Two foreign children taste Hangzhou's dishes in the textbook. (Photo: The Paper)

The local dishes in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, are included in the first grade textbook, English for Kids.

Eighty-five pilot primary schools in Hangzhou start offering English curriculum in first grade this year.

"Children are interested in food, so we included Hangzhou’s famous dishes such as ‘Jiaohua Chicken’, ‘DongPo Pork’ and ‘West Lake Vinegar Fish’ into the first grade’s textbooks. The second grade textbooks will teach children about Hangzhou’s four seasonal flowers—peach blossoms, lotus, osmanthus and plum blossoms—and landmark sights,” Wu Ping, chief editor of the textbook, told The Paper.

"The textbook can help children know their hometown, so that they can introduce Hangzhou to foreign friends," Wu said.

Two Chinese children introduce Hangzhou's dishes to foreign children in the textbook. ( Photo: The Paper)

The cover of the first grade textbook shows landmarks, such as the West Lake Baozhu Pagoda, the Qianjiang New Town. There are four children in the textbook, two Chinese children named “hanghang” and “zhouzhou” and two foreign children  named “May” and “Lee”, which means “Hangzhou Charm” and “Beautiful Hangzhou”.

The textbook is divided into eight units:  colors, numbers, pets, family, school, food, four seasons, and Hangzhou’s food. The contents of the last two units are Hangzhou elements.

The textbook uses photos instead of paintings to give children a more visual understanding.