The complex Chinese cooking represents the traditions of different regions of the country. There exist eight major regional cuisines: Anhui, Fujian, Hunan, Cantonese, Jiangsu, Szechuan, Zhejiang and Shandong. Besides these regional cuisines there exist the Buddhist and Muslim sub-cuisines, which complete the great Chinese gastronomy.
The principles of Chinese cuisine are supported on a healthy harmony between the qualities of diverse ingredients. Chinese people traditionally have cooked with the yin and yang features in their dishes. These can be perceived in the use of ingredients with paired textures and color, deliberately prepared to give pleasure to the eye as well as the palate.
The conventional recipes and ingredients are a result of their own needs and don´t correspond to just fashion. The limited quantity of meat consumed by Chinese is because the high poverty in the nation. The Chinese cuisine sometimes seems to have experimented with anything edible; Chinese dishes occasionally include bear's paw, shark's fin, fish lips and jellyfish in their gastronomy.
Fresh ingredients are accessible in all markets and malls, so visitors can prepare its own plates when they wish and even can try to cook Chinese food, but in general, it is more convenient and attractive going to a good Chinese restaurant.