China has one of the finest cuisines in the world, and from back-alley dumpling shops to four-star banquet halls, travellers surely won't leave disappointed. The country boasts a mind-boggling array of regional deli- cacies and it could take years to sample all that China has to offer.

The Chinese obsession with food is rooted in thousands of years of food scarcity. In 200 BC, an official stated, "To ordinary people, food is tantamount to heaven'. To save cooking fuel, meat and vegetables were chopped into tiny pieces to ensure taster cooking and dishes were served communally to make sure everyone got something to eat.

The question 'Ni chi fanle ma?' ('Have you eaten yet?') is a common greeting among Chinese people and is taken to show the significance of food in Chinese culture. Fan may be more loosely translated as 'grain' - as opposed to cai, which literally means 'vegetable' and, by extension, any accompaniment to grain in a meal. The principle that a proper meal is based around a staple grain dates back at least to the Shang dynasty(1700-1100 BC) and remains fundamental to Chinese cuisine wherever it is found.

The dichotomy between fan and cat also shows how the principles of balance and harmony, Yin and Yang, are applied in everyday life. To be more specific, most vegetables and fruits are Yin foods, generally moist or soft, and are meant to have a cooling effect, nurturing the feminine aspect of our nature. Yang foods - fried, spicy or with red meat - are warming and nourish the masculine side of our nature. Any meal should not only harmonise a variety of tastes, but also provide a balance between cooling and warming foods.

Cooking in China is divided into four schools: the Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern. The differences among them arose not only from geographical and climatic differences, but also from historical and cultural circumstances. Ironically, it was not until China was under threat from the Jurchen Mongols in the 12th century, when the Song court fled south of the Yangzi River, that these regional  cuisines were codified and developed. Widespread urbanisation, made possible by the commercialisation of agriculture and food distribution, gave rise to the restaurant industry, which in turn facilitated the development of the regional cuisines.

The Mongol conquest of the north, China's wheat bowl, also precipi- tated the shift to rice as the main staple. This was a significant change, as rice is the best source of nutritionally balanced calories and can therefore support more people from a given area than any other crop. Improved communications, notably the building of the Grand Canal to link many of China's innumerable waterways, allowed food to be brought from and supplied to any part of the kingdom.

During the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the restaurant industry con- tinued to flourish. At this time, the court kitchens in the Forbidden City alone are reputed to have employed 5000 people. Refrigeration - blocks of ice cut from northern rivers and lakes in winter and stored in deep caves for use in summer - allowed further diversification and use of products out of season.

The last significant development in Chinese cuisine, however, took place in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), when crops were introduced from the New World. Maize, sweet potatoes and peanuts - which flourished in climates where rice, wheat and millet wouldn't grow - made life possible in formerly uninhabitable areas. The other significant import from the New World was red chillies, which are not only a spice, but also a concentrated source of vitamins A and C.