Each country has its own delicacies, whether it is the Italian for their Pizza, Indian for their curry or Spain for their tapas, you can enjoy new flavours everywhere you go. China is notorious for noodles and dumplings but what else does it offer? Fly with Air China and see for yourself, you can get it all from plants, to flowers to animals. Don’t be surprised to see domestic animals on menus on your China Tours.
Dog’s to us are cute animals that we keep but in China they are seen to be a wonderful dish that can be eaten in so many ways. Dog has been consumed in China for at least 2000 years. Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han dynasty, among others, had a taste for dog meat. You must have gone to restaurants and seen tanks full of lobsters and fish, to portray the meat you will get will be fresh. Well in China the same is done, but for dogs. It is also believed that dogs have nutritional value, and their meat is tender and has a beneficial effect on kidney and spleen disease. Dog meat is one of the most expensive meats in China, selling for around $2 a kilogram. Raising dogs is generally about twice as profitable as raising pigs. 
If you can eat dogs why not cats? Yes the Chinese also eat cats, apparently cat meat is said to give one a lively spirit, ward off rheumatism and be good for a man’s health and libido. It is also regarded as a food that will keep you warm in winter. It I said also to be good for women as it is light, whereas the men prefer dogs. The sex or age or anything of the cat doesn’t really matter, the taste is the same for all. Cats are sold to restaurants for about $7.31 a piece or around $2.80 a kilogram.
Insects are also a popular dish. The scorpions sold on the streets in Beijing are grabbed live by the sales people, dipped in boiling oil for second and skewered on a stick. A friend of mine ate it and said it was quite delicious. In some places Chinese still eat cicadas, crickets, giant water beetles, stinkbugs, silk worms, cockroaches and fly maggots. It is said that poorer people tend to eat these insects as it is a cheaper souse of getting protein. As well as, these grasshoppers are also widely eaten in China and other parts of the world. Insects are rich in protein and are a far greener way of getting protein than eating chicken, cows and pigs.
Other unusual animals that can be commonly found in China are but not limited to; skewered sparrows, rats, silkworms, goat’s gentiles and spicy frog legs. Do not be daunted by these animals and their cuisine, if you are brave enough, when you are having your Beijing Tour I encourage that you try it. You never know until you try.
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