Chinese culinary culture has a long history. The eight major cuisines that are widely recognized by society include Shandong cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine and Jiangsu cuisine, as well as Fujian cuisine, Zhejiang cuisine, Hunan cuisine and Anhui cuisine.

Chinese cuisine refers to a complete set of cooking techniques and flavors that have evolved over a long period of time within a certain region due to differences in climate, geography, history, local products and dietary customs, and are recognized as local dishes throughout the country. There are many schools of cuisine in cooking. During the Qing Dynasty, Chinese cuisine was divided into Beijing style, Suzhou style and Cantonese style. Since the beginning of the Republic of China, culture across China has developed considerably. During the Republic of China period, it was divided into four schools: North China, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, South China and Southwest China. Later, the North China school gave rise to Shandong cuisine, which became the top of the eight major cuisines. The Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisines were divided into Jiangsu cuisine, Zhejiang cuisine and Anhui cuisine. The South China school was divided into Cantonese cuisine and Fujian cuisine. The Southwest school was divided into Sichuan cuisine and Hunan cuisine. The four major cuisines of Shandong, Sichuan, Jiangsu and Guangdong have a relatively early history of formation. Later, the local cuisines of Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan and Anhui also gradually became famous, thus forming the "Eight Major Cuisines" of China. After competition, the ranking changed. First, Sichuan cuisine rose to second place, while Jiangsu cuisine dropped to third. Later, the most influential and representative cuisines that are also widely recognized by society include: Shandong, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Cantonese, Fujian, Zhejiang, Hunan and Anhui cuisines, which are commonly known as the "Eight Major Cuisines of China".