Chinese food culture has a long‑standing history. The widely‑recognized Eight Major Cuisines consist of Shandong Cuisine, Sichuan Cuisine, Cantonese Cuisine, Jiangsu Cuisine, Fujian Cuisine, Zhejiang Cuisine, Hunan Cuisine and Anhui Cuisine.
中国饮食文化源远流长，较为社会公认的有八大菜系鲁菜、川菜、粤菜和苏菜，闽菜、浙菜、湘菜、徽菜。
Chinese regional cuisines refer to complete, self‑contained culinary techniques and flavour systems evolved over a long period of time. Shaped by local climate, geography, history, natural resources and dining customs within a given region, these local dishes have gained nationwide recognition. Numerous culinary schools have emerged throughout China’s cooking history. Back in the Qing Dynasty, Chinese food was classified into Beijing‑style, Jiangsu‑style and Cantonese‑style. With substantial cultural development across the country starting from the Republic of China era, four major culinary schools took shape: North China, Jiangzhe, South China and Southwest China. The North‑China school later gave rise to Shandong Cuisine, which became the leader among the Eight Major Cuisines. The Jiangzhe school split into Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui Cuisine; the South‑China school branched into Cantonese and Fujian Cuisine; and the Southwest‑China school yielded Sichuan and Hunan Cuisine. Shandong, Sichuan, Jiangsu and Cantonese Cuisine took shape at an earlier stage. Gradually, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan and Anhui local dishes rose to fame, forming China’s famous “Eight Major Cuisines”. The ranking shifted amid ongoing competition: Sichuan Cuisine moved up to second place while Jiangsu Cuisine dropped to third. Ultimately, the most influential and socially‑acknowledged cuisines are Shandong, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Cantonese, Fujian, Zhejiang, Hunan and Anhui, commonly known as China’s “Eight Major Cuisines”.
中国的菜系，是指在一定区域内，由于气候、地理、历史、物产及饮食风俗的不同，经过漫长历史演变而形成的一整套自成体系的烹饪技艺和风味，并被全国各地所承认的地方菜肴。菜肴在烹饪中有许多流派。清代的时候，中国饮食分为京式、苏式和广式。民国开始，中国各地的文化有了相当大的发展，民国时分为华北、江浙、华南和西南四种流派。后来华北流派分出鲁菜，成为八大菜系之首，江浙菜系分为苏菜、浙菜和徽菜，华南流派分为粤菜、闽菜，西南流派分为川菜和湘菜。鲁、川、苏、粤四大菜系形成历史较早，后来，浙、闽、湘、徽等地方菜也逐渐出名，就形成了中国的“八大菜系”。经过竞争，排次发生变化，首先川菜上升到第二，苏菜退居第三。后来形成最有影响和代表性的也为社会所公认的有：鲁、川、苏、粤、闽、浙、湘、徽等菜系，即被人们常说的中国“八大菜系”。