What are the best places in China for food? If you just came to China to sample the best of itsauthentic food in authentic settings, where should you go? Of course food is usually only ever part of the Chinese experience that visitors are looking for, and if you go to the following cities, you can also experience a wide range of the best sights China has to offer when you're not eating.
China Highlights has prepared a selection ofChinese Food Tourscovering the most popular destinations for customers who are particularly interested in tasting genuine oriental cuisine.
1. Hong Kong
- Location:Southeast China
- Culinary Style:Cantonese cuisine,Hong Kong Cuisine, Foreign cuisine
Cantonese foodis enjoyed the world over and is closest to the flavor of Chinese takeaway food. It is the sweetest ofChina's Eight Culinary Styles, and is the most similar to the Western palate.Hong Kongoffers this style, along with good seafood, and dim sum (tea and a light meal, peculiar to HK).
Hong Kong, being a wealthy international city, hasrestaurantsselling high-quality food from many countries of the world, most notably Japanese, Korean, and British food.
2. Beijing
- Location:Northeast China
- Culinary Style:Jing cuisine,Northeast cuisine,Mongolian cuisine
Peking duckor simply roast duck is a delicious classic among Chinese foods. It is prepared no better anywhere than in Beijing, where it originated as an imperial food.Quanjude Restaurantserves the duck feast in lavish and studied style. Beijing food is in a class of its own, called Jing cuisine.
In the north of China wheat is the staple, more than rice, so many wheaten foods are eaten, like pancakes, noodles, steamed buns, and dumplings. There is also lots of braising in theNortheast style.
Mongolian hotpot is another classic that should be eaten in Beijing, which is surprisingly only about 250 kilometers (160 miles) fromInner Mongolia, or 500 kilometers (300 miles) fromHohhot.
Also reada bite of Beijing street snacks.
3. Chengdu
- Location:Central China, Sichuan Province
- Culinary Style:Chuan cuisine
Chengduis the capital of Sichuan Province, which gives its name to the spiciest, and also a very popular,Chinese culinary style. China's Sichuan food should be braved. It is too hot for most in all but small quantities, but if you love chilies this is heaven. Classic dishes that should be eaten here are theSichuan hotpot,kungpao chickenandmapo tofu.Chongqingis also a great city to eat Chuan food.
Recommended tour:Half-Day Sichuan Cuisine Cooking Tour
4. Turpan
- Location:Northwest China, Xinjiang Autonomous Region
- Culinary Style:Muslim cuisine, Xinjiang Cuisine
Anywhere in the Muslim Northwest of China would be a great place to eatwhole roast lambandhand-pulled noodles, as this is where these dishes originate. Also do not miss the Xinjiang ‘large flatbreads', known locally asnang(/nung/).
Turpan pipsUrumqifor food, the capital of theXinjiang, because it also has excellent locally grown dried fruit in its almost rural setting. Its small town restaurants and shops provide a more peaceful and authentic atmosphere than the biggest city in Central Asia.
5. Xiamen
- Location:Southeast China, Fujian Province
- Culinary Style:Min (Fujian) cuisine
For great seafood and authentic sweet and sour dishes go toXiamen.
Fujian cuisine, developed inFujian Provinceon the Pacific, is known for its spices and soups.Xiamen's attractionsmake it the most interesting city in Fujian.
6. Guangzhou
- Location:Southeast China, Guangdong Province
- Culinary S tyle:Yue (Cantonese) cuisine
Guangzhou(once known as Canton) and other Pearl River Delta cities, likeShenzhen, are good places to go for originalCantonese food.
Guangzhou's specialties include white cut chicken and roast suckling pig, as well asspring rollsand sweet and sour dishes.
7. Macau
- Location:Southeast China, by Guangdong Province and Hong Kong, on the Pacific coast
- Culinary Style:Portuguese-meets-Chinese,Cantonese cuisine
For an interesting mix of Portuguese and Chinese style food journey toMacau. This small former colony has a menu different enough and tasty enough to merit a place on the list.
It is in theCantonese foodzone.
8. Xi'an
- Location:Central China,Shaanxi Province
- Culinary Style:Northwest cuisine,Muslim cuisine, imperial feasts
Xi'anshould be on the list for its imperial feasts, including many exotic meat platters, like camel and donkey, that can be eaten while viewing a Tang Dynasty show.
Xi'an is a representative place for theNorthwest food style, which is actually quite similar to the Northeast style, represented by Beijing above, but more noodles, with less buns and dumplings.Lanzhouis famous for its pulled noodles.
Recommended tour:3-Day Essence of Xi'an Tour
Other Interesting Food Cities
Those top eight food cities cover the range of China's best mainstream foods, and those generally preferred by the foreign palate. Much ofChina's ethnic minority foodand less well-known culinary styles are more of an acquired taste.
China's biggest variety ofminoritiesare concentrated in the South. Key cities areKaili,Kunming,Guilin,Xishuangbanna, etc. SeeChina's Top Minority Cities. Besides minority food, cities onHainan IslandlikeHaikouandSanyahave fresh tropical fruit and excellent seafood.
Tibetan food is the least accessible of China's foods, but besides inLhasaand other Roof-of-the-World places, Tibetan food can be found in places likeLijiang,Diqing, andDaliinYunnan, and inJiuzhaigouinSichuan Province.
中部五省East China give their names to five lesser known ofChina's eight regional culinary styles, not covered by the cities listed above:Lu Cuisine(Shandong Cuisine),Su Cuisine(Jiangsu Cuisine),Zhe Cuisine(Zhejiang Cuisine),Hui Cuisine(Anhui Cuisine), andXiang Cuisine(Hunan Cuisine). Visit their capital cities (Jinan,Nanjing,Hangzhou, Hefei, andChangsharespectively) to taste these styles.
