In Western countries, people often greet each other by saying"How are you?", while Chinese people might ask each other "Did you eat?"instead.Eating has long been a big part of China and its food culture has attracted many people from other countries, including Sarah from Madagascar.
When Sarah was little, her family often went to Chinese restaurants on weekends, which sparked her love for Chinese food.In 2010, the then-20-year-old studied in China.Since then, she has tasted many more different foods and drinks from different places in the country like hot dry noodles in Hubei and morning tea in Guangdong.
Apart from these delicious foods, what impressed Sarah most however was the culture behind them.
Take Sichuan food as an example.Since the province sits in a basin（盆地）, Sichuan is quite humid.To get the dampness（湿气） out of the body, the people there prefer spicy food.Similarly, Yangzhou, which sits on the north bank of the Yangtze River, is "a land of fish and rice".Huaiyangcai, typical in Yangzhou, matches the personality of the land —fresh, balanced and tolerant（宽容的）.While in Guangdong, morning tea is not only about snacks, but also about the pleasant time that we share with our friends and family.
"Traditional Chinese philosophy（哲学） has gone into every side of Chinese food culture, " said Sarah. "And this philosophical thinking also suggests that people's diet should fit in with the natural environment in which they live."
