China - Resurgence of a Vegetarian Culture

     According to this very informative article in the China Daily USA about the increase in vegetarian restaurants in China, vegetarian cooking has had a very long history there dating back to 700 B.C. The cooking style spread as Buddhism and Taoism became more popular.  At the turn of the century, there were "about 700 vegetarian restaurants in Beijing alone."  There was a decline when China went through wars and revolution during the first half of the century, but now, vegetarian restaurants are on the rise.  It's great to see that the vegetarian culture is making a resurgence in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai since it will have large impact throughout the country.