A Bite of China is a food documentary directed by Chen Xiaoqing and produced by CCTV. It revolves around the Chinese people’s pursuit of better cuisine and life, and connects with specific character stories to tell the food ecology of China. There are currently three seasons.

Season 1: In the previous video materials, Chinese cuisine is more of a “cooking master” or “gourmet celebrity”, demonstrating its “superb cooking skills” and “complex cooking process”, and TV programs on Chinese cuisine mostly appear in the form of “competition”. In this season, Chinese cuisine presents the Chinese daily diet to the audience, especially those overseas, with its easy and quick narrative rhythm and delicate and ingenious pictures. The rich experience accumulated by the Chinese in their diet, different eating habits and unique taste aesthetics, and the values of oriental life that have risen to the level of survival wisdom, are all presented in this season.

Season 2: As a food documentary explores the relationship between the Chinese people and their food, when food is used as a pathway to understand China, people can taste this ancient oriental country with great savor. “A place nurtures its people”, this document depicts and perceives Chinese people’s cultural traditions, concepts about family, life attitudes and home-bound emotions by showing the multiple aspects of people’s daily life related to food. People harvest, preserve, cook and produce food, and retain and inherit the taste memory, dietary customs, cultural styles and homely emotions carried by food in this process. There are 8 episodes in this season, telling the story of Chinese food from seven angles: “Seasons”, “Footsteps”, “Heart’s Message”, “Realm of Secrets”, “Daily Life”, “Encounters”, and “Three Meals”. Episode 8 is a shooting feature.

Season 3: Taking a closer look at the beauty of food, and looking at the cultural roots of Chinese cuisine from afar, this season uses the diet to thoroughly explore some more valuable and charming Chinese stories. Exploring the migration and integration of Chinese cuisine in historical evolution, and discussing the relationship between Chinese and food in-depth, the program crew has travelled in more than 20 provinces, cities and autonomous regions across China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan. There are as many as 115 filming locations, more than 300 people being interviewed, and more than 400 foods have been shot. The program tries to provide a great feast both visually and spiritually for its audiences.