Chinese food is not one cuisine but many — built around the eight great culinary traditions and shaped by climate, from the numbing spice of Sichuan to the delicate sweetness of Cantonese dim sum. Eating well is central to the travel experience, and most dishes are meant to be shared.
The eight great cuisines
- Shandong (Lu) — seafood, soups and the north’s base cuisine.
- Sichuan — mala (numbing-spicy), hotpot, mapo tofu and dan dan noodles.
- Cantonese (Yue) — dim sum, roast meats, fresh and mild.
- Jiangsu (Su) — sweet-and-savoury with elegant presentation.
- Zhejiang (Zhe) — fresh lake produce and Longjing shrimp.
- Fujian (Min) — soups and seafood.
- Hunan (Xiang) — fiery and sour-spicy.
- Anhui (Hui) — mountain herbs and slow braises.
Must-try dishes by region
- Beijing — Peking duck, zhajiangmian noodles and copper-pot hotpot.
- Xi’an — roujiamo, biangbiang noodles and lamb soup from the Muslim Quarter.
- Chengdu and Chongqing — hotpot, chuanshuan skewers and xiaomian.
- Guangzhou — dim sum, roast goose and congee.
- Shanghai — xiaolongbao soup dumplings and scallion-oil noodles.
- Guilin — rice noodles (mifen).
Mangiare come un locale
- Dishes are shared family-style around a lazy susan; order a mix of meat and vegetables.
- Payment is by QR code (Alipay or WeChat Pay) almost everywhere — set it up before you go.
- Busy, noisy neighbourhood restaurants are usually the best sign.
- Say “bu la” (not spicy) or “wei la” (a little spicy) in Sichuan and Hunan.
Esplora itinerari e guide
Altri temi di viaggio in Cina
Pianificazione dell’itinerario per la Cina · Cultura cinese · Usanze popolari cinesi · Città antiche e piccole · Principali attrazioni · Tour di gruppo · Muoversi in Cina · Shopping in Cina
Domande frequenti
- What is the most famous Chinese food? — There is no single dish, but Peking duck, Sichuan hotpot, Cantonese dim sum and xiaolongbao soup dumplings are the most iconic.
- Is Chinese food very spicy? — Only in some regions — Sichuan, Hunan and Guizhou cook hot, while Cantonese, Jiangsu and much of the north are mild. You can always ask for less spice.
- What should a first-time visitor try? — Peking duck in Beijing, hotpot in Chengdu or Chongqing, dim sum in Guangzhou and xiaolongbao in Shanghai — one signature dish per city.
- Is it easy for foreigners to order and pay? — Yes — menus increasingly have pictures or English, and you pay by scanning a QR code with Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to an international card.
Pianifica il resto del tuo viaggio
Il periodo migliore per visitare la Cina · Ho bisogno del visto? (verifica) · Weekend in Cina · Planner di viaggio con intelligenza artificiale · Calcolatore dei costi · Tour della Cina · Autista privato · eSIM per la Cina
Altre destinazioni in Cina
Chengdu · Chongqing · Hangzhou · Sanya · Lijiang e Shangri-La · Monte Huangshan · Suzhou · Xiamen e Gulangyu · Wuhan · Dali ed Erhai · Nanchino · Qingdao · Pingyao · Luoyang · Monte Wuyi · Dunhuang · Hongcun · Zhangjiajie · Lago Qinghai · Fenghuang · Guilin · Xi’an · Shanghai · Pechino