Chinese Food

Food is an important part of Chinese traditional culture, and the history of Chinese food traced back to about 500,000 years ago when Beijing Man first learned to cook his food over fire. To the Chinese people, having three meals a day transcends the nutritional needs of hunger and thirst. Daily meals involve the very philosophies of existence. For example, when a child is born, his relatives will eat eggs, which symbolize the continuation of lives; during the Spring Festival, Chinese people will eat rice cake named 'niangao', representing a higher level of life; on the Mid-autumn Day, they will eat moon cakes to celebrate the birthday of the moon. Meanwhile, food is also a medium of emotional communication that implies certain kinds of distinct social activities. The Chinese are quite comfortable in engaging in numerous pursuits while eating, ranging from doing business and interviews, exchanging ideas, making friends and entertaining guests, even adjusting attitudes and resolving disputes.   

 Chinese Food Features:      
The eating habits in China vary in different areas. A widely-know saying is "South Rice and North Noodle", which means that people in south part of China prefer rice while those live in north of China like to eat noodles. As for their preference to tastes, the people in the south of China are fond of sweat, people in the north part prefer salty food, those in the east part like the acidtiy of vinegar, and the people in the west are fond of spicy food. Due to geological and climatic differences, the productions of the diferent areas are also distinct from eath other, so cuisine of different ares are usually made from local products. Based on the differences on tastes and ingredients, the Chinese food can be divided into many flaours, and the Eight Cuisines in China are the most famous. 

Chopsticks are the major tablewares to the Chinese people. They prefer those made of bamboo and wooden.