At present, the main cooking fuels inChinaare natural gas, coal gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), coal, biogas, wood and straw. This paper reviews the characteristics, advantages, disadvantages and the current application status of these different cooking fuels. Moreover, a questionnaire survey is presented, dealing with different cooking fuels in Chinese households and the occupants’ perceived health, ventilation behaviors and general knowledge in potential health hazards. About 56% of the respondents of the questionnaire survey stated that symptoms like itching eyes, dry or irritated throat, irritated nose, running or blocked nose and headache were worse when they were cooking in their kitchens. This suggests that cooking fuel combustion has a significant influence on human health. The most evident health effect was that wood and straw as cooking fuel caused eye irritation. The present common house planning in Chinese countryside, where the kitchens are separated from the rest of the house via a courtyard, is very likely to reduce the stove contaminant exposure of all occupants.

In general, the main cooking fuels of the cities tend to be better than the cooking fuels of the countryside. Natural gas appears to be the cleanest cooking fuel among all urban cooking fuels except electricity. For the rural residents, biogas or LPG is a better choice than wood, straw and coal as cooking fuel.