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Order a Chinese take-away elsewhere in the world and it is likely to be oily, bland, swimming in MSG and smothered in salt. This is not representative of the food served up in China.

It could be argued there is no such thing as Chinese food in China, as Chinese cuisine actually breaks down into eight major schools – Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan and Zhejiang. All are named after the places they originate from and each varies greatly in food preparation methods, serving style, taste and ingredients. They can be grouped into four key regional cuisine styles: northern, southern, eastern and western. Unsurprisingly, Beijing comes under the northern category.

Northern cuisine has developed from the Shandong style and features such specialities as Peking duck (also called Beijing duck) and Mongolian hotpot. A type of Chinese fondue, hotpot consists of a circular pot full of oil placed on a heater in the centre of the table with raw strips of meat and vegetables dropped in by diners to cook. One ingredient the more squeamish might want to avoid putting in the pot is solidified duck blood.

The Chinese tend to eat much earlier than people in west, particularly Europeans, and finding somewhere to eat after 21:30 can be difficult. Rice may be served with the meal but is often served at the end. Sliced fruit and melons indicate the meal is over. Desserts are usually only offered if you are dining from a western menu. Mooncakes, made with salted egg yolks, are a popular tradition during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which usually falls in September.

Food has traditionally been cheap. The vending stands and little street cafes where many Chinese stop to have breakfast on the way to work cost a pittance for a bowl of noodles, rice congee or other staples. However, the rising cost of fuel has pushed up food production costs, and the resulting increases in food prices have been largely responsible for a sudden surge in inflation.

Beijing’s food differs markedly from the cuisines of other parts of China. The eastern cuisine styles of Shanghai and Zhejiang are richly-flavoured and sweet. By contrast, in the Sichuan and Hunan cuisine styles, the food is hot and spicy and a speciality is beancurd (doufu). Cantonese cuisine comes under the southern style and is what most visitors would be familiar with from the Chinese restaurants of their home countries. The food can be exotic, as the Cantonese have a reputation for eating almost anything.