1．中国四大菜系大致可按一下这些特点区分：
The four major cuisine traditions in China can be roughly distinguished by these generalities:
2．山东菜系通常较咸，汁色普遍较浅。
Shandong cuisine is generally salty, with the prevalence of light-colored sauces.
3．四川菜系口味重，以麻辣著称。
With a rich variety of strong flavors, Sichuan cuisine is best known for being spicy-hot.
4．最难归类的粤菜强调轻炒浅煮，选料似乎不受限制。
Canton cuisine, the hardest to categorize, emphasizes light cooking and seemingly limitless range of ingredients.
5．扬州菜系注重选料的原味，它实际上揉合了南北菜系之精华。
While emphasizing the original flavors of carefully selected ingredients, Yangzhou cuisine is essentially a combination of the best elements of northern and southern cooking.
6．也有人以八个字来归纳四大菜系的口味特点，即“南淡北咸，东甜西 辣”。
According to some others, the characteristic flavors of China’s four major cuisines can be summed up in the following expression:” The light southern (Canton) cuisine, and the salty northern (Shandong) cuisine; the sweet eastern (Yangzhou) cuisine, and the spicy western (Sichuan) cuisine.”
