its crispy skin and the juicy meat which left a deep impression on people eating it for the first time. There are unique techniques to serving and eating Peking duck for maximum enjoyment of its taste. Imperial cuisine in the Qing dynasty Chinese imperial cuisine in the Qing dynasty was developed basing on the traditional diet of the Manchu ethnic group and Shandong cuisine. The famous Manchu Han Imperial Feast was created during this dynasty. There was a special organisation, the Imperial Kitchen, within the Qing imperial palace which was responsible for creating and making imperial cuisine for the emperor. The Imperial Kitchen was managed by the General Office of Internal Affairs. During the reign of the Qianlong Emperor ( 1735–1796), the Imperial Kitchen was divided into the Internal Kitchen and the External Kitchen. The Internal Kitchen had departments for meat dishes, vegetables, roasting, baking and rice cooking. The External Kitchen prepared the palace banquets, feasts and sacrificial rites. During the Qing dynasty, the rites for the meals, the number of people, and the use, cost, variety and quality of sumptuous courses at each meal were the greatest of all the dynasties in China. Popular dishes Dezhou braised chicken Dezhou braised chicken is a traditional dish from Dezhou City, Shandong Province and it is named after its place of origin. When the Qianlong Emperor travelled to Dezhou City, a Han Chinese family made braised chicken for him. The emperor thought highly of this dish and praised it as "a wonder of all cuisine". After eating Dezhou braised chicken, the Qianlong Emperor ordered that this dish be included in the menu of imperial cuisine. Wensi tofu Wensi tofu is a meal in Jiangsu cuisine. It is a soup made of finely shredded tofu and different ingredients of different colours, such as carrots and cucumbers. This dish represents the typical work of knife skill of a chef from Yangzhou because a chef needs to cut a square of tofu into more than 5,000 pieces in order to make this soup. During the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, there was a monk by the name of Wensi, who was famous for making vegetarian dishes, particularly those with tofu. He created this soup which ingredients included tender tofu, dried daylily, and black fungus. This soup soon became well known throughout the region as "Wensi Tofu". The Qianlong Emperor tried this soup and highly appreciated