Nine facts about Chinese food to know on World Food Day

Farmers in Northwest China's Gansu province flip chili peppers in the air to help them dry on Oct 4, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

October 16 is the World Food Day - a day that commemorates the founding of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization on October 16, 1945. To mark this special day, CGTN has put together of food facts in China.

1. Data from The Paper reveals that the average daily calorie intake for a Chinese person was 3,084 kcal in 2013, twice the amount in 1961.

2. Although grain is the main source of energy for Chinese people, consumption of sugar, red meat and fat is higher than ever before.

3. Some Chinese are gradually adapting a Westernized diet. However, there is still a significant difference between the East and the West's diet structure.

4. Rice consumption is especially strong in Asian countries. Chinese consume more rice than wheat.

5. Chinese people are one of biggest vegetable eaters. By 2000, China ranked first in the world average consumption of vegetables, according to data from Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. China's per capita consumption of vegetables in 2013 was 347.83 kilograms, while the rest of the world's per capita vegetable consumption was no more than 280 kilograms.

6. People who eat hot peppers tend to live longer, according to a 2017 published by PLOS One.

7. On average, Chinese people order 40 million takeout meals per day.

8. Most Chinese people have no idea what General Tso chicken, crab rangoon, egg rolls, or sesame seed chicken are – all popular "Chinese" dishes in the US.

9. The 10 most popular Chinese dishes in China are: fish with Sichuan pickles; stir-fried vegetables; spicy diced chicken with peanuts/kung pao chicken; shredded pork with garlic sauce; fish filets in hot chili oil; braised pork with brown sauce; steamed fish head with diced hot red peppers; roasted duck; tomato and egg soup; and twice-cooked pork slices in hot sauce (China Hotel Association research)