Since Beijing has been the Chinese capital city for centuries, its cuisine has been influenced by culinary traditions from all over China, but the cuisine that has exerted the greatest influence on Beijing cuisine is the cuisine of the eastern coastal province of Shandong .  Beijing cuisine has itself, in turn, also greatly influenced other Chinese cuisines, particularly the cuisine of Liaoning , the Chinese imperial cuisine , and the Chinese aristocrat cuisine . 

Another Chinese cuisine that influenced Beijing cuisine (as well as influenced by Beijing cuisine itself) was the Chinese Imperial cuisine that originated from "The Emperor's Kitchen" (御膳房; pinyin: yùshànfáng), which was a term referring to the cooking facilities inside of the Forbidden City , Beijing where thousands of cooks from the different parts of China showed their best cooking skills to please royal families and officials.  Therefore, it is at times rather difficult to determine the actual origin of a dish as the term "Mandarin" is generalized and refers not only to Beijing, but other provinces， However, some generalization of Beijing cuisine can be characterized as follows: Foods that originated in Beijing are often snacks rather than full courses, and they are typically sold by little shops or street vendors.  There is emphasis on dark soy paste, sesame paste, sesame oil, and scallions, and fermented tofu is often served as a condiment.  In terms of cooking method, methods relating to the different ways of frying are often used.   There is a lesser emphasis on rice as an accompaniment than in many other areas of China, as local rice production is limited by the relatively dry climate.

For dishes of Beijing cuisine served as full courses, they are mostly originated from other Chinese cuisines, and some of the following in particular have been central to the formation of Beijing (Mandarin) cuisine. Huaiyang cuisine has long been praised since ancient times in China , and it was a general practice for an official going to Beijing to take up their position in the capital to often take a Huaiyang cuisine chef with him among servants he brought to his new home. As the officials finished their term and returned home elsewhere in China, most of these chefs often stayed behind in the capital instead, opening up their own restaurants, or being hired by local wealthy families. The imperial family of the Ming Dynasty originally from Jiangsu also contributed greatly in introducing Huaiyang cuisine to Beijing when it moved the imperial capital from Nanjing to Beijing , as the imperial kitten was mainly Huaiyang style. The element of traditional Beijing culinary/gastronomical culture of enjoying artistic performances such as Beijing opera while dining directly developed from the similar practice in the culinary/gastronomical culture of Jiangsu/Huaiyang cuisine .  Chinese Islamic cuisine is another important component of the Beijing cuisine, with the first major introduction when Beijing was selected as the imperial capital of the Yuan Dynasty .  However, the most significant contribution to the formation of Beijing cuisine came from Shandong cuisine , as most chefs from Shandong came to Beijing en masse in Qing Dynasty .  Unlike the earlier two cuisines which were brought by the ruling class such as royalties, aristocrats and bureaucrats, and then spread to the general populace, the introduction of Shandong cuisine begun with serving the general populace, with much wider market segment, from the wealthy merchants to working classes.

 History

Qing Dynasty was a major period in the formation of Beijing cuisine. Before the Boxer Rebellion , the foodservice establishments in Beijing were strictly stratified by the foodservice guild.  Each category of the foodservice establishment was specifically based on ability to provide the service for a particular market segment.  The top ranking foodservice establishment served royalties, aristocrats and wealthiest merchants and landlords, while lower ranking foodservice establishments served populace with lower financial and social status.  It was during this period of Qing Dynasty when Beijing cuisine achieved its fame and recognized by the Chinese culinary society, and the stratification of the foodservice was one of its most obvious characteristics as part of its culinary and gastronomic culture during this first peak of its formation. The official stratification was an integral part of the local culture of Beijing and it was not finally abolished officially after the end of Qing Dynasty , which resulted in the second peak in the formation of Beijing cuisine.  Any customers with money could purchase meals previously offered to royalties and aristocrats, and as chefs freely switched between jobs offered by different food service establishments, they brought their skills that further enriched and developed Beijing cuisine.  Though the stratification of food services in Beijing was no longer effected by imperial laws, the structure more or less remained despite continuous weakening due to the financial background of the local cliental. These different classes includes:

• Foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Village (庄zhuang, or Zhuang Zihao, 庄字号): These were the top ranking foodservice establishments, not only providing foods, but also entertainment as well. The form of entertainment provided was usually Beijing Opera , and foodservice establishments of this class always long term contracts with Beijing Opera troupe to perform onsite.  Moreover, foodservice establishments of this class would always have long term contracts with famous performers (such as national treasure class performers) to perform onsite, though not on daily bases.  Foodservice establishments of this category did not accept any different customers on walk-in bases, but instead, only accepted customers who came as a group and order banquets by appointments, and the banquets provided by foodservice establishment of this category often included most if not all tables at the sites.  The bulk of the business of foodservice of this category, however, was catering at the topnotch customers' homes or other locations, and such catering was often for birthdays, marriages, funerals, promotions and other important celebration / festivals. When catering, these topnotch foodservice establishments not only provided what was on the menu, but upon customers' requests, also those not on the menu, properly fitting the occasions.
  •  Foodservice establishments categorized as Cold Villages (冷庄子 Leng Zhuang Zi): Foodservice establishments without any rooms to host banquets, thus their business was purely catering.
•  Foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Auditorium (堂 tang, or Tang Zihao, 堂字号): Similar to foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Village (庄 zhuang, or Zhuang Zihao, 庄字号), but the business of these second class foodservice establishments were generally evenly divided among onsite banquet hosting and catering (at customers' home).  Foodservice establishments of this class would also have long term contracts with Beijing Opera troupe to perform onsite, but they did not have long term contracts with famous performers (such as national treasure class performers) to perform onsite on regular bases, however these topnotch performers would still perform at foodservice establishments of this category occasionally.  In terms of catering at the customers' sites, foodservice establishment of this category often only provide dishes strictly according to their menu, but would not providing any dishes that were not on the menu, because they were generally incapable of providing dishes outside their menu according to the specific occasion.
• Foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Foyer (厅 ting, or Ting Zihao, 厅字号): Foodservice establishments of this category had more business in onsite banquet hosting than catering at the customers' homes.  For onsite banquet hosting, entertainment was still provided, but foodservice establishments of this category did not have long term contracts with Beijing Opera troupes, so that performers varied for time to time, and topnotch performers usually did not perform here or any other foodservice establishments ranking lower.  For catering, different foodservice establishments of this category were incapable of handling topnotch catering on their own, but must join forces with other foodservice establishments of same ranking (or lower) to do the job.
• Foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Garden (园 yuan, or Yuan Zihao, 园字号): Nearly all of the business of foodservice establishments of this category was in hosting banquets onsite.  Entertainment was not provided on regular bases, but the there were stages built onsite for Beijing Opera performers. Instead of being hired by the foodservice establishments like in previous three categories, performers at foodservice establishment of this category were usually contractors who pay the foodservice establishment to perform on stages and split the earning according to certain percentage. Occasionally, foodservice establishment of this category would be called upon to help catering at the customers' homes, and like foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Foyer (厅 ting, or Ting Zihao, 厅字号), they could not do the job on their own but must work with other, but they could never be the lead, like foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Foyer (厅 ting, or Ting Zihao, 厅字号) could.
• Foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Storey (楼 lou, or Lou Zihao, 楼字号): The bulk the business of foodservice establishments of this category was hosting banquets onsite by appointments. Additionally, a smaller portion of the business was in serving different customers onsite on walk-in Occasionally, when catering at the customers' homes, foodservice establishments of this category would only provide the few specialty dishes they were famous for.
• Foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Residence (居 ju, or Ju Zihao, 居字号): The business of this category of foodservice establishments was generally evenly divided into two areas: serving different customers onsite on walk-in bases, and hosting banquets made by appointments for customers who came as one group.  Occasionally, when catering at the customers' homes, foodservice establishments of this category would only provide the few specialty dishes they were famous for, just like foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Storey (楼 lou, or Lou Zihao, 楼字号).  However, unlike foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Storey (楼 lou, or Lou Zihao, 楼字号) which always cooked their specialty dishes on locations like higher ranking foodservice establishments, foodservice establishment of this category would either cook on location, or simply bringing the already cooked food to locations.
• Foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Study (斋 zhai, or Zhai Zihao, 斋字号): foodservice establishments of this category were mainly in the business of serving different customers onsite on walk-in bases, but a small portion of the income did come from hosting banquets made by appointments for customers who came as one group.  Just like foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Residence (居 ju, or Ju Zihao, 居字号), when catering at the customers' homes, foodservice establishments of this category would also only provide the few specialty dishes they were famous for, but they would mostly bring the already cooked dishes to locations, only would only cook on locations occasionally.
• Foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Workshop (坊 fang, or Fang Zihao, 坊字号): foodservice establishments of this category generally did not offer the service of hosting banquets made by appointments for customers who came as one group, but instead, often only offered to serve different customers onsite on walk-in bases.  Foodservice establishments of this category or lower would not be called upon to perform catering at the customers' homes for special events.
• Foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Restaurant (馆 guan, or Guan Zihao, 馆字号): foodservice establishments of this category mainly served different customers onsites on walk-in bases, and in addition, a portion of the income would be earned from selling to-goes.

     Foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Shop (店 dian, or Dian Zihao, 店字号): foodservice establishments of this category had their own place, like all previous categories, but serving different customers to dine onsite on walk-in bases only provided half of the overall income, with the other half came from selling to-goes.

• Foodservice establishments with name ending with the Chinese character Store (铺 pu, or Pu Zihao, 铺字号): foodservice establishments of this category ranked next to the last, and they were often named after the owners' last names.  Foodservice establishments of this category had fixed spots of business for having theirs own places, but not as large as those belong to the category of Shop (店 dian, or Dian Zihao, 店字号), and thus did not have tables, but only seats for customers.  As a result, the bulk of the income of foodservice establishments of this category was from selling to-goes, while income earned from customers dining onsite only provided a small portion of the overall income.
• Foodservice establishments with names ending with the Chinese character Stand (摊 tan, or Tan Zihao, 摊字号): the lowest ranking foodservice establishments without any tables, and selling to-goes was the only form of business.  In addition to name the food stand after the owners' last names or the food sold, these food stands were also often named after the owners' nicknames.