README.adoc

____

and it doesn't seem like there's anything super sensitive in that comment.

They then tell you to contact them if you want to be restored:

____
请不要发布在V2EX不被欢迎的内容，如果你觉得这是规则误判请邮件联系hello@v2ex.com
____

but Ciro did that and there was no reply.

Later on Ciro noticed that his account was giving 400:

* https://v2ex.com/member/cirosantilli
* https://web.archive.org/web/20200511191411/https://v2ex.com/member/cirosantilli

The forum is largely programmer dominated.

It had an <<icp-license>> in 2016, but lost it in 2019 to move servers back to USA, which is extremelly shady. https://zh.greatfire.org/v2ex.com[Blocked in China as of 2020-06] according to <<greatfire>>.

* 2017-07-27 https://v2ex.com/t/378274 (http://web.archive.org/web/20200723082356/https://v2ex.com/t/378274[archive]) "stackoverflow 上的较量。。" http://web.archive.org/web/20200723082356/https://v2ex.com/t/378274 talks about https://stackoverflow.com/users/815408 which is mentioned at <<stack-overflow-anti-dissident-users>>
* 2015-12-23: https://v2ex.com/t/245507 (link:https://github.com/cirosantilli/media/blob/9f7b07e915c4638d45a1b4922ba95c61e2ef87dc/webpages/v2ex-2015-12.html[Chromium CTRL-S save]) "搜 StackOverflow，无意间发现了这个，重点在那个评论" by https://v2ex.com/member/happypy1
* http://v2ex.com/t/214015 TODO restricted without mobile phone confirmation, while most other threads still work. So they must have some kind of restricted posts.
* 2015-04-10: https://v2ex.com/t/182766 (cannot archive, login requires CAPTCHA, link:https://github.com/cirosantilli/media/blob/9f7b07e915c4638d45a1b4922ba95c61e2ef87dc/webpages/v2ex-2015-04.html[Chromium CTRL-S save]) "Stack Overflow 上看到一个丧心病狂的程序员" by https://v2ex.com/member/cloudhunter

When Ciro later checked the above threads on 2020-12-20, he noticed that all of them had been made restricted to logged in members only, while previously only one of them had been.

V2EX's creator is 刘昕 (Liu Xin, alias "Livid"):

* https://twitter.com/Livid
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/19577697 Livid（刘昕）是谁？ (Who is Livid (Liu Xin)?) on <<zhihu>>

[[pincong]]
=== Pincong (品葱, uncensored forum)

https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/品葱

Website: https://pincong.rocks/

Uses a virtual currency system (游戏币): https://pincong.rocks/currency/rule/ Posting articles costs 20 points, and doing stuff like replying gives you a few points.

* 2019-10-30: link:++https://www.pincong.rocks/question/id-10294__sort_key-agree_count__sort-ASC++[] (link:++https://web.archive.org/web/20191101091242/https://www.pincong.rocks/question/id-10294__sort_key-agree_count__sort-ASC++[archive]) "怎么让大陆把 Github 墙了？" How to get GitHub blocked by the Firewall? OP apparently really wants to block it? If yes, <<so-block-cost,LOL>>. Trigerred by some 2019-10 <<notepad>> activity.
* 2019-04-09: https://pincong.rocks/question/3383 | https://web.archive.org/web/20190413063930/https://pincong.rocks/question/3383 "【小众问题】为何 Stack Overflow 2019 开发者调查报告中，来自中国的开发者最为积极乐观？"
** 2019-05: https://community.riskiq.com/search/pincong.rocks Pingong people deciding if they should ban Ciro Santilli? :-) commented there once: https://pincong.rocks/question/3383 (https://web.archive.org/web/20190810213122/https://pincong.rocks/question/3383[archive]) This also suggests that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RiskIQ helps censorship in China

<<ciro-santilli>>'s account: https://pincong.rocks/people/cirosantilli

This website might not censor stuff, e.g.: people are using <<winnie-the-pooh>> avatars: https://www.pincong.rocks/people/bushiwumao (https://web.archive.org/web/20200418194038/https://www.pincong.rocks/people/bushiwumao[archive])

TODO is it blocked by <<gfw>> or not? <<greatfire>> just hangs forever on it, e.g.:

* https://zh.greatfire.org/test?url=https%3A//pincong.rocks
* https://zh.greatfire.org/test?url=https%3A//pincong.rocks/question/6601

<<github>> mirror of selected threads: https://github.com/Project-Gutenberg/Pincong

[[mohu]]
==== Mohu (膜乎)

https://www.mohu.rocks

Website openly anti-CCP, e.g. the signup page has <<xi-jinping>> jokes. Very similar appearance to <<pincong>>, likely same engine. https://pincong.rocks/question/24489 asks what is their relationship "请问一下品葱和膜乎之间是什么关系？"

Backlinks to this page:

* 2020-06-03 https://www.mohu.rocks/article/2227 (https://web.archive.org/web/20200606065812/https://www.mohu.rocks/article/2227[archive]) "专门开一个帖子，以后会把从各处搜刮来的六四学潮的视频、历史、文章之类放在这" (I'm creating this post to collect all the videos, history, articles, etc. that can be found anywhere about the <<tiananmen,Tiananmen Square protests>>)
** Then one of the replies by "习羊羊与灰战狼" was "link:https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship[] "提供一个很全的链接，几乎可以算是反共手册。里面的4.7是谈六四的" (Here is one very complete link, it could almost be considered an anti-CCP manual. Section 4.7 of that page is about Tiananmen.) Ciro liked the sound of that very much :-) TODO this also appears on something related to <<terminus2049>>: https://2047.name/e/76182458

[[esu-wiki]]
=== Esu Wiki (惡俗維基, politically incorrect wiki)

https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/惡俗維基

Anti-<<ccp>>, doxxing friendly wiki.

https://esu.dog/ is the mirror working as of March 2021.

http://y2wam5fshij3arfjuxirusomu73b2joql524zpre3dhvxmlqw4srcuad.onion/ is a Tor Hidden service version of it working as of March 2021. It is linked to from: ttps://esu.dog/恶俗维基:透明度报告[].

At some point they forbade discussion of politics there, likely due to some prosecution case, and officially forked into <<zhina-wiki>>, where politics is encouraged, presumably under better opsec.

[[zhina-wiki]]
==== Zhina Wiki (支纳维基, politically incorrect wiki)

Apparently addresses were:

* http://zhina.wiki/
* http://zhina.red/ this appears to be the one that lasted longer

but both down as of March 2021.

支纳 (zhina) is likely just another variant of: <<shina>>.

Dissidents, you have to learn to use Tor Onion Services!!! Doxing, even of evil people, is still normally taken down on the West, so there is no other choice!

<<wayback-machine>> has excluded both of the websites for some reason:

* https://web.archive.org/web/20190805183459/https://zhina.red/index.html
* https://web.archive.org/web/20190903104616/https://www.zhina.wiki/首页

but <<archive-today>> hasn't:

* https://archive.is/Z8RM9
* https://archive.is/znasL

[[anti-dictatorship-songs]]
== Anti-dictatorship songs (反对独裁的首歌)

Not necessarily in Chinese or about China specifically.

For Tiananmen songs, see: <<tiananmen-songs>>.

Brazil had a <<military-dictatorship-in-brazil,dictatorship from 1964 to 1985>>, and some amazing songs were made in Portuguese in that era. <<ciro-santilli>>, who is Brazilian, just cannot stop thinking about some of them in relation to China, notably: <<apesar-de-voce,Apesar de você>>.

[[do-you-hear-the-people-sing]]
=== Do you hear the people sing (Les Miserables musical, 1980, 問誰未發聲)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_You_Hear_the_People_Sing%3F
* https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/À_la_volonté_du_peuple
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_You_Hear_the_People_Sing%3F

Cantonese version used in <<2019-hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests,Hong Kong>>: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/問誰未發聲[], literally "ask who has not spoken".

A <<github>> reupload with <<hong-kong>> background images: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/507

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojoC-Kbzpo8 English version taken from a scene of the link:++https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Misérables_(2012_film)++[Les Misérables (2012)] film.
video::ojoC-Kbzpo8[youtube,height=400,width=600]

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAxDKhH1iU8 Original French version, overlayed on top of scenes from the miniseries https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Hugo,_ennemi_d%27État["Victor Hugo, ennemi d'État 2018"].
video::dAxDKhH1iU8[youtube,height=400,width=600]

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It3Ny7IY7jA Thousands sing 問誰未發聲 in 26th June 2019 in Hong Kong as a protest song.
video::It3Ny7IY7jA[youtube,height=400,width=600]

[[music]]
== The best Chinese traditional instrumental music albums (中国传统器乐音乐)

Much like <<restaurants,real Chinese food>>, your mind will be blown.

The best approach is to start with the largest multi-artist anthologies available to get a general overview of what is there.

Then, you can start Googling by instrument. The main four instruments are undoubtedly:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guqin[Guqin]
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipa[Pipa]
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guzheng[Guzheng]
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhu[Erhu]
** <<suwu>> hearding sheep (苏武牧羊) by Erhu virtuosa Song Fei (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/宋飛[宋飛]): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uakOkv341P8

but there is also amazing content on others including:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suona[Suona]. Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekqyC1CyfuI
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiao_(flute)[Xiao flute]

and there is of course the infinite Wikipedia instrument list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_musical_instruments

Quality indicators:

* bad:
** Western instruments or modern digital effects
** on YouTube: "relax" videos with boring generic music.
+
They usually have some cute landscape scenes or overly produced good looking women as the thumbnail.
+
Good video covers will show the musicians with their instruments, or Chinese traditional painting.
* good: single instrument solo. There are some good multi-instrument and songs as well though, but harder to find.

Due to the language and political barrier, Chinese traditional music distribution is unfortunately atrocious, so learn what an https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Recording_Code[ISRC] is and don't use BitTorrent which the Chinese call "BT".

If you find album cover pictures on Google images, the ISRC should be somewhere on the back.

Other good lists:

* https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-good-Chinese-classical-instrumental-album

[[music-free]]
=== Free music (免费音乐)

Here are the few best I've seen. Not enough to replace the non-free, but pretty good.

* https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcZOZrP1P_V5J2P3ogZNpya0BAuPEgyuE my "Chinese Traditional Music YouTube playlist with all good music videos I found on YouTube. This will give you an initial idea.
** Notable longer videos
*** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35ZKN-H7at4 42 minute live Guqin presentation by Chen Leiji published by "Asia Society" on Jan 23, 2018, recorded in New York, January 20, 2018.
** Channels
*** https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCltmf0pqjXyLtNsF2vek_wQ 自得琴社 Zi De Guqin Studio. Amazing production.
*** https://www.youtube.com/user/yukinachang/videos "SoundofChina Guzheng" channel with a lot of guzheng content!
** Good YouTube lists
*** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc0CzuA35y8&list=PLXPo1Bj1TYy73e8s99pyKfFD7iHqwigfN "Chinese" by "Ungern Sternberg"
* http://www.silkqin.com/06hear.htm John Thompson's Guqin website. Holy crap amazing list of Guqin pieces by the guy for MP3 download!
** Download all mp3: `wget -r -np -l 1 -A mp3 http://www.silkqin.com/06hear.htm`. Contacted John by email in 2019 telling him to put his stuff on YouTube and offering help.
** John focuses on playing the tunes in a "historically informed performance", in particular using silk strings rather than metal ones which are used by most modern artists: http://www.silkqin.com/08anal/hip.htm
* https://www.ibiblio.org/chinese-music/ several loose tracks for direct download. Not sure if legal, but has been up forever. The following sections are pretty good:
** https://www.ibiblio.org/chinese-music/html/traditional.html
** https://www.ibiblio.org/chinese-music/html/anthology.html#Dream music from the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber_(1987_TV_series)link:++https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber_(1987_TV_series)++["Dream of the Red Chamber" 1987 TV series]. Amazing!!! See also: <<television-series>>.

[[music-not-free]]
=== Non-free music

[[master-of-chinese-traditional-music]]
==== Master of Chinese Traditional Music 中国民族音乐大师系列

20-CD anthology.

ISRC of CD 1: CN-E01-04-450-00 / A.J6

Amazon link of CD 1: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QZSWQS (https://web.archive.org/web/20190817223837/https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QZSWQS[archive])

Publisher: <<china-record-corporation>>.

Chinese information: https://web.archive.org/web/20190816092018/http://www.gyhj.org/read/179301/1/1

English information with Google Translate: https://web.archive.org/web/20190816090447/https://1337x.unblockninja.info/torrent/1254538/Master-of-Chinese-Traditional-Music-Complete-Series-20-CDs-ABEE/

English song names properly copied from images: https://web.archive.org/web/20190816092313/http://muzz.pro/chinese_instrumental_traditional_music_master_of_chinese_traditional_music_20_albums_2005_mp3_tracks_320_kbps-1625006.html

A search on Amazon leads many of their albums in loose form: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=master+of+chinese+traditional+music&i=digital-music and you can patch together most of them by looking at the following two cover art styles:

TODO golden cover vs gray cover: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QZUFQI (https://web.archive.org/web/20190816082640/https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QZUFQI[archive]), TODO find the precise list.

[[masters-of-chinese-traditional-music-solo-appreciation]]
==== Masters of Chinese Traditional Music Solo Appreciation 中国民乐大师纯独奏鉴赏

14-CD anthology.

ISRC: CN-A50-06-389-00 / A.J6 (seems to be for the whole anthology)

Chinese information: https://web.archive.org/web/20190817072026/http://keai99.com/thread-435767-1-1.html

Chinese name: 中国民乐大师纯独奏鉴赏

Publisher: Chinese Musicians' Association | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国音乐家协会

[[chinese-ancient-music]]
==== Chinese Ancient Music 中国古乐

ISRC of CD 1: CN-F13-03-435-00 / A.J6

Publisher: <<china-record-corporation>>.

Amazon link of CD 1: https://www.amazon.com/Zhong-Guo-Gu-Chinese-Primitive/dp/B000S996JO (https://web.archive.org/web/20190817224121/http://www.amazon.com/Zhong-Guo-Gu-Chinese-Primitive/dp/B000S996JO[archive]).

English tracklist and front covers: https://web.archive.org/web/20190817221426/https://rutracker.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1298954

==== Not-free TODO evaluate

* Treasury Of Chinese Musical Instruments https://web.archive.org/web/20190817225846/https://muzz.pro/chinese_traditional_folk_treasury_of_chinese_musical_instruments_4_cd_s_2005_mp3_tracks_320_kbps-1624801.html

=== Music publishers

[[china-record-corporation]]
==== China Record Corporation (中国唱片总公司)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Record_Corporation
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国唱片总公司

The most important publisher, AKA "CRC Jianian".

<<ccp-evil,Government-owned unfortunately>>, their website takes forever to load: http://www.china-crc.com.cn/[], and features mostly Communist shit, and I can't find the decent traditional music listed there.

One thing to try is an Amazon advanced search by label "China Record Co": https://www.amazon.com/s?i=digital-music&rh=p_33%3AChina+Record+Co&s=relevancerank&Adv-Srch-MP3-Submit.x=42&Adv-Srch-MP3-Submit.y=4&unfiltered=1&ref=sr_adv_m_digital

[[chinese-festivals]]
== Chinese festivals (中国节日)

[[dragon-boat-festival]]
=== Dragon Boat Festival (端午节)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Boat_Festival
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/端午节

The third most important festival in China, after the Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival.

[[chinese-history]]
== Chinese history (中国历史)

[[spring-and-autumn-period]]
=== Spring and Autumn period (春秋时代, 771-476 BC)

[[warring-states-period]]
=== Warring States period (战国时期, 475-221)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warring_States_period
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/战国时期

[[the-best-chinese-supermarket-food-products]]
== The best Chinese supermarket food products (中国超市食物)

For more daily needs, when you don't want to spend more money and time at a restaurant, here are a few nice things you can get from your local Chinese supermarket and quickly make something good to eat.

* https://twitter.com/ChinaToday_com/status/992236462841020416/photo/1 huge dabaicai statue (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napa_cabbage[napa cabbage])

[[dumplings]]
=== Dumplings 饺子 (jiao3 zi)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiaozi
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/饺子

A staple food of North-east China.

You can buy them frozen on bags with about 20 for about 4 dollars.

Just boil 10-15 for 10 minutes and you have a decent ready-made meal!

The perfect cooking technique includes:

* at first, before they float, stir often with chopsticks so that they won't stick to the hot bottom of the pan, which will cause the peel to break
* don't ever ever ever overcook. Cook the minimum possible so that it is not raw. This also means taking the jiaozi out of the hot water as soon as they are done.
* after the dumplings rise to the surface after a few minutes, let it boil, and then put some cold water on top of the hot water. Repeat this two, three or four times until they are fully cooked. This helps the jiazi keep a strong peel.

The best way to eat them is to pour some vinegar and ready-to-eat spicy preparations like <<laoganma>> or Ciro's favorite, <<fansaoguang>> in the bowl, and then dip them one by one.

You can also drink the soup, or for cold days, actually eat the jiaozi with their soup. Ciro likes to add soy sauce and more of the above mentioned spices.

Can also be made by hand if you have the patience.

<<ciro-santilli>> could basically eat those every 3-4 days and not get tired.

.Fresh Asia Brand (香源) product line "hand crafted water dumplings" (手工水餃) is a good brand to buy if you can get it. https://www.orientalmart.co.uk/fresh-asia-brand-dumplings-pork-and-chinese-leaf-[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Jiaozi.jpg[height=400]

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQkXA1xglU8 How to Cook Frozen Dumplings (Boil) by "Yongle Kitchen" shows the cool water pouring process.
video::YQkXA1xglU8[youtube,height=400,width=600]

[[buns]]
=== Chinese buns 包子 (bao1 zi)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baozi | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/包子

You can buy them frozen on bags with about 4 for about 4 dollars.

The best way to heat them up by far is to steam.

If you don't have a steaming pot, you can also put them on a bowl inside a regular pot with some water at the bottom, and close the lid.

See also: <<xi-jinping-memes,習包子>>.

[[zongzi]]
=== Zongzi 粽子 (zong4 zi)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zongzi
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/粽

Eaten during <<dragon-boat-festival>>, but can be bought year round.

Buy frozen. Pick the ones with meat and eggs!!! Boil.

Cost about 4 dollars for 2.

You can't eat them every day because too heavy, but they are so amazingly tasty!!!

[[sunflower-seeds]]
=== Sunflower seeds (瓜子, gua1 zi)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guazi
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/瓜子

They are roasted and prepared with some flavoring, often green tea.

They are different from most Western ones you can find, because they tend harde and smooth, and the seeds are not open.

This is good because it makes you feel the flavour that was added to the skin as you break them open.

You have to learn how to open them with your front teeth.

Once you do that, you start eating them nonstop like a machine until the bag is empty.

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zh0TiEd63k Chinese dude eating sunflower seeds for 9 hours non-stop. That's a good brand to get BTW: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/洽洽食品[Chacha Food (洽洽食品)].
video::4Zh0TiEd63k[youtube,height=400,width=600]

.https://www.chinesefoodwiki.org/Qiaqia[Qiaqia] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/洽洽食品[洽洽]) sunflower seeds. TODO flavor name? The red one is the "default" flavor, and likely the best. The name of the brand is likely onomatopoeic with the sound of eating sunflower seeds. Partial transcription: "洽洽香瓜子 百煮如未香" Photo by <<ciro-santilli>>, CC BY-SA 4.0 2021.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Sunflower_seeds_guazi.jpg[height=500]

[[broad-beans]]
=== Dried broad bean snack (干蚕豆, gan1 can2 dou4)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicia_faba | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/蚕豆

The name of broad bean in Chinese is interesting: it literally means "silkworm bean", because the shape of the bean looks a bit like that of a silkworm cocoon.

.https://sixfortune.com/en/[Six Fortune (六福)] is a good brand of <<broad-beans>> to buy. Also they are from <<taiwan>>. https://www.tradewindsorientalshop.co.uk/acatalog/Six-Fortune-Prepared-Broad-Bean---170g.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Six_Fortune_broad_bean.jpg[height=400]

[[laoganma]]
=== Lao Gan Ma crispy chilly oil 老干妈 (lao3 gan1 ma1)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_Gan_Ma | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/老干妈

You can basically add it to any stir fried dish ever if it is too bland.

The one with peanuts or black beans is also good.

Just stay away from the Chicken flavoured one. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=eww[Eww].

.You can even buy Laoganma on Amazon! Photo by <<ciro-santilli>>, CC BY-SA 4.0 2021.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Laoganma.jpg[height=400]

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkTQTS2RSCU "What is Lao Gan Ma, and can you make it at home?" by "Chinese Cooking Demystified" published on Nov 19, 2019. Explains how it comes from Guizhou province cuisine (neighbours Sichuan).
video::nkTQTS2RSCU[youtube,height=400,width=600]

[[fansaoguang]]
=== Fansaoguang (饭扫光)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddlehead_fern | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteridium_aquilinum | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/蕨菜

This is the best thing to eat with <<dumplings>> ever!!!

Some other flavours of the same brand are also very much worth trying, e.g. the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enokitake[Enokitake] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/金針菇[金针菇]) one. Others are a bit boring.

Oily, spicy and sour.

.Photo of the Fansaoguang Fried https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enokitake[Enokitake] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/金針菇[金針菇]) flavor. This is one of the best flavours. Another really good one was Wild brake pickles (野蕨菜), but it became less good in 2020 for some reason, that was one of the <<covid,major disasters>> of that year. Photo by <<ciro-santilli>>, CC BY-SA 4.0 2021.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Fan_sao_guang.jpg[height=500]

[[hot-pot]]
=== Hot pot 火锅 (huo3 guo1)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_pot

You just have to buy:

* a hot pot base soup
* various kinds of frozen fish/meat balls
* thin sliced frozen beef/lamb meat sold specifically for hot pot
* leafy vegetables like Chinese cabbage or fresh Chinese mushrooms
* you can also add some dry stuff like dried mushrooms or dry tofu products
* sauces to put into a bowl and dip the cooked things in before putting them into your mouth. Could be either dedicated hot pot sauces, but sesame paste, soy sauce, vinegar and <<laoganma>> will already be good enough

Put the electric rice cooker or a regular pot with a portable electric heater on the dining table.

Boil the water with the soup, start with the harder to cook meaty things, and eat/add more as they become ready!

Great fun to do in winter with family and friends!

There are also dedicated hot pot restaurants, but <<ciro-santilli>> is not a fun, since it feels much better to do it in the privacy of your home.

YouTube explains it pretty well, no need for their fancy ying yang pans though, a rice cooker will do just fine:

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQZcPyn-cDU ingredient choice
+
video::UQZcPyn-cDU[youtube,height=400,width=600]
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqv9hNoiQEs shows the actual eating
+
video::Fqv9hNoiQEs[youtube,height=400,width=600]

[[congee]]
=== Congee (粥, zhou1)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congee#China | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/粥

A thick rice/cereal/bean porridge. Amazing for breakfast.

You can buy them as dry air tight uncooked cereal/bean mixtures, and there are different types.

You can also buy the ingredients separately of course, but it requires more effort.

If you get the air-tight bag, you can also buy some extra missing ingredients to taste, notably https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jujube[jujubes] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/枣[枣]).

Then you just boil them in a rice cooker for a few hours.

It is also possible to buy them ready-to-eat in cans, but those are nowhere near as good.

One particular type which is very good is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laba_congee[Laba congee] (eight treasure congee, 八宝粥).

Then, to eat it, you will want to add salty side dishes, all of which can be bought from the Chinese supermarket, since the congee itself is just mildly sweet and not salty at all:

* cooked <<salted-duck-egg>>

.The HONOR brand (康樂, full name: Honor Products, 康樂產品) Eight treasure congee (八寶粥) is a good brand to buy if you can find it. https://www.hiyou.co/product/honor-eight-treasure-porridge/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Eight_treasture_congee.jpg[height=500]

.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermented_bean_curd[fermented bean curd] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/腐乳[腐乳, fu3 ru3]) is a good thing to put on <<congee>>. Wangzhihe (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/王致和[王致和]) is a good brand, <<ciro-santilli>> prefers the dark red ones instead of the white ones. https://www.amazon.com/Wangzhihe-Fermented-Traditional-Bean-DragonMall/dp/B00786YL72[Sample Amazon link]. Photo by <<ciro-santilli>>, CC BY-SA 4.0 2021.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Fermented_bean_curd_furu.jpg[height=500]

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIxbJxNRpX0 Video showing how to make eight treasure congee from scratch by "Asian garden 2 table" published on Feb 2, 2020.
video::DIxbJxNRpX0[youtube,height=400,width=600]

[[salted-duck-egg]]
==== Salted duck egg (咸鸭蛋)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salted_duck_egg
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/鹹鴨蛋

[[tea-egg]]
===== Tea egg (咸鸭蛋)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_egg
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/茶葉蛋

This is good!

[[lamian]]
=== Lamian (拉面)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamian
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/拉面

Silk road stuff of course.

[[restaurants]]
== The best Chinese restaurants outside of China (中国以外最好的中国饭店)

Google Maps list: https://goo.gl/maps/zBkmPaU1wLP2

[[resturants--introduction]]
=== Introduction

Most Western people do not know what real Chinese food is.

When you first see it, your mind is completely blown: there it was, one of the best foods in the world by far, and you had never tried it: only a completely watered down boring version that you get when you are not guided by Chinese people.

We must put a stop to this madness.

After you see the light and eat the real version of a dish, then when you go to a not-real restaurant you start to think: "hey, I know what dish this was supposed to be. But it could be so much more awesome!" This makes non-real restaurants twice as bad. So beware, there is no turning back.

Maybe we should institute a Foodie Dictatorship (美食家独裁) that prevents such fake restaurants from hiding real Chinese food???

[[resturants--rating-system]]
==== Rating system

* tier 1: amazing, worth a trip
* tier 2: worth it, but not exciting, so not worth a trip just for it
* tier 3: I wouldn't go there

[[resturants--how-to-find-good-restaurants]]
==== How to find good restaurants

* go with Chinese food-loving friends to Chinese restaurants
* read up Chinese restaurant recommendation websites written in Chinese by Chinese for Chinese
* read up small shady Chinese food recommendation websites by link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinophile[sinophiles like Ciro Santilli]

Big Western sites like Google Maps reviews and TripAdvisor are completely and utterly useless for this and will recommend places in which poor non-Chinese which don't know what real Chinese food is like.

If you go out on the street by yourself, you are very unlikely to find really good Chinese food since the enormous majority of Chinese restaurants are not real Chinese food.

If there are only Chinese clients inside the restaurant, it is a good indicator that it might be good. If all clients people are Western, run away.

Western people don't know what good Chinese food is, so if you are not in a place that has a very large Chinese population, real Chinese food restaurants cannot survive, and won't exist. This usually implies being in large cities of rich countries.

Beware of restaurant owner changes: if the menu looks a bit different, it has likely happened.

This is <<politically-incorrect,politically incorrect>>, but here goes: if the place looks as if it is maintained by more recent immigrants, and looks more modern, it is more likely to be good. There are however some venerable older uncles who have cooked well their entire lives and are still fine. Things tend to water down across generations, and there was likely not enough real Chinese clientele for them to serve real Chinese food and survive in the past.

If a restaurant advertises itself as "Asian", it is less likely to be very good.

Conversely, restaurants that specialize in a single region of China are more likely to be good (bot not certainly good).

It is already difficult to do the cuisine for one part of China well, imagine for multiple countries.

Just beware of "Sichuan" restaurants: their cuisine is so well known even in the West that I've seen many not so good restaurants that describe themselves like that, even if the owners are from another region. But there are many good ones which really are from there as well.

[[resturants--similar-lists]]
==== Similar lists

[[resturants--how-to-order]]
==== How to order

For all restaurants, ask the waiter for suggestions. Tell him that you:

* want the most typical dishes, not what the foreign locals eat, but what the Chinese eat
* can eat spicy food, way more than any foreign local person can.
+
The spice level you generally want is "zhong1 la4" (medium spicy)
+
If you can't eat spicy, either learn or stop reading now and accept the fact that you will never eat good Chinese food.
* if the restaurant is from some region, ask for dishes from the region, and which are different from other regions.
+
I was once <<dumplings>> (super popular dish everywhere in China which I buy frozen and eat every 3 days) in a Tibetan restaurant... Yes, I do believe Tibetans also eat jiaozi! :-)
* Speaking a little Chinese goes a long way towards convincing the owners that you can handle the real thing.

Only order dishes with meat. Those without are not worth the money/time. Aubergine is the exception.

[[restaurants--france]]
=== France 法国

Traiteurs are simpler restaurants that let you see pre-made foods in a glass showcase for you to choose how big your portions will be.

They are the best way to eat a cheap and balanced meal in Paris, but I have never found one that serves exceptional Chinese food, so beware.

[[restaurants--france--paris]]
==== Paris 巴黎

Paris has one of the largest Chinese communities outside of China in the whole world centered in the 14eme arrondissement, plus a lot of Chinese students with money around.

As a result, you can find some of the best Chinese food in the world outside of China!

Bibliography:

* https://carnetdecroute.blogspot.fr
* http://cnkick.net/2013/09/10/les-meilleurs-restaurants-chinois-de-paris-le-guide-cn-kick/
* https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-Chinese-restaurants-in-Paris
* https://www.newsavour.com/restaurants/ Chinese only, Paris, website subsidiary of some larger Chinese group.

* Restaurant Sichuan (川里川外)
+
17 Rue le Peletier, 75009 Paris
+
Xianglaxie.
+
Last checked: 2017/06
* Chez Yong (Ding Ding Xiang, 鼎鼎香)
+
42, rue de la Colonie, 75013 Paris
+
** shui zhu niu rou
** dishes with intestines
* La Chine sur la langue (舌尖美味)
+
163 rue Saint-Denis, 75002 Paris
+
** Spicy soup with Chinese charcuteries. Ma la tang.
** Large dry and thin bread. Jing dong da bing. 京东大饼. http://www.nipic.com/show/1/55/7885c266f22649ae.html[Picture].
* Quatre Amis (那家小馆)
+
29 rue de Charenton, 75012 Paris
+
--
** Fried octopus
** Shui zhu niu rou
** Anything with intestines
--
* Le Céleste Gourmand (福来居, fu lai ju)
+
8 Rue de la Tacherie, 75004 Paris
* L'Orient d'Or (福源丰)
+
22, Rue de trévise, 75009 Paris
+
--
** Galettes croustillantes au canard (xiang su ya dai bing, 香酥鸭带饼)
** Poisson pimentee (suan tang yu, 酸汤鱼)
** Soupe aux cartilages de porc avec algues (hai dai pau gu tang, 海带排骨汤)
--
+
Hunan style.
+
25 euros / person.
* Carnet de Route
+
57 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 75009 Paris
+
Last checked: 2016/04
* 0 d'Attente (锅先生不等位)
+
55 Boulevard Saint-Marcel, 75013 Paris
+
+33 9 81 49 68 06
+
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187147-d6984996-Reviews-0_d_Attente-Paris_Ile_de_France.html
+
Like style of chairs and cutlery.
+
Ironically, the service was not particularly fast as the name indicates. Normal, but not ultra-fast as I imagined :-)
+
lotus with rice (Nuo mi tang ou) and boeuf sechee (guo xian sheng ...) not very good, but baked fish and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meigan_cai kaorou were great.
+
Last checked: 2016/02
* Autour du Yangtse (食尚煮意)
+
12 Rue du Helder, 75009 Paris
+
--
** Marmite de poisson et de tofu (豆花鱼)
** Saliva chicken (口水鸡)
** Aubergines farcies sur plaqua chauffante (铁板脆皮茄)
--
+
http://www.autourduyangtse.com/
* Deux Fois Plus De Piment (绝代双椒)
+
Address: 33 Rue Saint-Sébastien, 75011 Paris
+
Sichuan style.
* Délices de Shandong (山东小馆)
+
88 Boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75013 Paris
* Hakka Home
+
3 Rue Voltaire, 75011 Paris
+
Food from the Hakka people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakka_people
+
Most dishes are like other good Chinese restaurants in Paris, but there were a few different ones.
* Maison Dong (东馆)
+
36 Rue Vivienne, 75002 Paris
+
Last checked: 2017/04
* Royal Tching Tao (青岛人家)
+
8 Rue du Bel-Air, 75012 Paris
+
** Galettes croustillantes au canard. Shi zi tou.
** Sweet fish （Song shu gui yu 松鼠桂鱼)
* Le Pont de Yunnan (滋味云南)
+
15 Rue Notre Dame de Lorette, 75009
+
Great food, but we had a bad service experience: got kicked out too early, even with a reservation.
* Tien Hiang (天香)
+
14, rue Bichat, 75010 Paris
+
Vegetarian food: most dishes are an imitation of a dish with meat.
+
Not as good as the original meat for me, but very interesting and good for a change.
+
Chinese vegetarians are rare. In theory, the origin of the food in this restaurant is Hong Kong Buddhism (Buddhist monks cannot eat meat, while other believers can.)
* Likafo (利口福酒家)
+
39 Avenue de Choisy, 75013 Paris
+
https://www.facebook.com/LIKAFO-利口福酒家-139814799396/
+
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meigan_cai[Meigan cai] roast pork (梅菜扣肉) https://img.epochtimes.com/i6/901120923161469.jpg
* Restaurant Sichuan (四川人家)
+
31-33 Rue Descartes, 75005 Paris
+
Perfect Fuqi feipian.
+
Huiguorou is good not my style, I prefer with leek.
+
Last checked: 2017/04

[[resturants--france--paris--tier-2]]
===== Paris tier 2

Cheaper / simpler restaurants that are really worth it if you want not to be hungry, but not worth it if you want eat exceptional food:

* Ace Boucherie
+
58 Rue Sainte-Anne, 75002 Paris
+
Korean takeaway traiteur. Very good. Try calamar.
+
Last checked: 2017/06
* Ji Bai He
+
108 Rue Olivier de Serres, 75015 Paris
+
Jiaozi and accompanying small dishes are great.
+
Last checked: 2016/03
* SUCREPICE
+
5 Rue d'Arras, 75005 Paris
+
M10: Cardinal Lemoine
+
Liang ban mian, but do ask "wei la, they are strong.
* Noodle No 1
+
54 rue Sainte Anne, 75002 Paris
+
--
** Soupe aux nouilles pimentées
--
* Noodle bar
+
31 Rue nationale, 75013 Paris, France
* Chez Shen
+
39 Rue au Maire, 75003 Paris, France
* Dosanko Larmen
+
40 Rue Sainte-Anne, 75002 Paris
+
Order the big portion at your own risk. :-)
+
Last checked: 2017/04
* Chez Mamie (外婆家)
+
18 Rue du Grenier-Saint-Lazare, 75003 Paris,
+
Last checked: 2017/06

[[resturants--france--marseille]]
==== Marseille (马赛)

* Shanghai kitchen
+
14 Cours Jean Ballard, 13001 Marseille, France

[[restaurants--uk]]
=== United Kingdom (英国)

Bibilography:

* https://www.honglingjin.co.uk/category/foods-and-restaurants-in-the-uk/chinese-restaurants

[[restaurants--uk--london]]
==== London 伦敦

[[restaurants--uk--london--little-wooden-hut]]
===== Little Wooden Hut 小木屋

Address:

....
Little Newport Street
WC2H 7JJ
....

Last checked: 2016/08

Not yet on Google maps so I don't know the number, but the street is very small so should be easy to find.

Chinese review: http://www.ukchinese.com/News/2016-05-07/15299.html

[[resturants--uk--london--murger-han]]
===== Murger Han

Address:

....
8A Sackville St
Mayfair, London
W1S 3EZ
....

Website: https://www.murgerhan.com/

Last checked: 2019/01

Cuisine: Xi'an

Biangbiang noodles with all extras zhongla are amazing!!! Niuroupaomo OK, but not exciting. Roujiamo not very interesting, too bland for my taste.

[[resturants--uk--london--tier-2]]
===== London tier 2

[[restaurants--uk--london--chinese-tapas-house-london]]
====== Chinese Tapas House

Address:

....
Little Newport Street
WC2H 7JJ
....

Not yet on Google maps so I don't know the number, but the street is very small so should be easy to find.

Jianbing guozi, interesting spicy fast food.

[[restaurants--uk--london--rice-coming-restaurant]]
====== Rice Coming Restaurant 米齐临

Rice noodles are good, and small dishes authentic.

Address: 10A Coptic St, Holborn, London WC1A 1NH

Last checked: 2019-04

Website: https://ricecoming.business.site/

[[restaurants--uk--cambridge]]
==== Cambridge 剑桥

[[restaurants--uk--cambridge--spring-restaurant]]
===== Spring Restaurant 春天

Address:

....
66 Mill Rd
CB1 2AS
....

Last checked: 2017/08

Spicy chicken with pasta and potatoes.

[[restaurants--uk--cambridge--seven-days]]
===== Seven Days 天天美食剑桥

Address:

....
66 Regent St
CB2 1DP
....

[[resturants--uk--cambridge--72-china]]
===== @72 China

Address:

....
72 Regent St
CB2 1DP
....

Douhuaniurou 豆花牛肉, kaoyu.

[[resturants--uk--cambridge--golden-house]]
===== Golden House

Address:

....
12 Lensfield Rd
CB2 1EG
....

Meicaikourou, luobo bing.

[[restaurants--uk--cambridge--1-1-rougamo]]
===== 1 + 1 Rougamo

Tier: 2

Address:

....
84 Regent St
CB2 1DP
....

Last checked: 2019/05

Roujiamo very good. Also good: broad noodles, 凉皮.

[[restaurants--uk--oxford]]
==== Oxford 牛津

[[restaurants--uk--oxford--a-taste-of-china]]
===== A Taste Of China 三秦百味

Tier: 2

https://goo.gl/maps/oERKCv6Q8a32

Last checked: 2019/03

Redamian good, Biangbiangmian not as interesting. Nice people working there. Two two seat tables only, mostly takeaway. Fair price.

[[restaurants--uk--oxford--xi-an]]
===== Xi'an

Tier: 3

https://goo.gl/maps/DrDCPKWnG2M2

Last checked: 2019/03

Not real Chinese food I'm afraid. Songshuyu was not cut correctly into stripes and too much liquid sauce. Sijidou beans not dry enough, maybe need more frying. Early immigration (1968, mentioned on menu), almost no Chinese clients. Nice decoration and environment.

[[restaurants--uk--sheffield]]
==== Sheffield 谢菲尔德

* China Red Restaurant
+
3 Rockingham Gate, Sheffield S1 4JD, United Kingdom
+
Last checked: 2016/06, shuizhuyu.

[[restaurants--brazil]]
=== Brazil 巴西

[[restaurants--brazil--sao-paulo]]
==== Sao Paulo 圣保罗

* Chuanxiangyuan Restaurante (川香园餐馆 )
+
\R. Barão de Iguape, 47 - Liberdade, São Paulo - SP
+
Eat the big fish dishes, they are worth it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuqi_feipian was not very good.
+
Free tea was good.
+
Rice could be better.
+
Owners are actually from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianjin , not Sichuan, as implied by the 川 in the name of the restaurant. GF told me that those big fish dishes are typical from there.
+
Last checked: 2016/01/09

[[restaurants--canada]]
=== Canada 加拿大

[[restaurants--canada--montreal]]
==== Montreal 加拿大蒙特利尔，

Last checked: 2016/01

* Cuisine Szechuan
+
2350 Rue Guy, Montréal, QC H3H 2M2, Canada
* Kanbai
+
1110 Rue Clark, Montréal, QC H2Z 1K3, Canada Good
* Délice oriental
+
1858 Rue Ste-Catherine O, Montréal, QC H3H 1M1

Not worth it:

* Chez Chili
+