Chinese cuisine is rated as① the best of its kind the world over. Its traditional dishes have been well reputed for their consummate cooking skills， their great variety and their superiority in all of their colours， smells， tastes and shapes.
As China has a vast territory and the climate， products and customs of each place are greatly different from those of the other， the dietary habits and favourites of each place are not the same as those of the other as well. Local dishes， each with its unique style， have gradually resulted from this situation. For local styles②， Beijing cuisine combines the best features of different regional styles. Shangdong cuisine， with soup as the best of its kind， has the features of extensive selection of raw materials， the use of all cooking methods and its pure and rich flavour. Sichuan cuisine， with its simple style and hot taste， is good at creating a complex taste. Guangdong cuisine takes sea fishes as the main raw materials and places emphasis on③ fresh， tender， crisp textures. Jiangsu cuisine attaches much importance to the cutting skills and handling of heat. And its dishes are strong but not greasy， and light but delicate. Tan cuisine is both sweet and salty. There is a saying that “southerners have a sweet tooth， and northerners crave for salt”， but Tan dishes manage to satisfy both.
Chinese cuisine integrates colour， appearance， smell， taste， nourishing and nutrient， which forms the Chinese cuisine features of centering on④ flavours and aiming at keeping good health， and which provides the whole artistic enjoyment of the senses of vision， smell， taste and touch.
① be rated as被认为
② local styles地方菜的菜式(风味)
③ place emphasis on强调……
④ center on以……为中心
中国菜的特色
中国菜在世界上堪称一绝，她的传统佳肴因其精湛的技艺、丰富多彩的菜品以及色、香、味、形俱全的卓越品质而素负盛名。
由于中国幅员辽阔，每个地方的气候、物产和习俗都有很大的差异，各地的饮食习惯和口味爱好也大不相同。由此逐渐形成了有着各自独特风味的地方菜。说到地方风味，京菜风味博采广集各地之长为一体；鲁菜选料广泛，烹法全面，口味讲究纯正醇浓，工于制汤；川菜菜式朴实，好麻辣辛香，擅调复合味；粤菜精于烹制海鲜，口味注重鲜嫩酥脆；苏菜刀精工细，注重火候，调味清淡鲜美，油而不腻；谭家菜咸甜相宜，常言道“南甜北咸”，而谭家菜则兼而有之。
中国菜将色、形、香、味、滋、养六者融为一体，构成了以美味为核心，以养身为目的的中国菜肴特色，给人以视觉、嗅觉、味觉、触觉的综合艺术享受。