Chinese Cuisines
China is a vast country with diverse climates, customs, products, and habits. People living in different regions display great variety in their diets. People in coastal areas eat more aquatic products and seafood, whereas those in central and northwest China eat more domestic animals and poultry. Foods vary from north to south, and typical local dishes may eve astonish strangers, such as snake, pangolin, and white rat. Tastes also differ regionally because of the climatic differences. One popular summary of Chinese food is "sweet in the south, salty in north, sour in the west, and spicy in the east."
China's vast territory and long history have given birth to distinct regional cuisines over the centuries. The precise number of regional cuisines in China is still under dispute, but experts agree on at least eight: Sichuan, Shandong, Guangdong (Cantonese), Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Human and Anhui, the eight provinces in China.

Sichuan Cuisine
Characterized by its spicy and pungent flavor, Sichuan cuisine, prolific of tastes, emphasizes on the use of chili. Pepper and prickly ash also never fail to accompany, producing typical exciting tastes. Besides, garlic, ginger and fermented soybean are also used in the cooking process. Wild vegetables and animals are usually chosen as ingredients, while frying, frying without oil, pickling and braising are applied as basic cooking techniques. It tastes hot, sweet, sour, salty or tongue-numbing. Typical dishes of Sichuan are Twice Cooked Pork Slices, Spicy Diced Chicken with Peanuts, Dry-fried Shark Fin, Fish-flavoured Pork Shreds and Pockmarked Woman's Bean Curb.

Shangdong Cuisine
Shandong is a large peninsula surrounded by the sea, with the Yellow River meandering through the center. As a result, seafood is a major component of Shandong cuisine. The raw materials are mainly domestic animals and birds, seafood and vegetables. The masterly cooking techniques include Bao(quick frying), Liu(quick frying with corn flour), Pa(stewing, roasting, boiling, using sugar to make fruit, crystallizing with honey). Some of the famous dishes are Deep-fried Red-scale Fish, Yellow River Carp in Sweet and Sour Sauce, Stewed Sea Cucumber, Dezhou Braised Chicken.
The most representative of Shandong Cuisine is, perhaps, Beijing Roast Duck.

Guangdong (Cantonese) Cuisine
Guangdong cuisine, known as Cantonese cuisine in the West, originates from Guangdong, the southernmost province in China. As the climate of Guangdong is hot, Cantonese food does not use much spice, bringing out the natural flavor of the vegetables and meats. The dishes are fresh, crisp, tender, and lightly seasoned. The raw material is very rich, which includes snake, cat and pangolin. Cooked snake is considered a delicacy. The most famous snake dish is the Dragon and Tiger Locked in the Battle, in which cobra, leopard cat, and over twenty spices are used. Roast snake with Chrysanthemum Blooms is provided in autumn. The dish is creamy in colour and is garnished with beautiful petals of chrysanthemum, mushrooms, and various flavorings. Other delicacies in Guangdong Cuisine include Roast Suckling Pig, Duck Web in Oyster Sauce, and Braised Chicken Feet with Wild Herbs.

Jiangsu Cuisine
Jiangsu Cuisine is popular in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River consisting of the styles of Suzhou, Yangzhou, Nanjing and Zhenjiang dishes. It is characteristically sweet. Sweet-sour Fish, Sweet-sour Pork and Sweet-sour Soup are common dishes at the table of the ordinary families. Cooking techniques can be varied, but quick frying and stirfrying, simmering and steaming are more often used. Special attention is given to the section of the ingredients, cutting, and seasoning according to the different seasons of the year. The most popular dishes are Sweet-sour Boneless Fried Fish, Watermelon Chicken, Salted Duck and Creamed Abalone Soup.

Zhejiang Cuisine
Developed from the local food of the four cities in Zhejiang Province: Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Wenzhou. Zhejiang Cuisine makes crisp, tender, light and fresh dishes. The region is beautiful with many rivers and lakes so that shrimps and fish are largely produced. The products fresh from the water are made into mouth-watering dishes: Shrimp-meat with Dragon-well Tea, West Lake Sour Fish, Steamed Carp, Fried Shrimp Balls. Other famous dishes are Dongpo Braised Pork, Beggar's Chicken. The ways of the cutting and the temperature of cooking are closely observed, which is the key to the success of Zhejiang Cuisine.

Fujian Cuisine
Fujian Cuisine is developed from the local food of the three cities of Fujian Province: Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Xiamen. This region is very close to the sea and seafood making is, of course, the chef's culinary art. They are good at steaming, frying, braising the food, particularly good at pickling the ingredients before cooking. The popular dishes are Wined Chicken, Wined Sliced Fish, Deep-fried Prawns, Wined Sea Cucumber with Brown Sauce, and Braised Abalone with Oyster Sauce. Flavor, color and appearance are important in Fujian Cuisine.

Hunan Cuisine
Hunna Cuisine is developed from the local food of the Xianjiang Vally, Dongting Lake Area, and western mountainous Hunnan Province. Its characteristics are: a great variety of ingredients, shiny and strong colors, hot and spicy tastes, smoked and pickled flavors. Cooking technique are pickling, smoking, spicing, simmering, steaming, braising and frying. The noted dishes are Hot and Spicy Chicken, Simmered Shark's Fin in Brown Sauce, Gold-Coin Fish, and Sweet Lotus Seeds Soup.

Anhui Cuisine
Anhui Cuisine is developed from the local food at the Yangtze banks in Anhui Province, the Huai River Valley, and Huizhou region. Its characteristics are natural ingredients selected; temperature and timing of cooking closely observed; original color and flavor preserved. Deep-frying, roasting, simmering and steaming are the usual cooking techniques applied. The noted dishes are Fuli Stewed Chicken, Salted Mandarin Fish, Milky Fish King, Ham Simmered with Bamboo Shoots and Ham Simmered with Soft-shelled Turtles.