Abstract: UNESCO Biosphere Reserves were first established under the Man and Biosphere Programme of UNESCO in the 1970s. Their mandate has expanded beyond conservation to include sustainable development and local capacity enhancement. As institutions under UNESCO, they also work on “building peace” by seeking to reconcile relations between peoples, and between people and the natural
Abstract: The cooking of the Macanese, an ethnic group originating in Macau, represents one of the earliest examples of creole cooking. What can be seen on the dining plates of these people reflects history and culture dating back to the seafaring discoveries of the Portuguese. Macanese cuisine demonstrates how Portuguese culinary traditions have been interpreted
Abstract: First introduced into China by the Japanese in the 1930s, crayfish became popular in the Nanjing area in the early 1990s as part of a dish prepared with Sichuan pepper and spices. China is now the top consumer and producer of crayfish, which has gained acclaim as a luxury item prepared in a variety
Abstract: Non-rennet cheeses have existed in China for almost two millennia. Such cheeses reflect the influence of the foodways of pastoralists from the steppes, especially Persians and Turks. Premodern Chinese adopted the milking practices of these peoples and incorporated cheese and other dairy products into their diets. These ancient cheese-making practices survive nowadays in Yunnan
Abstract: Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, is home to one of China’s best-known noodle dishes: Lanzhou lamian. Created over a century ago, these hand-pulled beef noodles are a simple yet delicious regional specialty emblematic of both the city itself and the Hui Muslim people of the northwest. Lanzhou lamian have steadily acquired popularity and
Abstract: China has a long history of dairy production and consumption. Milk was appreciated for its culinary and medicinal uses, with successive dynasties expanding production and acquisition of pastoral animals. Now China is one of the world’s great dairy nations. Dairy was first commercially available in cities, but advances in packing and shipping have made
Abstract: In Chinese history, the practice of collecting recipes evolved along two parallel but interacting trends. The first placed food within a medical context in order to nourish the body and heal different ailments. The second was concerned with technical aspects as well as the aesthetic enjoyments of food. Beginning with twenty recipes found on
Abstract: Variations in cuisine among the Tibetan minority of China are due in part to environmental diversity. Different ecologies yielded varied adaptive strategies of resource use (economies), and resulted in three main types of food production: pastoralism, agriculture, and a mixed economy with both kinds of production. These strategies in turn affect the type of
Abstract: China’s diverse industrial sector is the driving force of the nation’s post-1978 economic “miracle.” While conditions will change in the coming decades as nations in South and Southeast Asia and Africa with lower cost labor and land make inroads, China remains a vibrant manufacturing sector that must be credited with both the nation’s new-found
Abstract: Despite two millennia of widespread ecological degradation and an unmatched human population, China is one of the world’s most biologically diverse countries. Its vast land area encompasses an astonishing variety of biomes, ecosystems, flora, and fauna. New nature conservation policies include the rapid expansion of the nation’s protected area system, but daunting challenges remain.
