Table of Contents
Regional Cuisines
Chinese cuisine isn't one thing — it's 8+ major regional styles, each wildly different. Here's your cheat sheet.
Street Food by City
📍 Beijing Street Food
- Jianbing (breakfast crepe) — ¥8-15
- Cong you bing (scallion pancake) — ¥5-10
- Tanghulu (candied fruit) — ¥10-20
- Zhajiangmian (fried sauce noodles) — ¥15-25
🌃 Chengdu Street Food
- Chuanchuan (skewer hotpot) — ¥30-60
- Fuqi feipian (husband and wife lung slices) — ¥15-30
- Douhua (silken tofu pudding) — ¥5-10
- Ice jelly (bingfen) — ¥8-15
🍜 Xi'an Street Food
- Roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) — ¥10-20
- Biangbiang noodles — ¥15-25
- Yangrou paomo (bread soup) — ¥25-40
- Cold noodles (liangpi) — ¥10-18
🦐 Guangzhou Street Food
- Yum cha (morning tea) — ¥30-80
- Char siu (barbecue pork) — ¥25-50
- Wonton noodles — ¥15-30
- Egg tarts — ¥5-12
Follow the crowd. If a street food stall has a long line of locals (especially elderly), it's probably amazing. Avoid stalls with pictures of foreigners or English menus — they're overpriced tourist traps.
20 Must-Try Dishes in China
Drinks & Beverages
🍵 Tea Culture
Types: Green (Longjing), Oolong (Tieguanyin), Pu'er (aged)
Price: ¥20-2000/person (ceremony experience)
Where: Hangzhou, Chengdu, Fujian
🍺 Beer & Baijiu
Beer: Tsingtao, Snow (xuehua)
Baijiu: Moutai (¥300-3000/bottle, at 56%)
Warning: Baijiu is FIRE. Sip, don't shoot.
🥤 Bubble Tea
Origin: Taiwan, huge in mainland China
Brands: Heytea, Nayuki, ChaPanda
Price: ¥15-35/cup (add tapioca +¥5)
☕ Coffee Culture
Starbucks: Everywhere (¥30-45/cup)
Local: Luckin Coffee (¥12-25, app only)
Third wave: Shanghai, Chengdu have great indie cafes
Dining Etiquette (Don't Embarrass Yourself!)
✅ DO:
- Wait for the eldest to start eating first
- Use serving chopsticks (gongkuai) when available
- Leave a little food on your plate (shows generosity)
- Hold rice bowl close to mouth when eating
- Toast with "Ganbei!" (cheers/dry cup)
❌ DON'T:
- Stick chopsticks vertically in rice (looks like incense for the dead)
- Flip a fish (bad luck for fishermen)
- Drink before the eldest toasts
- Stick your own chopsticks in shared dishes
Related Pages
Beijing Travel Guide
Imperial cuisine, duck, noodles.
Shanghai Travel Guide
Xiaolongbao, French Concession.
Chengdu Travel Guide
Sichuan cuisine, panda bases.
Xi'an Travel Guide
Terracotta Warriors, city walls.
Guilin Travel Guide
Li River, karst mountains.
Hangzhou Travel Guide
West Lake, Longjing tea.
Guangzhou Travel Guide
Cantonese dim sum, roast goose.
Suzhou Travel Guide
Jiangsu cuisine, classical gardens.
Travel Tips
Essential tips for visiting China.