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Food and Drink
Chinese cuisine has a very long history and is renowned all over the world. Cantonese (the style most Westerners are most familiar with) is just one regional style of Chinese cooking. There are eight major schools of Chinese cuisine, named after the places where they were conceived: Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan and Zhejiang. China's cuisine breaks down into four major regional categories:
Northern cuisine:
Beijing food has developed from the Shandong school of cuisine.
Specialities:
• Peking duck (roasted and eaten in a thin pancake with cucumber and a sweet plum sauce).
• Mongolian Hotpot (a Chinese version of fondue; it is eaten in a communal style and consists of simmering soup in a special large round pot into which is dipped a variety of uncooked meats and vegetables, which are cooked on the spot).
• Shuijiao (pasta-like dough wrapped round pork meat, chives and onions, similar in idea to Italian ravioli; these can be bought by the jin (pound) in street markets and small eating houses, and make a good snack).
Southern cuisine
Guangdong (Cantonese) food is the most exotic in China. The food markets in Guangzhou are a testimony to this, and the Western visitor is often shocked by the enormous variety of rare and exotic animals that are used in the cuisine, including snake, dog, turtle and wildcat.
Specialities:
• Dim sum served at lunch.
• Shrimp wonton noodle soup.
Eastern cuisine
Shanghai and Zhejiang cooking is rich and sweet, often pickled. Noted for seafood, hot and sour soup, noodles and vegetables.
Specialities:
• La Mian (pulled noodles) served with curry beef soup.
• Xiao Long Bao (pan fried pork buns eaten dipped in vinegar).
Western cuisine
Sichuan and Hunan food is spicy, often sour and peppery, with specialities such as diced chicken stirred with soy sauce and peanuts, and spicy doufu (beancurd).
Specialities:
• Sweet and sour chicken.
• Orange beef.
National drinks:
• One of the best-known national drinks is Maotai, a fiery spirit distilled from rice wine.
• Local beers are of good quality, notably Tsingdao, which is similar to German lager.
• There are now some decent wines, which are produced mainly for tourists and export, such as Great Wall and Dynasty red wines and Qingdao white wine.
Legal drinking age: Although China has no minimum legal drinking age, a ban on the sale of alcohol to under-18s was introduced in January 2006.
Tipping: Still not officially approved of, tipping is becoming more commonplace in China. It is usual in tourist hotels and restaurants, and with tour guides and drivers. A service charge is often added by restaurants in large hotels.
Northern cuisine:
Beijing food has developed from the Shandong school of cuisine.
Specialities:
• Peking duck (roasted and eaten in a thin pancake with cucumber and a sweet plum sauce).
• Mongolian Hotpot (a Chinese version of fondue; it is eaten in a communal style and consists of simmering soup in a special large round pot into which is dipped a variety of uncooked meats and vegetables, which are cooked on the spot).
• Shuijiao (pasta-like dough wrapped round pork meat, chives and onions, similar in idea to Italian ravioli; these can be bought by the jin (pound) in street markets and small eating houses, and make a good snack).
Southern cuisine
Guangdong (Cantonese) food is the most exotic in China. The food markets in Guangzhou are a testimony to this, and the Western visitor is often shocked by the enormous variety of rare and exotic animals that are used in the cuisine, including snake, dog, turtle and wildcat.
Specialities:
• Dim sum served at lunch.
• Shrimp wonton noodle soup.
Eastern cuisine
Shanghai and Zhejiang cooking is rich and sweet, often pickled. Noted for seafood, hot and sour soup, noodles and vegetables.
Specialities:
• La Mian (pulled noodles) served with curry beef soup.
• Xiao Long Bao (pan fried pork buns eaten dipped in vinegar).
Western cuisine
Sichuan and Hunan food is spicy, often sour and peppery, with specialities such as diced chicken stirred with soy sauce and peanuts, and spicy doufu (beancurd).
Specialities:
• Sweet and sour chicken.
• Orange beef.
National drinks:
• One of the best-known national drinks is Maotai, a fiery spirit distilled from rice wine.
• Local beers are of good quality, notably Tsingdao, which is similar to German lager.
• There are now some decent wines, which are produced mainly for tourists and export, such as Great Wall and Dynasty red wines and Qingdao white wine.
Legal drinking age: Although China has no minimum legal drinking age, a ban on the sale of alcohol to under-18s was introduced in January 2006.
Tipping: Still not officially approved of, tipping is becoming more commonplace in China. It is usual in tourist hotels and restaurants, and with tour guides and drivers. A service charge is often added by restaurants in large hotels.
Nightlife
Visitors generally sample the nightlife of the larger cities with prearranged restaurant meals and visits to Chinese opera, Chinese state circus, ballet and theatre. Local Chinese tend to only drink socially with a formal meal so bars and nightclubs are usually only found in the more cosmopolitan cities and major towns.
Karaoke (written OK+ on Chinese signs) is a popular form of evening entertainment. Traditional local music and dancing is often found in areas where there are strong ethnic minority groups, notably in provinces including Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi and Sichuan.
Karaoke (written OK+ on Chinese signs) is a popular form of evening entertainment. Traditional local music and dancing is often found in areas where there are strong ethnic minority groups, notably in provinces including Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi and Sichuan.
Shopping
Prices in Friendship Stores, set up by the government, are fixed and there is generally no bargaining in most shops and department stores. However, haggling is all part of the buying process in outdoor markets (of which there are many) for items such as jade, antique ceramics, local hand-crafted items and silk garments. All antiques over 100 years old are marked with a red wax seal by the authorities, and require an export customs certificate. Beijing's fascinating Panjiayuan antiques and bric-a-brac market was once only open at weekends. It now opens every day, although it is still best at weekends.
China's booming economy has led to an explosion of shops in towns and cities. Once fairly uninspired places where you might buy inexpensive souvenirs, Chinese work clothes, posters and books, you can now find shops selling everything from chic fashion to high-tech electronics. Shopping is easier if accompanied by an interpreter, although in big cities and tourist towns English is often spoken by shop assistants. You can usually make yourself understood by pointing, otherwise someone nearby will generally speak a little English.
In Beijing, Shanghai and many other large cities, there are big department stores with several floors, selling a wide range of products. The best shopping is in the major shopping streets like Shanghai's Nanjing Road or Beijing's Wanfujing, in shopping centres and in markets. You can also get handicrafts direct from shops at local factories, or from shops specialising in the sale of handicrafts. Arts and crafts department stores also offer local handicrafts. Special purchases include jade jewellery, embroidery, calligraphy, paintings and carvings in wood, stone and bamboo.
Shop personnel often pack and arrange shipping for bulky items. Keep receipts, as visitors may be asked to produce them at customs prior to departure. Hotel shops are more expensive than local shops.
Shopping hours: Mon-Sun 0900-1900, although times vary across the country.
China's booming economy has led to an explosion of shops in towns and cities. Once fairly uninspired places where you might buy inexpensive souvenirs, Chinese work clothes, posters and books, you can now find shops selling everything from chic fashion to high-tech electronics. Shopping is easier if accompanied by an interpreter, although in big cities and tourist towns English is often spoken by shop assistants. You can usually make yourself understood by pointing, otherwise someone nearby will generally speak a little English.
In Beijing, Shanghai and many other large cities, there are big department stores with several floors, selling a wide range of products. The best shopping is in the major shopping streets like Shanghai's Nanjing Road or Beijing's Wanfujing, in shopping centres and in markets. You can also get handicrafts direct from shops at local factories, or from shops specialising in the sale of handicrafts. Arts and crafts department stores also offer local handicrafts. Special purchases include jade jewellery, embroidery, calligraphy, paintings and carvings in wood, stone and bamboo.
Shop personnel often pack and arrange shipping for bulky items. Keep receipts, as visitors may be asked to produce them at customs prior to departure. Hotel shops are more expensive than local shops.
Shopping hours: Mon-Sun 0900-1900, although times vary across the country.