Hot pot is a traditional way of eating in China, which originated from the people and has a long history. Chongqing hot pot, also known as hairy belly hot pot or spicy hot pot, originated from the extensive catering mode of boatmen along the Jialing River and Chaotianmen in Chongqing in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. Later, with the development of society and the change of history, people's eating habits and the unique flavor of Chongqing hot pot were gradually loved by people. Although the container, making method and seasoning of hot pot today have undergone thousands of years of evolution, what remains unchanged is that the pot is burned and the food is boiled (rinsed) with water (soup). This cooking method appeared as early as the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, which can be said to be the embryonic form of hot pot. It is recorded in Han Shi Zhuan that ancient sacrifices or celebrations should be eaten by "ringing the bell and setting the tripod", that is, people sit around the tripod and put beef and mutton in the tripod to cook and share, which is the sprout of hot pot. After the evolution of Qin, Han and Tang dynasties, there was no real record of hot pot until the Song Dynasty.

Song people mentioned eating hot pot in his "Mountain Family Festival", which is called "Summer Festival", saying that he visited Wuyishan and visited the teacher's road, and got a rabbit in the snow, which was not cooked by a chef. "Shi Yun, the mountains only use thin batch, cooking wine sauce pepper flow. Put the stove on the table, use half a glass of water (half a bucket), wait for the soup to ring (after the soup is boiled), and divide the chopsticks so that you can put it in the soup (rinse) and cook (eat), so that you can use the juice for (everyone) to eat at will. " From the way of eating, it is similar to "rabbit hot pot".

It was not until the Ming and Qing Dynasties that hot pot really flourished. On the tenth day of the first month of the forty-eighth year of Qing Qianlong, Emperor Qianlong hosted 530 tables of palace hot pot, which was the highest in the country at that time. When Emperor Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty ascended the throne, there was a "thousand banquets", and the number of hot pots used reached 1550, which was amazing.