Food

Food in China varies widely from region to region. While visiting, relax your inhibitions and try a bit of everything. Keep in mind that undercooked food or poor hygiene can cause bacterial or parasitic infection, particularly during warm or hot weather. Thus it is advisable to take great care about (and perhaps abstain from) eating seafood and meat on the street during the summer. That said, hygiene is better than in, say, the Indian subcontinent. Chinese gourmands place emphasis on freshness so your meal will most likely be cooked as soon as you order it. Searing hot woks over coal or gas fires make even street food usually safe to eat. Do be on the lookout for ripoffs though; it is not at all uncommon to order a common dish (particularly at lowbrow restaurants) and receive a portion that is obviously much smaller than that ordered by a local sitting next to you, while still being charged the full price. However, if you can avoid such blatant tricks, eating in China can be a highlight (perhaps, the highlight) of your trip. NB: Certain dishes are prepared from endangered species, such as stew made from near-extinct turtles from South East Asia or soup flavored by the threatened facai moss, while other dishes may include ingredients that some people may prefer to avoid, such as dog meat. Therefore, it is advised to check the the contents of dishes before ordering.

Famous cuisines

- Beijing: home-style noodles and baozi (bread buns), Peking Duck, cabbage dishes, great pickles. Not fancy but can be great and satisfying.

- Cantonese / Guangzhou / Hong Kong: the style most visitors are already familiar with to some extent. Not too spicy, emphasis on freshly cooked ingredients and seafood. Dim Sum (点心) (small snacks usually eaten for lunch/breakfast) are a highlight.

- Fujian: ingredients mostly from coastal and estuarial waterways. "Buddha Jumps over a Wall" (佛跳墙) is particularly famous - the story is that the smell was so good a monk forgot his vegetarian vows and leapt over the wall to have some.

- Guizhou: combines elements of Sichuan and Xiang cuisine, making liberal use of spicy, peppery and sour flavors.

- Hunan: occasionally referred to on menus as Xiang cuisine, is actually the cuisine of the Xiangjiang region, Dongting Lake and western Hunan Province. Similar to Sichuan cuisine, but can actually be "spicier" in the Western sense.

- Shanghai: because of it's geographic location, Shanghai cuisine is considered to be a good mix of northern and southern Chinese cooking styles. The most famous are xiaolongbao(小笼包) and Chinese chives dumplings (韭菜饺子).

- Sichuan: widely available outside Sichuan, and famously hot and spicy, though not all dishes are made with live chillies. Arguably the finest PRC cuisine. If you want really authentic Sichuanese food outside Sichuan, look for small shops in neighborhoods with lots of migrant workers. These tend to be much cheaper and often better than the ubiquitous up-market Sichuan restaurants.

- Zhejiang: includes the foods of Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Shaoxing. A delicately seasoned, light-tasting mix of seafood and vegetables often served in soup. Sometimes lightly sweetened or sometimes sweet and sour, Zhejiang dishes frequently involve cooked meats and vegetables in combination.