Chinese cooking's regional diversity is codified in the ba da cai xi (eight great cuisines) — Cantonese (Guangdong), Sichuan, Hunan, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Anhui — each representing a distinct flavour vocabulary, technique set, and cultural history. These eight traditions do not represent all of Chinese cooking — they are the eight most widely recognised formal schools within a culinary tradition of extraordinary breadth.
China: The Cookbook