Duck blood and vermicelli soup is a traditional delicacy made by cooking vermicelli, duck liver, blood, and intestines with dried tofu, dried shrimp, ginger, sesame oil, and caraway seeds. Although the dish is consumed in many Chinese regions, it is a specialty of Nanjing, famous throughout the world for its duck dishes, which is why it is sometimes referred to as the capital of duck.

According to a popular story, a poor man in Nanjing had killed a duck and used a bowl to hold its blood. While cleaning the duck, he accidentally dropped some vermicelli into the bowl and cooked the stew afterwards. When he tasted the stew, he found it quite flavorful, and a wealthy man heard about the newly created dish, thus employing the poor man as a cook for his family. 

Shark fin soup is a controversial soup with Chinese origins, made with shark fins and flavored with chicken or another type of stock. Shark fin is slightly neutral in flavor, and is used in the dish to add texture. It is believed that the first shark fin soup was invented by an emperor during the time of the Sung Dynasty who wanted to show off his power, wealth, and generosity to his guests.

Because of that, preparing and serving this expensive dish is now considered a sign of respect. Today, the soup is a part of the Big 4, dishes that represent health and prosperity in Chinese culture, which are usually reserved for special occasions, the other three being abalone, sea cucumber, and fish maw. 

Luosifen, a native to Liuzhou in China's Guangxi province, is a dish consisting of a snail-based broth, rice noodles, and an array of additional ingredients, typically including pickled bamboo shoots, peanuts, tofu skins, and green vegetables. The hot and spicy taste comes from an elaborate concoction of spices and herbs that's used to make the broth, as well as a sizable amount of chili oil that's added to the finished soup at the end.

Luosifen is typically sold by street vendors and only rarely served in restaurants, with each place having their secret recipe. Recently, specialized luosifen restaurants started to appear in numerous Chinese cities, but also abroad.

Often called the caviar of the East, bird nests are an exquisite delicacy found in many Asian cuisines. In places like Hong Kong, where the demand for bird nests often outweighs the supply, their price reaches up to $10,000 for a single kilogram!

In China, consuming bird nests is a tradition dating back more than a thousand years, all the way to the Tang Dynasty era, circa 700 CE. Back then, bird nests were a delicacy reserved only for the aristocracy. It is believed that the famous Empress Wu Zetian - the only woman who ever ruled China - used to rely on anti-aging and restorative properties of the highly nutritious bird's nest soup, which was often found on the imperial menu. 

Hulatang is a Chinese soup with origins in the Henan region, although today it is a popular breakfast item in northern China. The soup usually contains ingredients such as beef, vermicelli noodles, ginger, vinegar, flour, and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, zucchini, cauliflower, and spinach.

Hulatang is characterized by its thick, sticky texture and its spiciness, which is imparted by large amounts of black pepper and chili powder. When served, hulatang is commonly accompanied by some kind of Chinese steamed flatbread on the side, intended to be torn into small pieces which are then placed into the bowl to soak up the flavors. 

One of the staple soups in Chinese cuisine is the famous egg drop soup. As the name suggests, it is made by dropping whisked eggs in hot broth, which should form the delicate, flower-like clusters. Although simple in preparation, this soup can be dressed up by numerous ingredients which make it an extremely versatile dish.

The most common broth used in egg drop soup is the chicken broth, although vegetable broth or any other flavorful variety can be used. Additional ingredients include scallions and sesame oil, but tofu or vegetables such as peas and tomatoes can also be incorporated into it. 

A variety of dan hua tang (lit. egg flower soup), the nourishing tomato and egg soup is a classic Chinese comfort dish. It is made with coarsely chopped tomatoes and green onions simmered in a flavorful pork broth, while eggs are stirred into it towards the end of cooking.

Tomato and egg soup is often flavored with Chinese pickled mustard greens called zha cai or fish sauce, both of which add saltiness and a good deal of tang to each spoonful. This light, refreshing soup is typically served after a meal, especially a heavy, greasy one, and it tastes just as good hot or cold.

Although it originated from the Chaozhou province in China, pig’s organ soup is nowadays most popular in Singapore. The dish consists of pig offal, sliced pork, vegetable strips, onion leaves, and pepper. It is often served accompanied by eggs, rice, vegetables, braised tofu, or a special sauce prepared with a combination of soy sauce and chopped chili peppers.

It is believed that the secret to a good broth is the combination of saltiness and sweetness coming from hours of boiling together pickled vegetables and pork bones.

Over the bridge rice noodles (guo qiao mi xian) is a rice noodle soup, a specialty of Yunnan cuisine. When broken into segments, the soup consists of chicken soup, rice noodles, sliced meat, and vegetables, as well as some additional ingredients used for garnishing and seasoning.

The dish originated from Mengzi County over 100 years ago. What's peculiar about this soup is the way in which it is prepared; a bowl of hot soup, a bowl of rice noodles, and a platter with sliced ingredients are brought to the table where the dish is assembled and cooked.