8 Spicy Food Provinces to Enjoy the Spiciest Food in China

China has long been famed for Chinese food culture and as a treasure-house of flavor and taken credit for excellent spicy food eating! Many international foodies, who are planning China food adventures, wonder where to go for the distinguished spicy Chinese dishes, moreover, the spiciest food in China. Therefore, we come up with a list of 8 “hottest” places - the spicy food regions in China. They are really worth a gourmet tour, provided you are addicted to world spicy food.

Come and take a taste-bud-tingling tour of China’s spiciest foods. 

1. Sichuan Province & Chongqing 

Sichuan province together with Chongqing city is the paradise for food lovers, especially for anyone that likes Chinese spicy food. With a history of over 3000 years, Sichuan Cuisine has been known for hot and spicy dishes.

Sichuan and Chongqing are located in the eastern part of the Sichuan Basin and has a subtropical monsoon climate. The climate is so humid that people have to eat many chilies or other spicy spices so as to release the moisture from their bodies, otherwise they will easily get rheumatism. That's why Sichuan and Chongqing people like eating chilies so much.

There are Chuan restaurants and food streets packed with local dishes and snacks everywhere in Chengdu and Chongqing, all of which are hot and spicy.

The most famous and spiciest food in Sichuan and Chongqing include:

>>Recommended 4-day Chengdu Food Tour

2. Guizhou Province

Guizhou always reminds people of its overwhelming spicy food.

Like Sichuan, Guizhou's climate is humid all year round, therefore eating spicy food can discharge the moisture in the body, and cleans and detoxifies the body.

In each family, there is chilli powder, chopped hot pepper, dried red pepper and chili with soya especially for noodles and rice noodles. The famous Laoganma chilli sauce is produced in Guizhou. With these Chili ingredients, Guizhou people make all kinds of mouth-watering spicy dishes. They also like sour and hot flavor.

The most famous and spiciest food in Guizhou include:

3. Hunan Province

Hunan cuisine is known as one of China’s eight cuisines, and never lack of chili or pepper. The local dishes are spicy and appetizing. Hunan is also an important production bases of pepper in China. Changsha is the best place to taste Hunan spicy dishes, as well as a wide range of spicy street foods.

There is joke that a young man who could not eat spicy told the cook in Hunan, "No spicy". the cook was anxious and said that you come to cook yourself if you don’t eat spicy.

There are Hunan restaurants across China favored by spicy food lovers.

The most famous and spiciest food in Hunan include:

>> Know more about Chinese cuisines and cooking

4. Yunnan Province

Guess for what? Dehong in the West Yunnan province has the world's hottest pepper variety, named Yunnan Shua Shua La, as hot as the Ghost Pepper in India. Many in Yunnan like to eat millet pepper dipped in salt for rice, and some people prefer to mix fruits with pepper. In Yunnan, chillies can also be eaten as a snack -- the chili ring.

Elaborate Yunnan Cuisine pays attention to the use of fresh food and ingredients. When touring Yunnan, make sure to feast on wild mushroom hot pots, Yunnan-style steamed chicken, Dali fish in casserole, and crossing the bridge rice noodles, and add much chili as you like!

5. Jiangxi Province

Yet this is another province in China that stands out for spicy food. Jiangxi cuisine is somewhat similar to Hunan cuisine, but a bit more salty. Pingxiang city of Jiangxi province is considered to be the “hottest” city in China. People here put chili in all dishes, even including the porridge and stew. However, people in Jingdezhen (home of Chinese ceramics), nearby Anhui province, prefer less spicy.

The most famous and spiciest food in Jiangxi include:

6. Guangxi Province

Spicy food is not very popular in Guangxi province, except Liuzhou city, Guilin city (nearby Hunan province) and the area inhabited by Dong people.

In the restaurants of Liuzhou, a small dish made of chilli, garlic rice, spring onion and soy sauce is usually served for every guest. Some people like to order a small dish of sour pepper as a snack before eating.

Liuzhou food is famous for Snail Powder, Liuzhou river snail rice noodles, while Guilin food for Guilin rice noodles and spicy Garlic Chilli Sauce.  

7. Hubei Province

Hubei Cuisine is much less spicy than Chuan cuisine or Guizhou Cuisine, but the Hubei braised food, such as the spiced duck neck (a kind of snack food) has an extra-spicy kick, and is really addicting!

8.Shaanxi Province

Guanzhong area, the south of Shaanxi province is a famous spicy food region in China, and especially renowned for the dry pepper and oil chili. Here many locals take dry chili as a dish to eat with rice. There is a saying that three chili can be a dish.

The most famous and spiciest food in Shaanxi include:

>> Recommended 15-day China Cooking & Foodie Tour to Chengdu, Guilin, Xian and other places

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