The Eight Great Cuisines of China

Known for: Sweet-and-sour fried Yellow River carp, Braised sea cucumber with scallions

Lu cuisine is considered the oldest of China's eight great culinary traditions and laid the foundation for northern Chinese cooking, including the imperial cuisine of Beijing, over the centuries. It hails from Shandong, home of the Yellow River and Confucius, and is known for rich, clear stocks and precise knife work. Its signature flavor is "xián xiān" – salty-fresh with subtle umami depth. Scallions and garlic serve not just as seasoning but as flavor carriers in their own right.

Known for: "Squirrel" mandarin fish, Yangzhou fried rice

Su cuisine, also known as Huaiyang cuisine, developed along the Yangtze and the Grand Canal as the culinary language of the literary elite and imperial banquets. It is considered the most elegant of the eight traditions: mildly seasoned, with intricate knife skills and a finely balanced ratio of sweetness and savoriness. Dishes are often artfully arranged in shape and color – aesthetics are part of the flavor here.

Known for: West Lake fish in vinegar sauce, Dongpo braised pork belly

Zhejiang cuisine, shaped by the cities of Hangzhou, Ningbo and Shaoxing, is known for being light and never greasy. Around the picturesque West Lake, dishes emerged that prepare fresh freshwater fish and vegetables with poetic restraint – often in clear sauces with a touch of rice vinegar or Shaoxing wine. Seasonality and freshness take precedence over heavy seasoning.

Known for: "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" stew, Lychee-style pork

Fujian lies between mountains and sea, and its cuisine reflects exactly that: seafood meets mountain mushrooms, rich stocks meet subtly sweet-and-sour notes. Min cuisine is especially known for its refined, often clear soups and its skillful use of red fermented rice (hóng zāo) to color and flavor meat and fish.

Known for: Dim sum varieties, Cantonese roast goose

Cantonese cuisine is internationally the best-known Chinese regional cuisine – think dim sum, roast duck or wok dishes in Chinatowns around the world. Its guiding principle is to preserve the natural freshness of ingredients: short cooking times, gentle steaming, minimal seasoning. Thanks to its proximity to the South China Sea and historic trade routes via Hong Kong, it is also the most cosmopolitan of the eight cuisines.

Known for: Chairman Mao's braised pork belly, Steamed fish head with chopped chili

Unlike Sichuan's numbing "málà", Hunan cuisine relies on a direct, fiery heat combined with sourness – often through fermented chili, vinegar or pickled vegetables. Smoked and cured meat (làròu) is just as typical as bold wok technique: high heat, little oil, maximum flavor.

Sichuan (Chuan) cuisine rates the same 5/5 for spiciness – but its heat is the numbing "málà" style rather than direct and sour. Jump to Sichuan cuisine

Known for: Fermented "stinky" mandarin fish, Li Hongzhang stew

Hui cuisine originated in the mountainous regions of Anhui and became known nationwide through the influential Huizhou merchants. It relies on wild herbs, mushrooms from the Huangshan mountains, ham and long braising and stewing processes that preserve the original flavor of ingredients rather than covering it up. Notable is the controlled fermentation of some dishes – an aroma that takes getting used to at first, but soon becomes irresistible.

Known for: Mapo tofu, Kung Pao chicken

Few Chinese regional cuisines are better known in the West than Sichuan cuisine with its unmistakable "málà" flavor – a combination of hot chilis and the numbing, tingling Sichuan peppercorn. But Chuan cuisine is far more than just spicy: chefs speak of "seven flavors, eight aromas", ranging from sweet-and-sour to fish-fragrant (yúxiāng). Hotpots, fermented bean paste and pickled vegetables shape the multi-layered character of this cuisine.

Hunan (Xiang) cuisine rates the same 5/5 for spiciness – but its heat is direct and sour rather than numbing. Jump to Hunan cuisine