National Peking Duck Day is on January 18th. This holiday is to celebrate the national dish of China. It's an extremely complicated dish to make, and it's considered a delicacy because of its unique flavors. The process for making Peking Duck was created by the Yuan Dynasty, but it has been perfected over thousands of years. Peking duck is a dish from Beijing that has been prepared since the Imperial era. The meat is characterized by its thin, crispy skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the diners by the cook. The origin of the Peking Duck goes back to the Ming Dynasty, about 600 years ago. Cooks from all over China traveled to the capital Beijing to cook for the Emperor. ... It was in these kitchens where dishes of exceptional quality such as the Peking Duck were first created and perfected by palace chefs.