Oysters and Tea witness the integration between China and France

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On January 27, 1964, China and France established formal diplomatic ties. The friendship between the two countries has gone through 55 years now.

Speaking of France, words such as romance, delicate cuisine and rich culture often pop up in the minds of people in China. So many gorgeous words to describe a country like France, and with the establishment of formal diplomatic ties, people of both countries have the opportunity to come closer and experience each other's culture themselves.

Couple hugging on the street of Paris, France. /VCG Photo‍

French cuisine integrated into Chinese food culture

A waiter with a tray of French dessert /VCG Photo

The delicacy of its layered tastes and variety of sauces, the magnificence of its tableware make French cuisine a form of art.

Some people believed French food is the only cuisine in the Western world that can be compared with Chinese food in its complexity.

Although French restaurants are all throughout China now, it was far less accepted back then than it is today.

Oyster is a prime example. France is rich in oysters and maintains the tradition of eating them raw. In the 1990s, people in China did not know much about oysters, not to mention eating them uncooked.

Oyster stall with fresh oysters in Cancale, France /VCG Photo

In order to let Chinese people enjoy fresh oysters, the restaurant Flo Maison, which opened in Beijing in 1999, set a precedent for the Chinese restaurant to fly oysters by air.

Nowadays, Chinese people are familiar with oysters, and even created their own way to cook them. Oysters are now no more just a fancy ingredient in the main dining room, and can be seen in many food stalls on the sidewalks of China.

Chinese tea in France

In 1636, the Dutch merchant brought Chinese tea to Paris, France. Since then, the French began to drink tea.

The pronunciation of "Tea" in both the French "the" and Dutch word "thee" originates from the Hokkien dialect of Xiamen, Fujian Province in east China.

For a long time, tea was considered an aristocratic drink, even a luxury.

Chinese tea set /VCG Photo

According to historical records, as early as 1665, tea from China was prescribed by the imperial physician to King Louis XIV as a remedy for digestion.

In recent decades, the French began to show strong interest in Chinese tea culture. Now the country has become one of the four major tea-drinking countries in Europe.

China and France have constantly influenced each other in their exchanges. With Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to France, more cultural communication and exchange between the two countries are expected.

( Top image designed by Sa Ren)