Chinese regional cuisines are the many different cuisines found in different provinces and prefectures of China as well as from larger overseas Chinese communities. A number of different styles contribute to Chinese cuisine, but perhaps the best known and most influential are Guangdong cuisine,

Shandong cuisine Shandong cuisine (), more commonly known in Chinese as Lu cuisine, is one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of Chinese cuisine and one of the Four Great Traditions (). It is derived from the native cooking style of Shandong Province, a northern ...

Huaiyang cuisine Huaiyang cuisine () is one of the Four Great Traditions in Chinese cuisine. It is derived from the native cooking styles of the region surrounding the lower reaches of the Huai and Yangtze rivers and centered on the cities of Huai'an, Yangzhou ...

and

Sichuan cuisine Sichuan cuisine, alternatively romanized as Szechwan cuisine or Szechuan cuisine (, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), is a style of Chinese cuisine originating from Sichuan Province. It has bold flavours, particularly the pungency and spici ...

.Yao, Zhang. ''China Everyday!''. Page One Pub. 2007. These styles are distinctive from one another due to factors such as availability of resources,

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, cooking techniques and lifestyle. One style may favor the generous use of garlic and

shallot The shallot is a botanical variety (a cultivar) of the onion. Until 2010, the (French red) shallot was classified as a separate species, ''Allium ascalonicum''. The taxon was synonymized with '' Allium cepa'' (the common onion) in 2010, as the ...

s over chilli and spices, while another may favour preparing

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

over other meats and

fowl Fowl are birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl (Galliformes) and the waterfowl (Anseriformes). Anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups are close evolutionary relatives; together ...

. Jiangsu cuisine favors cooking techniques such as braising and

stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables a ...

ing, while Sichuan cuisine employs

baking Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred " ...

, just to name a few. Hairy crab is a highly sought after local delicacy in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

, as it can be found in lakes within the region.

Peking duck Peking duck is a dish from Beijing (Peking) that has been prepared since the Imperial era. The meat is characterized by its thin, crispy skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the di ...

and dim-sum are other popular dishes well known outside of China. Based on the raw materials and ingredients used, the method of preparation and

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.T ...

differences, a variety of foods with different flavors and textures are prepared in different regions of the country. Many traditional regional cuisines rely on basic methods of

preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

such as

drying Drying is a mass transfer process consisting of the removal of water or another solvent by evaporation from a solid, semi-solid or liquid. This process is often used as a final production step before selling or packaging products. To be consid ...

, salting,

pickling Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the shelf life of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure typically affects the food's texture and flavor. The resulting food is cal ...

and

fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

.J. Li & Y. Hsieh. ''Traditional Chinese Food Technology and Cuisine''. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Eight Great Traditions

Historically, the Four Great Traditions () of Chinese cuisine are Chuan, Lu, Yue and Huaiyang, representing West, North, South and East China cuisine correspondingly. However, in modern times the list is often expanded to the Eight Great Traditions (), which are as follows:

Guangdong

Guangdong or Cantonese cuisine () is a regional cuisine that emphasizes the minimal use of sauce which brings out the original taste of food itself. It is known for

dim sum Dim sum () is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cuis ...

, a

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...

term for small hearty dishes, which became popular in Hong Kong in the early 20th century. These bite-sized portions are prepared using traditional cooking methods such as frying, steaming, stewing and baking. It is designed so that one person may taste an assortment of different dishes in bite-size. Some of these may include rice rolls, lotus leaf rice,

turnip cake Turnip cake is a Chinese dim sum dish. The less commonly used radish cake is a more accurate name, as Western-style turnips are not used in the dish but rather shredded radish (typically Chinese radish) and plain rice flour. It is traditionally ...

s, buns, jiaozi-style dumplings, stir-fried green vegetables,

congee Congee or conjee ( ) is a type of rice porridge or gruel eaten in Asian countries. It can be eaten plain, where it is typically served with side dishes, or it can be served with ingredients such as meat, fish, seasonings and flavourings, most ...

porridge Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...

, soups, etc. The Cantonese style of dining, yum cha, combines the variety of dim sum dishes with the drinking of tea. Yum cha literally means "drink tea".

Sichuan

Sichuan cuisine (; spelled ''Szechuan'' or ''Szechwan'' in the once-common

postal romanization Postal romanization was a system of transliterating Chinese place names developed by postal authorities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For many cities, the corresponding postal romanization was the most common English-language form ...

) is a style of Chinese cuisine originating from the

Sichuan Province Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

of southwestern China, famed for bold flavors, particularly the pungency and spiciness resulting from liberal use of

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeas ...

and

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

s, as well as the unique flavor of the Sichuan peppercorn () and Facing heaven pepper ().

Peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small an ...

s, sesame paste and

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of ...

are also prominent ingredients in this style.

Anhui

Anhui cuisine ( or ) is derived from the native cooking styles of the Huangshan Mountains region in China and is similar to Jiangsu cuisine, but with less emphasis on seafood and more on a wide variety of local herbs and vegetables. Anhui province is particularly endowed with fresh bamboo and mushroom crops.

Shandong

Shandong cuisine () is commonly known as Lu cuisine. Shandong cuisine constituted one of the most important parts of imperial cuisine with wide distribution across

North China North China, or Huabei () is a geographical region of China, consisting of the provinces of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Part of the larger region of Northern China (''Beifang''), it lies north of the Qinling–Hu ...

. Lu cuisine dishes are noted for having fresh, salty, crisp and tender features. Lu cuisine chefs are experienced to care for the seasoning of clear broth and creamy soup. It was recorded to be highly favored by the imperial family in the Ming and

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. Shandong cuisine features a variety of cooking techniques and seafood ingredients. Typical dishes on local menus include braised abalone, braised sea cucumbers, sweet and sour carp, braised pork intestines and Dezhou chicken (marinated chicken originating from the city of Dezhou).

Fujian

Chinese-style geng with meat, fish cakes, and squid

Fujian cuisine () is influenced by Fujian's coastal position and mountainous terrain."Fujian Cuisine.Beautyfujian.com
. Accessed June 2011. Woodland delicacies such as

edible mushroom Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruit bodies of several species of macrofungi (fungi which bear fruiting structures that are large enough to be seen with the naked eye). They can appear either below ground ( hypogeous) or above gro ...

s and bamboo shoots are also utilized. Slicing techniques are valued in the cuisine and utilized to enhance the flavor, aroma and texture of seafood and other foods. Fujian cuisine is often served in a broth or soup, with cooking techniques including braising, stewing, steaming and boiling.

Jiangsu

Jiangsu cuisine () is one of the major components of Chinese cuisine, which consists of the styles of Huai'an, Yangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou and Zhenjiang dishes. It is especially popular in the lower reach of the Yangtze River.

, one of the Four Great Traditions, is a style of Jiangsu cuisine. Typical courses of Jiangsu cuisine are Jinling salted dried duck (Nanjing's most famous dish), crystal meat (pork heels in a bright, brown sauce), clear crab shell meatballs (pork meatballs in crab shell powder, fatty, yet fresh), Yangzhou steamed jerky strips (dried tofu, chicken, ham and pea leaves),

Hunan

Hunan cuisine () is well known for its hot spicy flavor,"Hunan Cuisine."China.org
Chinese Imperial Cuisines. Accessed June 2011. fresh aroma and deep color. Common cooking techniques include stewing, stir-frying, pot-roasting, braising, and smoking. Due to the high agricultural output of the region, there are many varied ingredients for Hunan dishes. Hunan cuisine is called ' in China, because the abbreviation of Hunan Province is ''Xiāng'' (). Some typical dishes of Hunan Cuisine are steaming smoked meat, stew fish, rice noodle soup. Besides spicy, Hunan cuisine, especially western Hunan, also emphasizes on sourness. Therefore, different kinds of pickles are popular in Hunan, for example, Douchi is a type of fermented and salted black soybean.'

Zhejiang

Zhejiang cuisine ( or ) derives from the native cooking styles of the Zhejiang region. The dishes are not greasy, having instead a fresh, soft flavor with a mellow fragrance. The cuisine consists of at least four styles, each of which originated from different cities in the province: *Hangzhou style, characterized by rich variations and the use of bamboo shoots *Shaoxing style, specializing in poultry and freshwater fish *Ningbo style, specializing in seafood *Shanghai style, a combination of different Zhe styles, is also very famous for its

Other

Other regions and ethnic groups with unique dishes and styles are represented in China, including

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

, and many more.

Dong Bei

Many dishes in this region originated in

Manchu cuisine Manchu cuisine or Manchurian cuisine is the cuisine of Manchuria, the historical name for a region which now covers mostly Northeast China and Outer Manchuria. It uses the traditional Manchu staple foods of millet, soybean, peas, corn and broom ...

, but it is also heavily influenced by the cuisines of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...

, and

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in His ...

. It partially relies on preserved foods and large portions due to the region's harsh winters and relatively short growing seasons.

Gansu

Gansu cuisine is the regional cooking style of the Han Chinese, deeply influenced by the local

Hui people The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the ...

in the

Gansu province Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

Northwestern China Northwest China () is a statistical region of China which includes the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia and the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai. It has an area of 3,107,900 km2. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid con ...

Hainan

Hainan cuisine is derived from the cooking styles of the peoples of

Hainan Province Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. The food is lighter, less oily, and more mildly seasoned than that of the Chinese mainland. Seafood predominates the menu, as prawn, crab, and freshwater and ocean fish are widely available.

Hakka

Hakka cuisine is the cooking style of the

Hakka people The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

, and it may also be found in parts of Taiwan and in countries with significant overseas Hakka communities. It emphasizes the texture of food, and features preserved meats and vegetables.

Jilin

Jilin cuisine is the regional cooking style of the Han Chinese with heavy influence from native

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) an ...

, Korean, and Mongolian minorities in the Jilin Province of Northeastern China.

Mongolian

Mongolian hotpot is very famous in China, and popular with the Han ethnic group.

Qinghai

Qinghai cuisine is the regional cooking style of the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...

with distinct influence from the Hui, Monguor people, and

Tibetans The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans liv ...

in the

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

province in

Northwest China Northwest China () is a statistical region of China which includes the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia and the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai. It has an area of 3,107,900 km2. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid con ...

Tibetan

Tibetan cuisine is traditionally served with bamboo chopsticks, in contrast to other Himalayan cuisines, which are eaten by hand. Small soup bowls are used, and the wealthier Tibetans ate from bowls of gold and silver.

Xinjiang

The cuisine of Xinjiang reflects the region's many ethnic groups, and refers particularly to Uyghur cuisine. Signature ingredients include roasted

mutton Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...

kebab Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish that originates from cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the category are popular around the wor ...

s, roasted fish and rice. Because of the distinctive Muslim population, the food is predominantly

halal ''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with '' haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification k ...

Yunnan

Yunnan only began to come under significant Chinese influence some 1000 years after

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...

was annexed. As the most geographically, ethnically and culturally diverse province in modern China, it naturally features a wide variety of cuisine.

References

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