China offers an incredible journey through 5,000 years of history, from the Great Wall and Forbidden City to ultramodern Shanghai skyscrapers. Experience diverse landscapes ranging from karst mountains in Guilin to the Tibetan Plateau, savor world-renowned cuisine, and witness the fusion of ancient traditions with state-of-the-art technology.
Top food tours
Guided experiences that show you China through its food.
Beijing Hutong Food Crawl
Walk through historic Beijing hutong alleyways sampling traditional northern Chinese street food including jianbing (savory crepes), zhajiang noodles, candied hawthorn sticks, and aged vinegar. Visit a family-run noodle maker and a traditional sesame paste producer.
Xi'an Muslim Quarter Foodie Walk
Journey through Xi'an's 800-year-old Islamic district tasting authentic Hui Muslim street foods including roujiamo (Chinese burger), biang biang noodles, spiced lamb skewers, persimmon cakes, and pomegranate juice at ancient vendors.
Shanghai Wet Market Morning Tour
Dawn tour with a Shanghainese chef through a traditional wet market visiting vegetable stalls, the seafood section, dumpling makers, and tofu artisans. Learn to select seasonal produce and then prepare a Shanghai home-style meal at a community kitchen.
Chengdu Sichuan Hot Pot Immersion
Expert-guided introduction to Sichuan hot pot culture with a pre-dinner tea ceremony, explanation of mala (numbing-spicy) flavor principles, market visit for ingredients, and a multi-hour hot pot feast at a local family restaurant. Learn to navigate hot pot etiquette.
Shanghai Craft Beer and Xiaolongbao Tour
Evening tour combining Shanghai's thriving craft beer scene with xiao long bao (soup dumpling) culture. Visit three craft breweries in the Former French Concession neighborhood and stop at the legendary Nan Xiang dumpling house for original soup dumplings.
Guangzhou Dim Sum Heritage Walk
Morning dim sum yum cha experience at historic Guangzhou teahouses founded in the early 20th century, sampling 20+ traditional dim sum varieties while learning Cantonese tea culture. Visit a dim sum kitchen to watch pastry chefs assemble dumplings.
Tour formats
Different ways to experience China's food scene.
Street food tours
Chinese street food crawls cover regional specialties unique to each city - from Beijing's fried dough sticks to Chengdu's spicy skewers and Xi'an's hand-pulled noodles. Most tours operate morning or evening when vendors are busiest.
Market tours
Wet market (菜市场) tours reveal how Chinese people actually shop for ingredients. Dawn tours (5-8 AM) see markets at their most authentic and lively with fish, vegetables, tofu, and medicinal herbs.
Restaurant tours
Multi-course restaurant tours visit 3-5 establishments for specialty dishes at each, often including a home-cook meal with a local family as the centerpiece experience.
Specialty tours
Wine, tea, and craft beverage tours are growing. China's tea culture spans 5,000 years - Longjing, pu'er, and oolong tea tastings are especially educational and available in major cities.
Cooking classes
Take a piece of China home with you.
The Hutong Cooking School Beijing
Intimate cooking classes for 4-8 students in a restored hutong courtyard teaching classic Beijing dishes including Peking duck preparation, dumplings, kung pao chicken, and handmade noodles. All ingredients sourced from local Dongzhimen market that morning.
Hutong Cooking Class Sichuan Style Chengdu
Learn the foundational techniques of Sichuan cuisine including preparation of Sichuan peppercorns and chili bean paste (doubanjiang), then cook 4-6 signature dishes including mapo tofu, twice-cooked pork, and dan dan noodles at a traditional Chengdu kitchen.
Chinese Cooking Workshop Shanghai
Hands-on Shanghai dim sum and home cooking class at a professional kitchen near the Bund. Learn to fold xiaolongbao soup dumplings with exactly 18 pleats, prepare lion's head meatballs, and make red-braised pork belly (hong shao rou) - Mao Zedong's favorite dish.
Wok and Walk Guangzhou Cantonese Cooking
Cantonese cuisine masterclass beginning with a market visit to select live seafood and seasonal vegetables, then a 4-hour cooking session preparing clay pot rice, steamed fish in ginger and scallion, char siu barbecue pork, and traditional Cantonese soup.
DIY self-guided food tour
Self-guided Beijing food crawl along Wangfujing Snack Street, Ghost Street, and Donghuamen Night Market covering the city's iconic street foods independently
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Stop 1: Wangfujing Snack Street (Royal Food Street) - try candied hawthorn (tanghulu), scorpion skewers, stinky tofu
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Stop 2: Ghost Street (Guijie, Dongzhimennei) - famous for late-night hot pot, crayfish, and spicy lobster restaurants open until 4 AM
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Stop 3: Nanluoguxiang - hipster hutong street with creative Chinese snacks, craft beer bars, and artisan ice cream
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Stop 4: Niujie Muslim Restaurant Street - halal lamb skewers, sesame pastries, beef noodle soup in Beijing's Islamic quarter
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Stop 5: Sanyuanli Fresh Market - Beijing's best wet market for morning dumplings, fresh noodles, and local produce
Foodie tips
Get more out of every meal.
Download the Eleme or Meituan food delivery app for cheap local restaurant ordering - useful for late-night cravings and dishes locals actually eat
Scan QR codes on restaurant tables for digital menus with photos - essential for non-Chinese speakers as paper menus often lack English
The best Chinese food is usually at restaurants where the menu is laminated, the seating is plastic stools, and there's a queue of locals outside
Morning dumplings (早点) are a ritual: find a steaming dumpling shop by 7 AM for freshly made baozi, jiaozi, and shengjian bao at lowest prices of the day
Chinese cuisine varies enormously by region - a meal in Sichuan will be unrecognizable from Cantonese, Shanghainese, or Beijing food. Explore local specialties in each city.
Hot pot is best experienced by following local protocol: start with light broths, add vegetables before meat, and learn to use sesame sauce vs soy dipping combinations
Avoid tourist trap restaurants near major sights like Tiananmen Square and the Bund - walk 10 minutes into the residential streets for authentic prices and quality
Food safety is generally high in cities - street vendors with high customer turnover are usually the safest option, as food gets fresh constantly
Breakfast in China is a serious affair: congee (zhou), fried dough sticks (youtiao), steamed buns (baozi), and savory soy milk are typical northern breakfasts costing $1-3
Chopstick etiquette: never leave them upright in rice (funeral association), don't wave them, don't use them to skewer food or point at people