By creating an account, subscribing, or otherwise using the Service, you confirm that you are at least sixteen (16) years of age and that you accept and agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

China Food Map is an interactive culinary atlas that showcases regional Chinese dishes through stories, photographs, and taste profiles. A curated selection of dishes is available free of charge; the full collection is available to subscribers.

Subscriptions are processed by Paddle.com Markets Ltd (“Paddle”), our payment partner. Paddle acts as the Merchant of Record in most jurisdictions, which means that in those regions the contract of sale is between you and Paddle, not between you and China Food Map. Where Paddle is the seller, Paddle is the primary point of contact for billing enquiries, taxes, and statutory consumer rights.

In all other cases the contract of sale is with China Food Map, with Paddle providing payment processing on our behalf. For any matter relating to the content of the Service itself (editorial accuracy, account access, feature changes), please contact us directly using the details in section 18 below.

You are responsible for safeguarding the credentials associated with your account and for any activity that occurs under your account. Please notify us promptly at chinafoodstory@163.com if you suspect any unauthorised use of your account.

Access to the full collection is provided on a recurring monthly subscription of US$2.00. By subscribing, you authorise Paddle to charge the applicable fee to your chosen payment method each billing period until you cancel. Pricing and renewal terms are clearly presented to you, and you must actively confirm them, before any charge is made.

You may terminate the auto-renewal and cancel your subscription at any time, at no cost, without giving a reason, and without any penalty. Cancellation can be done from your account area, via Paddle’s customer portal, or by contacting us. It takes effect at the end of the current billing period, and you will continue to enjoy premium access until that time. No cancellation fees apply, and we will not require you to complete any extra steps (such as returning a code, cancelling by phone, or sending a signed notice) in order to stop the charges. Please see our Refund Policy for details on refunds.

Paddle will email you a transaction receipt each time your payment method is charged, including the amount, the billing period, and instructions for cancellation. This receipt is the contractual confirmation of your purchase.

Before your payment method is charged, the subscription page will require you to actively confirm — by ticking an unselected checkbox — that you understand the subscription will recur monthly at US$2.00 until you cancel, and that you agree to be charged on a recurring basis. The subscription page will also disclose, in the same place, that you may cancel the recurring charges at any time, at no cost, and without penalty. The checkbox is not pre-selected, and your subscription will not start without your explicit consent. This mechanism is designed to satisfy the disclosure and consent requirements of the U.S. Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act and the automatic renewal laws of California (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17600 et seq.), New York (Gen. Bus. Law § 527-a), Illinois (815 ILCS 390/) and other applicable U.S. states.

If you are a consumer in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you are normally entitled under the EU Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU and the UK Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 to withdraw from a digital purchase within fourteen (14) days. The Service is digital content supplied on a non-tangible medium, and the right of withdrawal may be lost if you expressly consent to immediate performance and acknowledge the loss of that right before the Service is made available to you.

To obtain access immediately, the subscription page will ask you to actively confirm — by ticking an unselected checkbox — that you consent to the Service being made available to you immediately and that you acknowledge your 14-day right of withdrawal does not apply once access has begun. The confirmation is recorded and is also restated in Paddle’s transaction email.

If you do not give this consent, you may still subscribe, and in that case the 14-day right of withdrawal continues to apply to your purchase in full.

You agree to use the Service for personal, non-commercial enjoyment and in a manner that respects other users and the integrity of the Service. You may not attempt to gain unauthorised access to any portion of the Service, interfere with its operation, or use it to violate any applicable law.

All content made available through the Service — including photographs, illustrations, written narratives, and the underlying compilation — is the property of China Food Map or its licensors and is protected by copyright and other applicable laws. You may view and enjoy the content for personal use. You may not copy, redistribute, or create derivative works without our prior written permission.

We are continually improving the Service and may add, modify, or discontinue features from time to time. If a change materially affects your subscription, we will provide reasonable advance notice.

The Service is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of harmful components.

Mandatory consumer rights. Nothing in this section limits or overrides any rights you have under the mandatory consumer-protection law of your country of residence. In particular, if you are a consumer in the United Kingdom, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 implies that the digital content we provide will be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, and as described; if you are a consumer in the European Economic Area, you benefit from the conformity rights set out in Directive (EU) 2019/771 and the national laws transposing it. These rights cannot be excluded.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, China Food Map shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from or related to your use of the Service.

Our total liability for any claim arising out of or related to these Terms or your use of the Service shall not exceed the greater of (a) one hundred US dollars (US$100) or (b) the amount you have paid us, if any, in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim.

Liabilities that cannot be limited. Nothing in this section limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited, including (i) liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, (ii) liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, and (iii) any statutory liability owed to a consumer that cannot be excluded by contract under the law of the consumer’s country of residence.

Our right to suspend or terminate. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service if we reasonably believe that you have violated these Terms.

Your right to terminate the auto-renewal. You may terminate the subscription and stop the recurring charges at any time, at no cost, without giving a reason, and without any penalty. The most convenient method is through your account area or Paddle’s customer portal, but you may also cancel by emailing us at the address in section 18. Cancellation stops future charges; access you have already paid for continues until the end of the current billing period. We will not require you to complete any extra steps, sign a notice, return a code, or cancel by telephone in order to stop the charges.

Account closure. You may close your account at any time by contacting us. Closing an account does not automatically cancel an active subscription, so please cancel the subscription first if that is your intent.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the place where China Food Map is registered, without regard to its conflict-of-law principles.

Consumer court rights. If you are a consumer resident in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or any other jurisdiction that gives you the right to bring legal proceedings in your home courts, nothing in these Terms removes that right. You may bring proceedings against us either in the courts of our registered place of business or in the courts of your country of residence, whichever you prefer. We will likewise bring proceedings against you only in your country of residence, unless local law allows otherwise.

The parties shall first attempt to resolve any dispute through good-faith negotiation; if that fails, the dispute shall be submitted to the competent court as set out above.

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Refund Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and China Food Map regarding your use of the Service, and supersede all prior or contemporaneous communications, representations, or agreements (whether oral or written) on that subject matter. Any pre-contractual statements, marketing descriptions, or conversations are merged into and superseded by these documents except where, and only to the extent that, mandatory consumer law gives them continued effect.

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. Where a provision is found to be unenforceable against a particular consumer, it shall not affect the enforceability of that provision against other users.

We may transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms to another organisation in connection with a merger, acquisition, corporate reorganisation, or sale of assets. We will provide reasonable advance notice of any such transfer. You may not transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms to any other person without our prior written consent.

We are always happy to clarify any aspect of these Terms. Please write to us at chinafoodstory@163.com. For billing matters in jurisdictions where Paddle is the Merchant of Record, Paddle’s customer portal at paddle.net is the fastest route.