

Chua Lam Chua Lam (also known as Mandarin: Tsai Lan, Cantonese: Choi Lan, Teochew: Chùa Lāng) (simplified Chinese: , traditional Chinese: , born 1941 in Singapore) is a Singaporean columnist, food critic, and occasional television host based in Hong K ...

were consultants on the project. A second season of ''A Bite of China'', also consisting of seven episodes (plus trailer), aired from 18 April to 6 June 2014. The third season was aired from 19 to 26 February 2018, during the

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...

holiday.

Foods Featured

Season 1

Season 2

Some of these English translations are based on ''

China Daily ''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Overview ''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. T ...

'' so may not be accurate.

Reception

''A Bite of China'' attracted high ratings during its nightly airing on CCTV-1, drawing an estimated 100 million viewers. It also has an overall approval rating of 91% on

Douban Douban.com (), launched on 6 March 2005, is a Chinese online database and social networking service that allows registered users to record information and create content related to film, books, music, recent events, and activities in Chinese c ...

. Oliver Thring of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' praised it as "the best TV show I've ever seen about food. I'd hazard it's the best one ever made."

Controversy

In the Episode 2 of the Season 3, the voice-over indicates that Huifang as a community in

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...

dates back to

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. The remark was refuted by a history scholar, Yu Gengzhe. Yu commented on

Weibo Weibo may refer to: * Microblogging in China, or China-based microblogging services (), including: ** NetEase Weibo (), launched by NetEase ** People's Weibo (), launched by ''People's Daily'' ** Phoenix Weibo (), launched by Phoenix Television ** W ...

that where present-day Huifang located, was the Central Secretariat of Tang, along with the barracks of the imperial guards. And a mosque supposedly was sited there in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

. Some of the portrayal of certain areas within the series have also been criticized. The background Chinese painting appeared in the documentary's poster is "Ridge cloud with rain" () by Xu Qinsong (). At first, the poster designer used the painting without permission of Mr. Xu, However, this copyright issue was later solved by reconciliation between the artist and the documentary producer.

International Broadcast

* -

8TV (Malaysia) 8TV () is a Malaysian Chinese-language free-to-air television (formerly both English and Chinese-language free-to-air television) network focused on the Chinese community of Malaysia. Its programming consists of mostly dramas, sitcoms, and re ...

References

External links

English Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bite of China, A Chinese cuisine Chinese television shows 2012 Chinese television series debuts Chinese documentary television series China Central Television original programming