Geographically, China is a big sub-continental country very much like the U.S.A. However, it is quite different in its development due to the difference in its topography.

The Chinese first settled in northern China along the Yellow River which ranges from the Hopei and Shantung provinces along the seacoast in the East to the Honan, Shensi and Kansu provinces in the West. The earliest capitals were Anyang (in Honan), Sian (in Shensi), and Loyang (in Honan), and Peking (in Hopei).

From the ancient capitals of Anyang, Loyang and Sian the Chinese moved southwest - further inland into Szechuan and Hunan Provinces. Then they moved southwest by land, river and canal into Kiangsu, Chekiang and eventually the Fukien Province.

Chinese cooking paralleled Chinese history starting in North China and gradually developing different styles in the Eastern and Western regions along the Yangtze River. The Yangtze forms the underlying structure of China, connecting the Szechuan Province in the western region with the Kiangsu Province in the eastern region. There was a great amount of exchanging of goods and cooking styles in the early days and in this manner the Chuan-Yang Group ( Chan = Szech, Yang = Yang Chow) of Chinese chefs was formed. However, the cooking of the Eastern Region and the Western Region remains quite different today.

Finally the Chinese moved further southward reaching Kwangtung and Kwangsi provinces which are connected by the West River. Kwangtung province became particularly important to China in its early history because it was the gateway to the sea, southwest Asia and the rest of the world; Canton being its major city.