Italian Dumplings and Chinese Pizzas: Food, Migration, and Identity Between China and Italy

How Chinese and Italian consumers find each other at the dining table.

Chinese food in Italy and Italian food in China are more than meals—they’re cultural exchanges shaped by migration, tourism, and media. Professor Gaoheng Zhang’s research examines how food mobilities between China and Italy have shaped identities, challenged stereotypes, and highlighted both the tensions and possibilities of cross-cultural understanding in today’s globalized world.

Key Findings

• Food is more than nourishment; it is a cultural language. Studying food culture helps us understand how Italian and Chinese migrants understand each other.
• Chinese restaurants in Italy and Italian food in China are cultural bridges for immigrants and locals to negotiate their identities in relation to each other.
• Migration between Italy and China increased in the 1980s. While Chinese food offered Italians a taste of the exotic, it also became a target for racial stereotypes. Meanwhile, middle-class Chinese tourists embraced Italian cuisine in China as a signal of their global, multi-cultural identity exemplified by a taste on international cuisines.

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Recommendations

• Food mobilities are central to migration stories. Policymakers should pay more attention to how everyday practices—like dining out or owning a restaurant—shape intercultural understanding.
• Media and public discourse should be more aware of how culinary narratives can both foster empathy and reinforce racial boundaries.
• Supporting migrant food entrepreneurs and promoting inclusive food cultures like holding food festivals can help combat cultural exclusion and facilitate cross-cultural understanding.

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Implications for Current Events

Zhang’s research highlights the significant role food plays in cultural exchanges. As migration continues to reshape societies and anti-Asian racism resurfaces globally—especially in the wake of COVID-19—food stories become stories about who belongs. In Italy, Chinese restaurants were early targets of public fear during the pandemic, revealing how racial anxieties are often projected onto everyday spaces like eateries. Meanwhile, Chinese tourists navigating Italy’s cuisines negotiate both fascination and exclusion, mirroring global struggles over identity and cultural ownership. These dynamics are not unique to China and Italy. Across the world, migrants and tourists use food to claim space, assert their identity, and foster a sense of belonging. Policymakers and social actors should recognize the role of transcultural cuisines in promoting economic inclusion and cultural dialogue. Supporting diverse food cultures can be a powerful tool against xenophobia—turning the dining table into a site of connection rather than division.

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About the Authors

Gaoheng Zhang is an Associate Professor of Italian Studies at the University of British Columbia. Zhang’s scholarship analyzes migration and culture from within contemporary Italy’s and Western Europe’s global networks with Asia, America, and Africa. He applies multi-lingual, multi-perspectival, and multi-sited methods to his case studies. His intellectual project is focused on transculturality and dialogism.

Zixi (Peter) Zhang is a PhD student in the Department of History at the University of British Columbia. He studies early modern East Asia with a focus on China. His current research centers on the Chinese intellectual diaspora during the Ming-Qing transition in the 17th century.

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This publication is part of the CMS Migration Insights Series. The research briefs synthesize peer-reviewed, published academic research by CMS affiliates.