A Quick Tip by Sharrie

Regional cultural differences vary greatly within China, giving rise to the different styles of food across the nation. Traditionally there are eight main regional cuisines, or Eight Great Traditions (八大菜 系): Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan and Zhejiang. Sometimes four of the Eight Great Traditions are given greater emphasis (四大菜系), and are considered to be the dominate culinary heritage of China. They are notably defined along geographical lines: Sichuan (Western China), Cantonese (Southern China), Shandong (Northern China), as well as Huaiyang Cuisine (Eastern China), a major style derived from Jiangsu cuisine and even viewed as the representation of that region's cooking.

In modern times, Beijing cuisine and Shanghai cuisine on occasion are also cited along with the classical eight regional styles as the Ten Great Traditions (十大菜系). There are also ...