Although travelers can try dishes from around China and the globe in well-known food cities like Beijing and Shanghai, it is outside these major metropolises where a world of exciting Chinese cuisine  awaits the true foodie . With this in mind and after three years of living in China and writing about Chinese food, I started a six-month journey with my husband and two daughters. Here are four of the eight most amazing Chinese food cities I've come across so far. The list is in no particular order. 1. Chengdu, Sichuan Province Crowned as Asia's first UNESCO City of Gastronomy  in 2010, Chengdu is best-known for its fiery hot pot and spicy dishes, which are characterized by the use of Sichuan pepper and are usually layered with salty, sour and sweet flavors. There are also dishes that aren't spicy at all, such as beer-braised duck. Hot pot is as _ in the city as the smell of chili. At Zigong Delicious Hotpot, the house specialty  tiaoshui wa is a cauldron  of fiery chili  to which vegetables, noodles or other meats can be added. For a real taste of Sichuan's signature pepper, hua jiao, spend a morning at the Chengdu Spice Market where the locals sell and buy it by the sack. 2. Lanzhou, Gansu Province Synonymous in the minds of food-lovers with hand-pulled beef noodles, Lanzhou also has one of the liveliest street food night markets in China. Just west of the city center, the buzzing Zhengning Road bazaar houses more than 100 street food stalls. Available is a broad selection of hot and cold dishes with emphasis on local Hui cuisine. No trip to Lanzhou is complete without feasting on noodles at Wumule Penhui, the 2012 winners of Lanzhou's annual pulled noodle competition. The halal restaurant makes noodles spicy enough to satisfy even the most hardened heat-seekers. 3. Guangzhou, Guangdong Province The birthplace of Cantonese food, Guangzhou is thought by many as the best place to eat in China. The city of 12 million has a passionate food culture, with equal excitement reserved for the opening of a hole-in-the-wall congee joint and a high-end restaurant. The local cuisine is characterized by fresh clean flavors , seafood, barbecued meats and the wonderful tradition of yum cha, which is tea drinking accompanied by dumplings and small dishes. Congee is the way locals love to start their day, and one of the most popular vendors is Ru Xuan Sha Guo Zhou. Here, one can get a bowl of signature seafood congee any hour of the day. Roast meats are Bing Sheng's most popular order--their roast goose is marinated with five-spice, boiled, air-dried, then roasted by a flame oven to give a crisp skin. For something more home style and removed from the madness of downtown, head to Ji Cun for steamed chicken and simple farmer-style dishes. 4. Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province This ancient canal city is home to huangjiu, an amber-colored rice wine that's important in Chinese cooking. Open since 1894, the dining chain is known by almost every Chinese for its appearance in early 20th century novels by Chinese literati Lu Xun. Xianheng's delicacies include crispy-skinned chicken, smoked red dates in rice wine, beans flavored with fennel , and crispy bream in rice wine. Fried fermented tofu is also a local specialty, which is available all over town at small street stalls including one just outside Xianheng. If a fresh clean flavor is to a foodie's taste, which couple of cities is he likely to make a trip to?
Chengdu, Lanzhou Lanzhou, Guangzhou Guangzhou, Shaoxing Shaoxing, Chengdu