Soup dumplings
Small pleated dumplings steamed in bamboo baskets. Jellied stock in the filling melts as they steam, so each one holds a mouthful of hot soup. Bite a small hole, sip the soup, then eat it with vinegar and ginger.
Life in Mainland China
East China
The rich coast from Shandong to Fujian: canal towns, tea hills, Shanghai, and five of the eight great cuisines.
Play: East China quizTap a place.
The land
East China runs down the coast from the Shandong peninsula to Fujian, taking in the Yangtze delta, the most densely settled and richest part of the country. South of the Yangtze, canals, lakes and rice fields made it the 'land of fish and rice'; further south the land rises into the tea hills of Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Fujian.
Living there
Shanghai is the region's centre, and Hangzhou, Suzhou and Nanjing are each under two hours away by high-speed train. Summers are hot and humid with a rainy season in June and July, called the plum rains because they come as the plums ripen.
How it sounds
This is the region of the most varied speech. Shanghainese, Suzhou and Hangzhou dialects belong to the Wu family; Fujian's Min dialects, such as Hokkien, are so different from Mandarin that the two cannot be understood by each other's speakers; Jiangxi speaks Gan.
What it eats
Five of the eight great cuisines are East Chinese: Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Fujian. South of the Yangtze, cooking leans sweet and delicate, with river fish, crab, bamboo shoots and rice wine; Shandong's is saltier and sharper with scallion and garlic.
Shanghai
China's largest city, a port at the mouth of the Yangtze.
- The Bund, a waterfront of 1920s banks facing the towers of Pudong
- Pan-fried buns with crisp bottoms and sesame on top
- Red-braised pork, glossy with soy and sugar
Jiangsu
Canal towns, classical gardens and a delicate, slightly sweet cuisine.
- The classical gardens of Suzhou
- Yangzhou fried rice, with egg, shrimp and ham
- Nanjing salted duck, pale and tender
Squirrel-shaped mandarin fish
A mandarin fish boned and cut in a deep crosshatch, then fried so the flesh fans out like a squirrel's fur, and glazed with a bright sweet and sour sauce. The sauce is said to squeak as it is poured.
Zhejiang
Lakes, tea hills and water towns south of Shanghai.
- West Lake in Hangzhou
- Longjing (Dragon Well) green tea, picked by hand on the hills above the lake
- Shaoxing rice wine, the amber yellow wine used in cooking all over China
Dongpo pork
Squares of pork belly, tied with string, braised slowly in Shaoxing rice wine, soy and sugar until the fat is soft as custard. Named after the Song poet Su Dongpo, who governed Hangzhou.
Anhui
Misty granite peaks and villages of white walls and black tiled roofs.
- Huangshan, the Yellow Mountain, famous for pines on granite above a sea of cloud
- Hongcun and Xidi, villages of whitewashed Hui-style houses
- Keemun black tea and Huangshan Maofeng green tea
Fermented mandarin fish
Mandarin fish salted and left to ferment for days, then braised. It smells strong and tastes rich and savoury. The story is that fish carried over the mountains to Huizhou arrived a little high.
Fujian
A mountainous coast facing the sea, home of oolong and white tea.
- Tulou: round earthen houses of the Hakka, some housing hundreds of people
- Oolong teas: Tieguanyin from Anxi and Da Hong Pao from the Wuyi Mountains
- White tea from Fuding
Buddha Jumps Over the Wall
A soup of abalone, sea cucumber, scallop, fish maw, mushroom and more, simmered for hours in a sealed jar of rice wine. The name says the smell would make a monk leap the wall to taste it.
Jiangxi
A green, hilly province of rice terraces and porcelain kilns.
- Home cooking hot with fresh chillies
- Nanchang mixed rice noodles
- Mount Lu, its cliffs and waterfalls painted by poets for centuries
Nanchang mixed rice noodles
Round rice noodles tossed with soy, chilli, pickles, peanuts and scallion, eaten for breakfast all over Nanchang.
Shandong
The peninsula where the Yellow River meets the sea, home of Confucius.
- Qufu, the hometown of Confucius
- Mount Tai, the most revered of the five sacred mountains
- Qingdao and its beer, brewed there since 1903
Sweet and sour Yellow River carp
A whole carp scored, fried until its head and tail curl up, and covered in a glossy sweet and sour sauce. A classic of Shandong cooking, often called the oldest of the eight cuisines.
Play
East China quiz
Dishes, famous sights and capitals. Every answer comes with the story behind it.
Which place is famous for this? "Soup dumplings: thin-skinned, pleated, with hot broth sealed inside."
Answer
Shanghai. Shanghai. China's largest city, a port at the mouth of the Yangtze.
Which place is famous for this? "Squirrel-shaped mandarin fish: scored, fried until it fans out, and glazed sweet and sour."
Answer
Jiangsu. Jiangsu. Canal towns, classical gardens and a delicate, slightly sweet cuisine.
What is the capital of Jiangsu?
Answer
Nanjing. Nanjing. Jiangsu is also known for: the classical gardens of Suzhou.
Which place is famous for this? "Dongpo pork: squares of pork belly braised for hours in rice wine and soy."
Answer
Zhejiang. Zhejiang. Lakes, tea hills and water towns south of Shanghai.
What is the capital of Zhejiang?
Answer
Hangzhou. Hangzhou. Zhejiang is also known for: west Lake in Hangzhou.
Which place is famous for this? "Fermented mandarin fish, salted for days and then braised."
Answer
Anhui. Anhui. Misty granite peaks and villages of white walls and black tiled roofs.
What is the capital of Anhui?
Answer
Hefei. Hefei. Anhui is also known for: huangshan, the Yellow Mountain, famous for pines on granite above a sea of cloud.
Which place is famous for this? "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall: a rich soup of abalone, sea cucumber and more, slow-cooked in a wine jar."
Answer
Fujian. Fujian. A mountainous coast facing the sea, home of oolong and white tea.
What is the capital of Fujian?
Answer
Fuzhou. Fuzhou. Fujian is also known for: tulou: round earthen houses of the Hakka, some housing hundreds of people.
Which place is famous for this? "Jingdezhen, the porcelain capital, firing kilns for over a thousand years."
Answer
Jiangxi. Jiangxi. A green, hilly province of rice terraces and porcelain kilns.