{"id":8183,"date":"2021-06-18T17:11:01","date_gmt":"2021-06-18T16:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/?p=8183"},"modified":"2021-06-19T00:11:47","modified_gmt":"2021-06-18T23:11:47","slug":"chinese-food-is-the-core-of-british-chinese-self-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/chinese-food-is-the-core-of-british-chinese-self-identity\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese food is the core of British Chinese self-identity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Nearly 400,000 ethnic Chinese live in England and Wales, a quarter of them young. What is the significance of Chinese cooking to their belonging and inclusion in Britain?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/happy-\u5403\u996d\u5bf9-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/happy-\u5403\u996d\u5bf9-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/happy-\u5403\u996d\u5bf9-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/happy-\u5403\u996d\u5bf9-770x433.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/happy-\u5403\u996d\u5bf9-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/happy-\u5403\u996d\u5bf9-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/happy-\u5403\u996d\u5bf9-293x165.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/happy-\u5403\u996d\u5bf9-1400x787.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/happy-\u5403\u996d\u5bf9-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/happy-\u5403\u996d\u5bf9-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/happy-\u5403\u996d\u5bf9-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/happy-\u5403\u996d\u5bf9-770x433.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/happy-\u5403\u996d\u5bf9-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/happy-\u5403\u996d\u5bf9-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/happy-\u5403\u996d\u5bf9-293x165.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/happy-\u5403\u996d\u5bf9-1400x787.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>People eat dim sum while sitting at Happy Gathering, a Cantonese restaurant in Cardiff that has been open since 1985.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Qianwan&nbsp;Mao,&nbsp;a 26-year-old Chinese woman, standed&nbsp;in a daze&nbsp;at the entrance to Birmingham&#8217;s&nbsp;Bullring,&nbsp;a shopping centre, staring intently at her phone:&nbsp;she was so homesick, and wanted to buy a ticket back to China immediately.&nbsp;Crowds carrying shopping bags passed around&nbsp;her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, she realized there&nbsp;was&nbsp;no turning back when she thought about future plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Take me out of here and buy hot&nbsp;chilies&nbsp;and pork,&#8221; she said to friends. &#8220;I must fry Shredded Pork with Vegetables&nbsp;tonight.&#8221; She felt that eating this Chinese delicacy was the only thing that consoled her at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shredded Pork with Vegetables is&nbsp;a&nbsp;well-known&nbsp;dish in China.&nbsp;Chilies&nbsp;and&nbsp;pork, the two  ingredients,&nbsp;are essential for it.&nbsp;As the&nbsp;first bite of chilli and thin slices of pork that had been degreased by the hot oil were fed, &#8220;I thought I could live and suffer here,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was her first day in&nbsp;Britain&nbsp;in 2018.&nbsp;She had no interest in the busiest streets of Birmingham, where her friends had brought her specially. She just wanted to go to the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe class=\"zeen-lazy-load-base zeen-lazy-load\" title=\"Chinese Cooking: How to cook Shredded Pork with Vegetables\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"about:blank\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jwVCSPIlMno?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><noscript><iframe title=\"Chinese Cooking: How to cook Shredded Pork with Vegetables\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jwVCSPIlMno?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Qianwan is from Kunming, Yunnan Province, living in Birmingham.&nbsp;The Chinese&nbsp;ethic&nbsp;group&nbsp;in Britain is getting younger.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ons.gov.uk\/peoplepopulationandcommunity\/populationandmigration\/internationalmigration\/articles\/immigrationpatternsofnonukbornpopulationsinenglandandwalesin2011\/2013-12-17\">According to the Office for National Statistics<\/a>,&nbsp;among the nearly 400,000 ethnic Chinese, students aged 16 and above account for a large proportion. Qianwan&nbsp;is one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The meaning of home cuisine to her has changed&nbsp;totally&nbsp;since she came here. &#8220;I can&#8217;t help but crave foods that I would have rejected at home,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sausages&nbsp;and preserved ham are the things Qianwan&#8217;s mother often cooks with.&nbsp;&#8220;She might steam&nbsp;them&nbsp;one day and fry&nbsp;them&nbsp;the next,&#8221; Qianwan&nbsp;said. &#8220;I thought how she could feed me these every day and not buy fresh meat.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, however, she has naturally started buying ingredients and cooking like her mother.&nbsp;&#8220;One&nbsp;day, I missed mum&#8217;s sausages so much that I bought casings,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Qianwan&nbsp;cut up the meat and seasoned it. A plastic bottle&nbsp;was&nbsp;split&nbsp;in&nbsp;half, and the minced meat was fed through the bottleneck into the casing. She hung the sausages on a shelf, dried them by the window for a week, and then stored them in the refrigerator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She never stopped her feverish exploration of Chinese food after cooking the first dish in the strange country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cooking authentic Chinese food in&nbsp;Britain&nbsp;is no easy task &#8211;  finding ingredients can be a tricky step.&nbsp;&#8220;It&#8217;s a time-consuming and laborious process,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Because some foods need to be reprocessed, or alternatives need to be found, these\u2019re things that need to be researched.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;But I must get the taste of my mother&#8217;s food,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It&#8217;s something in my genes, an emotional bond that connects me to my family.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/11111-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/11111-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/11111-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/11111-770x433.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/11111-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/11111-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/11111-293x165.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/11111-1400x788.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/11111-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/11111-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/11111-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/11111-770x433.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/11111-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/11111-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/11111-293x165.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/11111-1400x788.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>Qianwan, a Chinese, created makeshift devices out of bottles to make Chinese sausages in Britain. (Credit: Qianwan Mao)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Zhiming Su, 46, a co-owner of Happy Gathering, a Chinese restaurant&nbsp;which opened 36 years&nbsp;in Cardiff, has met many Chinese people like&nbsp;Qianwan living in&nbsp;Britain&nbsp;who are keen on&nbsp;hometown&nbsp;food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Every afternoon we serve dim sum, when there are lots of Chinese people,&#8221; Zhiming said.&nbsp;&#8220;People love them.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zhiming has been living in Cardiff for 29 years.&nbsp;The first year he arrived here from Hong Kong, China, when he was only 17, he was already exposed to Chinese&nbsp;cooking. &#8220;My uncle was in the Chinese takeaway business, and I would help out,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;If I were in Hong Kong, I wouldn\u2019t&nbsp;be in the business,\u201d&nbsp;said Zhiming.&nbsp;\u201cBecause they think&nbsp;that&nbsp;people without&nbsp;knowledge&nbsp;used to&nbsp;open restaurants.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He was part of a large group of Chinese immigrants&nbsp;from the 1980s onwards.&nbsp;The first wave of immigration came after the end of the First Opium War in 1842, which constitutes the oldest Chinese community in Western Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The older generation came 20 to 30 years ago simply because they could earn more money working here, Zhiming&nbsp;explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;They can hardly find jobs other than running Chinese restaurants because most of them can&#8217;t speak English,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/zhiming-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/zhiming-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/zhiming-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/zhiming-770x433.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/zhiming-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/zhiming-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/zhiming-293x165.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/zhiming-1400x788.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/zhiming-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/zhiming-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/zhiming-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/zhiming-770x433.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/zhiming-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/zhiming-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/zhiming-293x165.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/zhiming-1400x788.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>Zhiming, from Hong Kong, China, is a partner in a Chinese restaurant and has been involved in the industry for 30 years.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The work is too hard,&#8221; said&nbsp;Xiao Yang, 22, living in Glasgow. When&nbsp;he&nbsp;was born, his parents came to Britain to&nbsp;manage&nbsp;lives&nbsp;running&nbsp;a Chinese restaurant. They arrived around the same time as Zhiming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Xiao&#8217;s parents work more than 12 hours&nbsp;each&nbsp;day because they must prepare food ingredients and clean in advance.&nbsp;The couple&nbsp;were&nbsp;under&nbsp;tremendous&nbsp;pressure from the high-intensity job and sometimes had no time to care about their children&#8217;s feelings.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Xiao had a quarrel with his parents and ran away from home when 16. &#8220;It started with a small thing. But they were under working pressure, and we had problems communicating, so&nbsp;the conflict has been intensified,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He settled in Hamilton, 15 miles from his home, working at a local Chinese restaurant to earn his keep. &#8220;I realized in that instant that I couldn&#8217;t escape the influence of my family and Chinese food,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I wanted to escape, but I chose to work in another Chinese restaurant.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They have since reconciled and Xiao is now studying at Glasgow University. As for the future, &#8220;They want me to live comfortably and do something I love,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The new generation of young Chinese people is happy,\u201d said Zhiming. He&nbsp;feels that&nbsp;now is the time when the country is developing, and youth have the chance to discover, choose and do what they like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I think those young Chinese who now open restaurants in Britain are making a choice out of love rather than having no choice,&#8221; said Feng Hu, 25, owner of Xianfuchasui, a\u00a0new\u00a0type of Chinese tea drinks shop in Cardiff.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/yinliao\u4e2d-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8593\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/yinliao\u4e2d-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/yinliao\u4e2d-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/yinliao\u4e2d-770x433.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/yinliao\u4e2d-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/yinliao\u4e2d-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/yinliao\u4e2d-293x165.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/yinliao\u4e2d-1400x787.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/yinliao\u4e2d-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8593\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/yinliao\u4e2d-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/yinliao\u4e2d-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/yinliao\u4e2d-770x433.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/yinliao\u4e2d-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/yinliao\u4e2d-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/yinliao\u4e2d-293x165.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/yinliao\u4e2d-1400x787.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>Drinks mixed with Chinese raw tea leaf from a new type of Chinese tea drinks shop in Cardiff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>But their goal is not just to run a business. &#8220;We want to make a brand about Chinese tea drinks,&#8221; said Feng.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;In the field of tea drink consumption, the application&nbsp;level&nbsp;of combining raw leaf tea&nbsp;with&nbsp;other ingredients in China is higher than that in Britain,&#8221;&nbsp;he said. These shops in China currently mix raw leaf tea with milk, fruit, cheese, and vegetables&nbsp;to&nbsp;innovate&nbsp;new&nbsp;beverages.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;There\u2019s a common aesthetic between&nbsp;the&nbsp;two&nbsp;countries. If a Chinese drink is tasty, it\u2019ll surely be popular with British,&#8221; said Feng. &#8220;We hope to start by running this shop to promote Chinese historic tea culture in Britain.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike local milk tea shops, the tea in Feng\u2019s shop is imported from China. &#8220;Jasmine green tea and black tea, those are the two main types of raw leaf tea by far,&#8221; said Feng.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With no relevant experience, it took them nearly two years to prepare.&nbsp;It officially welcomed&nbsp;people in December last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/hezhao1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8596\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/hezhao1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/hezhao1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/hezhao1-770x433.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/hezhao1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/hezhao1-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/hezhao1-293x165.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/hezhao1-1400x787.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/hezhao1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8596\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/hezhao1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/hezhao1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/hezhao1-770x433.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/hezhao1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/hezhao1-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/hezhao1-293x165.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/06\/hezhao1-1400x787.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>Staff in Xianfuchasui, a new type of Chinese tea drinks shop in Cardiff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Nine months before the opening of the&nbsp;drinks shop,&nbsp;Qianwan, who has lived in Birmingham for nearly two years, set up her food account on social media platform,&nbsp;RED,&nbsp;which offers Chinese recipes for people&nbsp;living in&nbsp;Britain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The reason I created this account is that I want to share Yunnan food&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;my hometown food,&#8221; said&nbsp;Qianwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She&nbsp;originally just wanted to share her culinary&nbsp;experience,&nbsp;however,&nbsp;&#8220;Later, many people liked my recipes, and I also enjoyed cooking. So, I started updating regularly,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To some extent, it is her way of showing how much she missed her mother&nbsp;who lives in China.&nbsp;On Mother&#8217;s Day this year, Qianwan cooked fennel. &#8220;This dish is my mother&#8217;s favorite,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She took a picture and sent it to her mother, wishing her a happy&nbsp;Mother\u2019s Day.&nbsp;&#8220;She gets the point I&#8217;m trying to make,&#8221; Qianwan&nbsp;said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Due to the long distance, many fresh Chinese foods are difficult to transport to&nbsp;Britain. Qianwan is committed to&nbsp;tapping into&nbsp;local&nbsp;British&nbsp;food ingredients to create traditional Chinese flavor&nbsp;and share with people. &#8220;There\u2019re&nbsp;certainly commonalities between the foods of each country and region. Using different baking methods, even subtle changes, and it\u2019ll bring different feelings,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-genially wp-block-embed-genially\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe class=\"zeen-lazy-load-base zeen-lazy-load wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"ASIA MAP\" frameborder='0' width='1200' height='675' src='https:\/\/view.genial.ly\/60cbee5888bf200db4e90d35#?secret=vjg3Oz0iiS' data-secret='vjg3Oz0iiS' scrolling='yes'><\/iframe><noscript><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"ASIA MAP\" frameborder='0' width='1200' height='675' src='https:\/\/view.genial.ly\/60cbee5888bf200db4e90d35#?secret=vjg3Oz0iiS' data-secret='vjg3Oz0iiS' scrolling='yes'><\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>She is proud of being good at cooking home cuisine. &#8220;It&#8217;s the only bright spot in my life,&#8221; she said. &#8220;On a scale of 10, I rate my cooking skills as 20.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Yunnan&#8217;s food is unique,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I hope to share more.&#8221;&nbsp;Her future plan is to create a channel that will share content in English from the perspective of food diversity.&nbsp;&#8220;I want to let more people know that the same ingredients may look one way in your country, but look another way in my hometown,&#8221; Qianwan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her recipes&nbsp;are&nbsp;so popular that one person left a message saying: &#8220;There\u2019s&nbsp;nothing you can&#8217;t cook, and I suggest you open a Chinese restaurant in&nbsp;Britain.&#8221; She&nbsp;was&nbsp;happy to see it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;How about crowdfunding? Let me open a Yunnan restaurant here,&#8221; she replied jokingly with a laugh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Exploring the link between home cuisine and British-Chinese identity, the two generations of immigrants reveal their different attitudes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":603,"featured_media":8591,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[230,217,40,28],"class_list":["post-8183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-business","tag-cardiff","tag-food","tag-restaurants"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Chinese food is the core of British Chinese self-identity - Life360<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/chinese-food-is-the-core-of-british-chinese-self-identity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chinese food is the core of British Chinese self-identity - 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