The biggest misconception about China is that the food is all the same or is weird.  
 
For some, Chop Suey, mysterious, gooey, MSG, salty and deep fried come to mind.  However, the reality is that China is a humongous country whose culture is one of the oldest in the history or mankind.  So, its foods are just as varied, flavorful, elaborate, and delightful as its geographic locations.  
 
Every city we visit on Zoom China offers a different cuisine.  For instance, Shanghainese cuisine is punctuated with hot spicy peppers, and because of its location on the water it highlights ample seafood. In Beijing, Pekinese food incorporates a lot of vegetables; and in Xian the food has a middle eastern flair because Xian was the end of the Silk Road, a vast trading network that lasted for a thousand years, which started in Eastern Europe, snaked its way through the Middle East, and ended in China. 
 
Of course, because cities in China, like Shanghai and Beijing, are very international, the food scene has changed and some of the best French, continental and fusion restaurants can be found in these cities.  So, whenever you have a taste for home, western style restaurants are never far away and in fact are very popular with the locals.
 
Read about our tour to China this May