10 Top Foods to Try When Traveling in China

Hairy crab in Xibao.

So you’re traveling to China.  You’re probably wondering, what do people eat in China?  They can’t possibly eat the same items I pick up from my neighborhood Chinese restaurant in those cute little take out boxes.  It is true that many of the foods in China are very different from what we are used to getting at home.  (Though surprisingly, orange chicken is actually an authentic Chinese dish, but so much better in China than that gooey sweet stuff we have at home.)  Through a lot of research, some great food tours in China, and a little bit of happenstance, we ate the following 10 top foods to try when traveling in China. 

Can I Take Your Picture? Feeling Like Famous Foreigners in China

Posing for a picture with random strangers outside Beijing's Wangfujing Snack Street.

You read about it before you get to China.  But it still comes as a bit of a shock when a random stranger approaches and asks if you will be in a picture with them.  After all, usually only celebrities receive picture requests.  We experienced the peculiar phenomenon of being foreigners in China with Chinese asking to take pictures of us three times while in Beijing.  I’m not against others taking pictures of me.  After all, I am always looking for that perfect picture of locals during my travels, some of which I've used on Travel the World.  But it’s a different feeling when you’re traveling in a foreign land and yet you are the attraction. 

Shanghai by Sidecar, an Insiders Experience

Trying out the sidecars before our Shanghai sidecar tour.
We didn't actually drive as it is illegal for foreigners to drive in China.

Sometimes when making travel plans you come across something that you just have to do, even if it means splurging a little.  I found such an experience when I read about touring Shanghai by sidecar with Insiders Experience.  I have always wanted to ride in a sidecar, and exploring Shanghai at night in a vintage sidecar was an experience I did not want to pass up.

We were met for our Shanghai sidecar tour at the Andaz Hotel by Shane Ullman, manager of Insiders Experience, and Michael, one of Insiders Experience’s drivers, each with their beautifully restored sidecars. After admiring the sidecars and donning our helmets we were off.

Street Eats Breakfast Food Tour with UnTour Shanghai

While traveling to China we wanted to try every kind of food possible.  So I was really excited when I stumbled across an article on TimeOut Shanghai about alternative Shanghai tours, which included a write up on culinary tours with UnTour Shanghai.  Looking back I am very thankful we planned food tours in both Beijing and Shanghai, because they introduced us to so many different foods and experiences I don’t think we would have had otherwise. 

UnTour Shanghai offers a variety of Shanghai food tours, including Oodles of Noodles, Street Eats Breakfast, Dumpling Delights, Street Eats Night Markets, Vegetarian Voyage, and Hands-On Dumpling Delights.  The first task was figuring out which of these tours we wanted to try.  We opted for Street Eats Breakfast.  It meant waking up early, but I just knew it was going to be worth it, and it was.

Enjoying Beijing's Top Outdoor Attractions



The Summer Palace is one of Beijing's most beautiful outdoor attractions.

Beijing is hectic.  Cars, people, motorcycles, and bicycles whiz by whether you are in the street or on the sidewalk.  Bodies push and shove in and out of metro cars and cut in line if there is an extra inch of space.  Everybody is in a hurry until they aren’t.  The best way to get away from this frantic pace is to explore Beijing’s top outdoor attractions, which are introductions to ancient China and can be enjoyed at a slower pace.  My favorite sites and activities in Beijing included touring the Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, and the Summer Palace, as well as exploring Beijing’s hutongs and visiting the Drum and Bell Towers. 

Finding the Treasures of the Forbidden City



View of the Forbidden City from Jingshan Park.

The Forbidden City, or The Palace Museum as it is called in China, may have been my least favorite attraction in Beijing.  But you have to go.  Visiting Beijing and not touring the Forbidden City would practically be a sin.  Don’t get me wrong, the Forbidden City has a fascinating history, and we did find quite a few areas within the walls that we enjoyed (so follow along to learn the best places within the walls to visit).  But a visit to the Forbidden City can be a little difficult and a little frustrating, and while the story is very interesting, even though it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world, it just lacks the colorful staggering splendor of other grand palaces in the world, like Bangkok’s Grand Palace.   

Hotel Review: pentahotel Beijing

pentahotel Beijing

When we travel I usually spend a lot of time finding the perfect hotel for us to stay, whether it be a bed and breakfast, a small boutique hotel like our hotel in Bangkok, or a larger hotel with more amenities; whatever feels right for the destination.  However, since our recent trip to China was a package deal with smarTours and included all airfare and hotels, I had no control over our Beijing and Shanghai lodgings.  I feared we would be staying in very sterile, American-style hotels for our time in China.  However, the pentahotel Beijing surprised me with its warm, fun and comfortable vibe and its unbeatable location.

We arrived in Beijing late at night after flying for over 12 hours, so we were exhausted.  While we usually don’t eat lunch or dinner in our hotel restaurants, we made an exception the first night because pentahotel Beijing has the Noodle Bar, a contemporary take on a traditional noodle shop.  It was so nice to be able to drop our luggage in the room and go downstairs for a nice hot bowl of comforting noodle soup before hitting the sack.  The soups were hearty, filling, and flavorful as well as inexpensive, and made with knife-shaved noodles which were shaved in front of us by the chef. 

Beijing Street Food at Wangfujing Snack Street (Or the Day I Ate Scorpions)

Fried scorpion at Wangfujing Snack Street.

I love food.  I love street food.  We practically lived off of Bangkok street food when we traveled to Thailand, so I was excited to try street food in China.  We had begun our Chinese food education the evening before on our Beijing food tour, but our education needed to be rounded out with some street food.  Plus I had heard tale of fried scorpions.  While in Thailand I saw fried bugs but didn’t try any, which was a mistake I did not intend to repeat.  So we headed to Wangfujing Snack Street for lunch.

Beijing’s Tiananmen Square: The Center of China and Chairman Mao's Final Resting Place



No visit to Beijing is complete without spending some time in Tiananmen Square.  It is the symbolic center of China with a sordid past.   Tiananmen Square is the world’s largest public square, though quite sterile in itself.  Tiananmen Square is flanked by Zhengyang Gate to the south, the Forbidden City and Gate of Heavenly Peace to the north, and grand 1950s buildings, including the National Museum of China, to the east and west. The Monument to the People’s Heroes is at the very center of the square, and the Chairman Mao Zedong Memorial Hall is to the south of the monument. 

Beijing Food Tour with Intrepid Travel

As you can probably already tell, I am a huge fan of food and therefore food tours.  Trying the local food is a very important part of our travel experience.  While the local food can easily be experienced on one’s own, a food tour allows for learning more about the traditional foods and culture and can help you know what to look for when exploring on your own.  During our travels to China we were excited to be the guests of Intrepid Travel and join their new Beijing food tour, Real Beijing Gourmet.

We met our local guide Dennis a little early and had a chance to talk with him a bit before our tour began.  He may have been the happiest person we met in China, smiling and laughing so much you just couldn’t help but join his good mood.  We were joined by one other couple from London, Richard and Somerset, who were on their honeymoon, and the five of us set out to begin our Beijing food tour.

We visited Beijing’s Xicheng District and walked along Huguosi Dajie, a street filled with snacks.  Dennis took us to Huguosi Xiachidian, which he said served the most authentic snacks, some of which have been enjoyed by Beijingers for hundreds of years.  Huguosi Xiachidian is a huge snack restaurant with two levels.  We grabbed a table upstairs while Dennis selected a number of Beijing snacks for us to sample.

Huguosi Xiachidian Beijing snack bar.

Hiking the Great Wall of China from Gubeikou to Jinshanling with Great Wall Adventure Club

Great Wall of China

We’re back from China and I’m ready to share all of our travel experiences.  I’m starting with our absolute favorite, once-in-a-lifetime experience, hiking the Great Wall of China with Great Wall Adventure Club.

While we had only been in China for one day before our Great Wall trek, we were already grateful to have a day away from the crowds where we could enjoy nature, solitude, and the beauty of China’s Great Wall.

When planning our travels to China I knew hiking the Great Wall was going to be the biggest highlight.  I also knew we did not want to visit one of the more touristy sections, like Badaling, with its hoards of crowds.  I had heard horror stories of tour busses unloading masses of tourists, most of whom walk up the wall, take a few photos with hundreds of other travelers in the shot, some in high heels, then return to the bus, and I knew that wasn’t for us.  Plus, areas like Badaling have been completely redone, while we wanted to see rugged, untouched portions of the wall.  We wanted to spend an entire day hiking the Great Wall’s lesser visited sections so we could quietly enjoy it in all its medieval glory.

Obtaining a China Tourist Visa

In just a few weeks we will be heading to China!  This will be the first time we have ever traveled to China, and also our very first time in having to obtain travel visas.  Luckily we were successful in our first attempt at obtaining our China visas, but based on my research leading up to our application submission, it seems others have not been so lucky.  While this post may be a bit dry, I hope this compilation of my research and experience will help other United States passport holders complete the application process smoothly and without delay, as multiple attempts can cost extra money that no one wants to spend.  The application form and official instructions can be found on the website of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States of America.

It's official, we're going to China!