15 Traditional Chinese Foods and Drinks To Try on Your Next Trip

Beijing’s famed Peking duck was once a dish reserved for royalty and important foreign guests. Nowadays, it's accessible to all, made by roasting duck over a wood fire until the meat is incredibly tender and juicy, and the skin thin and crispy. After being sliced into bite-sized pieces, it’s usually enjoyed rolled in a thin pancake with cucumber, scallions, and hoisin sauce. Try it on a food tour during which a guide can show you their favorite Peking duck spots.

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Having dumplings in soup isn’t unusual in China, but in the case of Shanghai’s soup dumpling, or xiaolongbao, it's the other way around—the soup is actually inside the dumpling. The secret is the gelatin in the filling (typically pork though it can also be crab, vegetables, or other meats) which is bundled inside the delicate wrapper. When steamed, it turns to soup, and serves up a juicy burst of flavor with every bite. Try them on a street food tour or learn how to make them in a cooking class, but beware when you tuck in—it’s easier than you’d think to burn your tongue.

The Cantonese version of brunch (although it actually started along the Silk Road), dim sum features an assortment of small sweet and savory bites that can be steamed, fried, or baked, and usually enjoyed with tea. Popular items include har gow (shrimp dumplings) and siu mai (steamed dumplings), BBQ pork buns, chicken feet, and rice noodle rolls. Grab what you want from a passing cart at a traditional restaurant in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, or enjoy it on a cruise.

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A fun and communal dining experience, hot pot involves quickly cooking thinly sliced meat, seafood, and vegetables in a central pot of broth (or broths, plural, separated by dividers) to enjoy with various dipping sauces. The Sichuan style is the most famous and involves a spicy broth with plenty of chili and numbing Sichuan peppercorns. Chongqing, China’s hot pot capital, also has its own fiery version, perfect for cold winter days.

Insider tip: For something with less kick, try Beijing’s lamb hot pot, Yunnan’s mushroom hot pot, or Guizhou’s sour soup hot pot.

Along with rice and noodles, dumplings are another staple in China, particularly in the north. There are many varieties, but jaozi is one of the most common. Minced meat (often pork) or seafood and vegetables are wrapped in a thin dough wrapper, shaped into a crescent, and boiled, steamed, or pan-fried before being served with a dipping sauce. Families often make them from scratch together, especially for holidays and festivals.

Insider tip: Also try baozi (steamed buns), which are rounder, fluffier, and more bread-like dumplings with fillings both savory and sweet.

Tea is an important part of Chinese history and culture, and no visit to the country would be complete without drinking some (or a lot of) tea. Top types to try include Hangzhou’s West Lake Dragon Well, Suzhou’s Green Spiral, Fujian’s Tieguanyin, and Yunnan’s Pu’er. Learn to pick tea or enjoy a freshly brewed cup at a tea tasting or tea ceremony.

Fried rice was thought to have originated in Yangzhou. Today, Yangzhou fried rice is the most popular type of fried rice, especially in restaurants. White rice is scrambled with eggs, shrimp, Chinese ham, and vegetables such as carrots, peas, and scallions. More traditional versions often include other ingredients, such as crab, sea cucumber, dried scallops, chicken, and bamboo shoots.

One of the most popular dishes from Sichuan, mapo tofu features cubes of silken tofu cooked in a sauce of fermented bean paste, chili oil, and Sichuan peppercorn, with ground pork or beef and scallions. It’s fragrant, complex, with a hot and numbing flavor that’s addictive, and perfect served over steamed rice. Try it in Chengdu for a local flavor, or learn to make it at a cooking class.

Despite the name, the meatballs in this dish are made of minced pork and served with braised Napa cabbage and broth. The giant meatballs are simply said to resemble the head of a Chinese guardian lion, and the cabbage, its mane. Although popular elsewhere, especially in Shanghai, lion’s head meatballs originated in Yangzhou and Zhenjiang. Once an imperial dish, they’re still popular at banquets.

Also known as belt noodles due to their wide shape, these hand-pulled noodles are thick and chewy, perfect for soaking up the savory, spicy, numbing, and umami sauce, typically made with garlic, chili oil, Sichuan peppercorns, cumin, and black vinegar. They are a staple in Xian, where they originated.

Insider tip: There are more than 1,000 types of noodles in China. Don’t miss other standouts such as Beijing’s zhajiang noodles, Guilin rice noodles, Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles, and Chengdu’s dan dan noodles.

Red braised pork belly is a beloved dish in China. It's cooked with aromatics and spices, including ginger, garlic, and star anise, until tender, which lends it a melt-in-your-mouth texture and rich and complex flavor. In Shanghai, the dish is sweeter; meanwhile, the Hunan version, which was said to be Chairman Mao’s favorite, has a spicy kick to it.

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Legend has it that a beggar in Hangzhou once stole a chicken but had no way to cook it, so he wrapped it in mud and placed it in a fire. Today, a whole chicken is stuffed, wrapped in lotus leaves, packed in clay, and baked. Crack the outside with a hammer to get at the aromatic, moist, and tender meat within. You can find this dish in most restaurants and street food stalls in Hangzhou.

One of the most popular breakfast dishes in China, jianbing (fried pancake) can be found in street food stalls all over the country, but especially in the north and east. Often called Chinese crepes, the multi-layered dish is filled with a variety of savory fillings and typically includes egg, crunchy wontons, scallions, pickles, and chili paste, each cooked to order. Try them on a food tour in Tianjin, where they are said to have originated, or learn to make them yourself in a class.

Both Macau and Hong Kong have their own version of the egg tart. Derived from the Portuguese pastel de nata, Macau’s version uses a puff pastry and includes a caramelized top, while Hong Kong’s version uses a short crust and is often enjoyed with milk tea. Given the proximity of the two special administrative regions, it’s easy to sample both in a day on a food tour to decide which one you prefer, while workshops and cooking classes can also teach you how to make this popular treat yourself.

Insider tip: In Hong Kong, make sure to enjoy the egg tart with some milk tea.

Although sometimes referred to as “rice wine,” baijiu is actually a high-proof (typically 30–60 percent ABV) and strongly aromatic liquor made from rice, sorghum, or other grains … and it’s something of an acquired taste. Often used for toasts at banquets and to close deals of all kinds, you can find baijiu just about everywhere in China, from the bars and clubs of Guangzhou to the breweries of Shanghai. Best enjoyed with food, try it during a Beijing food tour or a Chengdu cooking class.