American Culture Vs Chinese Culture

Located on opposite sides of the world, the differences between American and Chinese culture, both historical and contemporary, are vast, but the two countries also share many often-overlooked similarities. The United States, often simply referred to as “America,” is a relatively young and diverse nation, whereas the large and populous China, called Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo (or Zhongguo) by its natives, is one of the oldest nations on Earth, with a long and colorful history. (everyculture.com) In this modern political era, China and the United States are constantly competing to be crowned the most influential and dominant world power, and while the US loses its grip on supremacy, communist China continues to climb up the ladder of wealth,

Three meals a day- breakfast, lunch, and dinner- is the standard in both countries. In most of China, rice is the staple crop and eaten on almost any occasion, but wheat products such as noodles and dumplings are more popular in the North. (Worldbook) For the majority of Americans, the day always starts out with coffee, followed by a small breakfast of carbohydrates or dairy products; different kinds of cereal are considered the basic American breakfast food. In northern China, breakfast usually consists of noodles or wheat bread, whereas rice porridge is the standard breakfast in the South. (everyculture.com) Chinese lunches usually include vegetables with bits of meat, and rice or noodles, sometimes accompanied by egg rolls or stuffed dumplings. American lunches can vary greatly, depending on the nutritional views of the family or person, but sometimes consist of pastas or salads. In both China and America, evening meals are often the largest. With record-high obesity rates that are still rising at alarming rates, it is common knowledge that the average American diet is simply unhealthy, likely due to the ubiquity of canned, processed, and fast food, and overuse of sugar and sodium. However, it is more controversial of whether or not the typical Chinese diet can be considered healthy or not; their nutritional intake consists of plenty of vegetable servings, but many common dishes, particularly Shanghainese specialties, are also extremely high in oil, sugar, and monosodium glutamate, a particularly high-sodium taste powder. (Flower, 105) Animals, and parts of animals that are rarely or never eaten in the U.S, such as chicken feet, fish eyes, and cat,