Chinese cuisine has a long history, and is one of the Chinese cultural treasures . It is as famous all over the world as French cuisine. Chinese cookery has developed and matured over the centuries, forming a rich cultural content It is characterized by fine selection of ingredients, precise processing, particular care to the amount of fire, and substantial nourishment. Local flavors and snacks, and special dishes have formed according to regions, local products, climate, historical factors, and eating habits.
Chinese dishes appeal to the senses through colour, shape, aroma and taste. For local styles, Beijing cuisine combines the best features of different regional styles. Shangdong cuisine leads the Northern dishes. Shangdong cooks are good at cooking seafoods. Sichuan cooks specialize in chilies and hot peppers and Sichuan dish is famous for aromatic and spicy sauces. Guangdong cooking makes use of many ingredients. They look for fresh, tender, crisp textures. Huai Yang cuisine stresses the natural flavours. Dishes are strong but not greasy, and light but delicate. Tan cuisine is both sweet and salty, There is a saying that "southerners have a sweet tooth, and northerners crave salt", but Tan dishes manage to satisfy both.
