China Culinary Culture Museum

China Culinary Culture Museum

The China Culinary Culture Museum is located at Guanyinge on Qipanshan Mountain in Shenyang, covering a construction area of over 10,000 square meters. It is the world’s only museum dedicated to “China Culinary Culture.” The museum’s seventeen functional exhibition areas showcase a rich and rare collection of culinary utensils and cultural artifacts.

The Exhibition Area on the Development History of Chinese Culinary Culture presents an overview of the development of Chinese food culture spanning nearly ten thousand years, arranged according to the timeline of Chinese history. It traces the evolution of cooking and dining utensils from the Neolithic Age to the modern era—from the most primitive stone mills and pottery stoves to the celebrated ceramics of the Song Dynasty such as Tianmu bowls, and up to the various materials used in modern cooking and dining utensils.

The Wine Culture Development Exhibition Area introduces the origin of wine, the development of wine culture, classifications of wine, the nutrition and hygiene issues related to wine, wine vessels and utensils from different dynasties, wine policies and historical anecdotes, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of alcohol consumption.

The Tea Culture Exhibition Area showcases the origin of tea, its cultivation and harvesting, types and processing methods, the tea cultures of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the Ming and Qing Dynasties, modern tea culture, and contemporary tea ceremonies.

The Food Specimen Room displays over 300 varieties of animal- and plant-based food specimens, including more than 20 rare, extinct, or endangered food specimens such as bear’s paw, qilin noodles, and dragon fish intestines.

The Science Popularization Hall on Nutrition and Dietary Hygiene promotes the significance and methods of proper cooking and scientific diets, as well as the relationship between diet and health. It also features a food hygiene testing and analysis lab where visitors can observe the testing procedures for food hygiene quality—a topic of public concern.

In addition, other functional exhibition areas such as the Culinary Culture Information and Consultation Center, the Classical and Traditional Famous Dishes Tasting Area, the Ethnic Culinary Culture Tasting Area, the Scientific Research and Conference Area, and the Sightseeing and Leisure Service Area all offer their own unique features. The China Culinary Culture Museum leads the world’s similar thematic museums in terms of the number of collections, scale, and organization of materials.