Lodging & Dining

Travel through China during a holiday and you quickly notice that the calendar is built around the table. Every major festival arrives with its own obligatory dish, its own symbolism,…

If there is one meal that teaches a visitor how southern China actually lives, it is yum cha. The phrase literally means “drink tea,” but in practice it is a…

There is no single hotpot in China. Ask a traveler who has chased broth from Chengdu to the tropical coast and they will tell you the bubbling communal pot is…

Ask most foreigners about Sichuan food and they say “hotpot” — bubbling cauldrons of chili oil where you cook your own meat and vegetables. Hotpot is wonderful, but it is…

Guangxi, in southern China, is best known abroad for the karst peaks around Guilin, but its food deserves just as much attention as its scenery. The region is home to…

Hangzhou sits at the southern end of the Grand Canal, and its cooking belongs to the gentle, sweet-and-sour style of the Jiangnan region. Any useful Hangzhou food guide should start…

Tianjin sits where the Hai river meets the Bohai sea, and its food blends northern wheat staples with river and sea harvests. This Tianjin food guide walks you through the…

Lijiang sits high on the Yunnan plateau where the Naxi people have cooked for centuries with barley, yak, and wild mountain vegetables. This Lijiang food guide introduces the dishes that…

Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian province and the gentle, umami-rich heart of Min cuisine, a style built on soups, seafood, and a subtle sweetness that surprises first-time visitors. This…

Chongqing is a city built on hills where the Yangtze and Jialing rivers meet, and its hotels are famous for vertical lobbies, rooftop pools, and windows that frame the fog…