For over two decades, the documentary series Across China has sent reporters across various locations in China to observe the country's evolution from a humanistic perspective. This year, the program produced by China Media Group launched a special season focusing on food titled Top Dish of Cities, which features hosts, actors and gourmets traveling to different cities to discover the top dishes that represent the local cuisine.

The show airs on CCTV-4, a channel primarily aimed at overseas viewers that is broadcast in Chinese.

"The major advantage of a program like this is that audiences from any country or region can find resonance in food," says Ren Weijiao, chief editor of the show.

"The channel has long been producing food-related programs, using food to tell Chinese stories. With the resources accumulated over the years, we can continuously innovate the program format in the culinary field."

The special season of Top Dish of Cities creatively integrates elements of reality shows, food documentaries and urban exploration. Each episode features a host, an entertainer and a food expert who embark on separate journeys in a city to discover its top dishes, including collecting ingredients, cooking with chefs and discussing the cultural stories behind each dish.

Many of the guests on the show are locals.

Ren emphasizes the importance of featuring local guests as food experts in the program, stating that their perspectives enable the audience to grasp perspectives that might otherwise elude external guests.

The season has filmed the local cuisine of 15 cities and counties, including Datong and Taiyuan in Shanxi province, Putian in Fujian province, Dalian in Liaoning province and Chun'an county in Zhejiang province.

Ren mentions a preference for selecting smaller cities where the local lifestyle is vibrant, the culinary scene is concentrated, and each dish possesses distinct regional characteristics.

Actress Yu Siyuan was invited to explore the coastal county of Cixi in Zhejiang province, to search for a top dish that would captivate both her heart and taste buds. Cixi boasts extensive mud flats where fishermen gather seafood such as clams, razor clams, and mudskippers when the tide recedes. Yu rode a motorcycle and joined the local fishermen in collecting ingredients needed to prepare the "top dish".

Yu trudged through deep mud, the thick sludge rising above her knees and splashing onto her face. Each step was a struggle as she navigated the muddy flats, experiencing the traditional technique of hook-and-line fishing, where fish are captured using sharp hooks spaced along a mainline.

"Going through the fishing process, I gained a deep appreciation for the value of food and the labor required to procure it. I also deeply admire the hardworking spirit of fishermen," says Yu.

Wang Guoqiang, director of Top Dish of Cities, notes that to make the program both entertaining and profound, they incorporated games designed around the cultural features of each location. For instance, at their stop in Haikou, Hainan province, the guests must learn the local Qiong Opera to vie for priority in visiting restaurants. In Taiyuan, Shanxi province, the guests are required to try their hand at making huamo, a locally produced decorated steamed bun.

The program aims to break away from conventional cultural introductions and cleverly infuse local culture into entertaining games, allowing the audience to learn about these elements in a relaxed atmosphere, says Wang.

The show achieved its highest viewership of single episode that rated 58 percent and reached a cumulative audience of 1 billion as of Dec 26, according to industry information from CSM Media Research.