作者：廖紫锐
　　【Abstract】Food plays an important and indispensable role in our lives.It’s not only the necessary thing in our daily life ， but also a pattern of manifestation of cultural features.This article is food culture differences between China and western countries.Food culture may reveal one aspect of cultural diversity. Discussing about the differences of food culture can help people to know more about each culture and lead to a successful communication and development between two cultures.
　　【Key words】food cultures； China and Western； cross-culture； diversity
　　【作者簡介】廖紫锐，成都实验外国语学校（西区）。
　　As far as we know， Chinese food culture provides a tricking contrast to that ofWestern countries. On account of different history， traditional culture and surrounding circumstances， as one of the most basic elements， diet differences seem more and more marked. There are some main differences between Chinese and Western food culture.
　　I. The differences in types of materials
　　Materials for eating are decided by different geographical environment. China is located in Eastern hemisphere and has a lot of land resources.It also has developed agricultural production.From the early ancient time，China depended on its traditional crop production， which decided on today's Chinese eating habit .Chinese people are keen on crops. Western countries are located in the Western Eurasia. Because of the special geological features，they mainly developed animal husbandry and their staple food are beef， mutton， wheat and reprocessed food.
　　The materials for Chinese dishes are varied. Something that cannot be food or dish in Western countries can be choices for Chinese people. Chinese like trying various kinds of fanciful food，they always make a groaning board to show off the luxury of the meals. For example， they used to eat different seafood and sometimes eat the purtenance of animals. But for Westerners， they only choose the usual and basic materials to make a meal， such as beef， mutton， carrots， cauliflowers and so on，they hardly eat some of the food which Chinese people like.What is clear that they may think all these usual things can satisfy their demand for food.
　　II. The differences in ways of cooking
　　There are various ways of cooking in China. In China， cooking is an art affected by traditional Chinese poems， music and paintings. Chinese way of cooking reveals unique Chinese characteristic. In Chinese paintings and calligraphies， empty part，， ‘liu bai’ in Chinese， is one of the most important techniques of Chinese traditional art. We use empty spaces in the scene of rivers， clouds and fogs to show how wide the world is. The same idea is true of the Chinese cooking. There won’t be a plate full of things for a big meal. Chinese cooks take the alignment as a pretty important part of cooking. All thoughts of ways are used in Chinese cooking， for instances frying， deep frying， scrambling， boiling， steaming， stewing， simmering etc.