
China’s Many Cuisines
At China Cooks, we take a pragmatic approach to understanding Chinese cuisines based on the major culinary divisions that one is likely to encounter on a trip to China. Our list of regional cuisine tags is aimed at helping newcomers to Chinese food navigate the customary designations. These tags include border regions, the Chinese diaspora, and the special cuisines of groups such as Buddhists. Rather than taking a stand on what, precisely, “Chinese cuisine” ought to mean, let’s explore what it could possibly include.
The following list is a provisional roadmap, a guide for those who want to explore one of the richest culinary regions on our planet. It identifies synonyms to facilitate clarity, and uses an asterisk to draw attention to those cuisines that are most commonly named on Chinese food websites and restaurants. We cluster cuisines by culinary affinity, for our readers’ convenience, recognizing that all such groupings are tentative.
Regional cuisines
*Lǔ cài 鲁菜 = Shāndōng cài 山东菜 = Shandong
Jīng Jīn cài 京津菜 = Beijing and Tianjin
*Jīng cài 京菜 = Běijīng cài 北京菜 = Beijing
Tiānjīn cài 天津菜 = Tianjin
Hébéi cài 河北菜 = Hebei
*Jìn cài 晋菜 = Shānxī cài 山西菜 = Shanxi
*Dōngběi cài 东北菜 = Northeast/Manchuria
Liáoníng cài 辽宁菜 = Liaoning
Jílín cài 吉林菜 = Jilin
Hēilóngjiāng cài 黑龙江菜 = Heilongjiang
*Sū cài 苏菜 = Jiāngsū cài 江苏菜 = Jiangsu
*Huáiyáng cài 淮扬菜 = Yangzhou and Huai River Basin
*Hù cài 沪菜 = Shànghǎi cài 上海菜 = Shanghai
*Zhè cài 浙菜 = Zhèjiāng cài 浙江菜 =Zhejiang
Hángbāng cài 杭帮菜 = Hangzhou
*Huī cài 徽菜 = Ānhuī cài 徽菜 = Anhui
*Gàn cài 赣菜 = Jiāngxī cài 江西菜 = Jiangxi
*Yù cài 豫菜 = Hénán cài 河南菜 = Henan
*È cài 鄂菜 = Húběi cài 湖北菜 = Hubei
*Yuè cài 粤菜 = Guǎngdōng cài 广东菜 = Canton
*Xiānggǎng měishí 香港美食 = Hong Kong
*Àomén měishí 厦门美食 = Macau
*Mǐn cài 闽菜 = Fújiàn cài 福建菜 = Fujian
*Kèjiā cài 客家菜 = Hakka
*Táiwān měishí 台湾美食 = Taiwan
Guì cài 桂菜 = Guǎngxī cài 广西菜 = Guangxi
*Xiāng cài 湘菜 = Húnán cài 湖南菜 = Hunan
*Yúnguì cài 云贵菜 = Guizhou, Yunnan
Diān cài 滇菜 = Yúnnán cài 云南菜 = Yunnan
Qián cài 黔菜 = Guìzhoū cài 贵州菜 = Guizhou
*Chuān cài 川菜 = Sìchuān cài 四川菜 = Sichuan (Szechuan/Szechwan) and Chongqing
*Xīběi cài 西北菜 = Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia
Qín cài 秦菜 = Shǎnxī cài 陕西菜 = Shaanxi
*Xīnjiāng cài 新疆菜 = Xinjiang
Zàng cài 藏菜 = Xīzàng cài 西藏菜 = Tibet
Měnggǔ cài 蒙古菜 = Mongolian (Inner Mongolia)
Inter-regional cuisines
*Qīngzhēn cài 清真菜 = Xinjiang/Hui/Halal
Gōngtíng cài 宫廷菜 = imperial palace
*Jiācháng cài 家常菜 = homestyle
*Sù cài 素菜 = Buddhist and Daoist vegetarian
Sìyuàn cài 寺院菜 = temple food
Chuán cài 船菜 = food on boats and ferries
Shūshí 蔬食 = vegetarian or plant-based
Fusion Chinese (zhōngshì xīcān 中式西餐, měishì zhōngcān 美式中餐, Xīnjiāpō zhōngcān 新加坡中餐, etc.)
Cuisines of the private compounds of officials (Guānfǔ cài 官府菜)
Kǒngfǔ cài 孔府菜 = Kong Family Mansion, Qufu, Shandong
Dōngpō cài 东坡菜 = Su Shi
Yúnlín cài 云林菜 = Ni Zan
Lìjiā cài 厉家菜 = Li Family
Méijiā cài 梅家菜 = Mei Family
Tánjiā cài 谭家菜 = Tan Family
Hónglóu cài 红楼菜 = cuisine from the novel, Dream of the Red Chamber
Suíyuán cài 随园菜 = Yuan Mei