Dietary Needs in China: Vegan, Halal, Gluten-Free

Eating in China with dietary restrictions takes a little preparation — but the phrase cards and restaurant signs below make it workable.

Chinese food is communal, sauce-heavy and often cooked in shared woks, which makes strict diets harder than at home. With the right phrases on your phone, though, vegetarians, vegans, halal eaters, gluten-free diners and allergy sufferers all eat well. Here’s how to handle dietary needs in China.

The key phrases to learn

Put these on your phone or a printed card and show them to staff:

• 素食 (sùshí) — vegetarian
• 全素 (quán sù) — strict vegetarian / vegan (no meat, egg or dairy)
• 不要肉 (búyào ròu) — no meat
• 不要葱蒜 (búyào cōng suàn) — no onion or garlic (common in Buddhist-style food)
• 清真 (qīngzhēn) — halal
• 不要酱油 (búyào jiàngyóu) — no soy sauce
• 不能吃… (bù néng chī…) — I can’t eat…

Vegetarian and vegan

Chinese cooking has a long Buddhist vegetarian tradition, so this is easier than in many countries — with one big caveat.

• Dedicated vegetarian restaurants (素菜馆) exist in most cities and are your safest bet. Buddhist temples often run excellent vegetarian canteens too.
• The trap: a dish of vegetables is often cooked with meat stock, lard, oyster sauce, fish sauce or shrimp paste. Saying 素食 alone isn’t enough — ask for 全素 and confirm “no meat broth” (不要肉汤).
• Egg and dairy usage varies; if you’re vegan, say 全素 and ask 不要蛋奶 (no egg, no milk).
• Use Dianping (大众点评) to search 素食 near you; the app’s maps and reviews make it easy to spot well-rated places in Beijing and Shanghai.

Halal

Halal eating in China is very doable, thanks to a large Muslim population and a network of 清真 (qingzhen) establishments.

• Look for the 清真 sign on restaurants and street stalls — it marks food prepared to Islamic standards.
• Lanzhou beef noodle shops (兰州拉面) are ubiquitous and generally halal; Xinjiang restaurants (新疆) serve lamb-heavy halal cuisine.
• Cities with historic Muslim quarters — Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter, Beijing’s Niujie, and areas of Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu — have the densest halal options.
• Confirm dishes contain no pork (不要猪肉) even in halal-marked places, and be aware that some “halal” chains vary by branch.

Gluten-free

This is the hardest dietary need to meet in China, because wheat is everywhere in disguise.

• Soy sauce (酱油) — made with wheat — is in nearly every savory dish. Ask for 不要酱油.
• Flour appears in marinades, thickeners, fried coatings and dumpling wrappers. Crispy fried dishes are almost always coated in flour.
• Safer bets: plain steamed rice, rice congee, fresh rice noodles, plain vegetables (stir-fried without sauce, ask for 不要酱油), and whole fresh fruit.
• Cross-contact in shared woks is a real risk; explain 麸质过敏 (gluten allergy) and, if it’s celiac disease, make clear that even a trace is a problem.
• Big-city health-food stores and import supermarkets carry gluten-free snacks, but don’t count on finding them everywhere.

Allergies and intolerances

A serious allergy is the one case where you must be explicit and prepared.

• Write a card in Chinese listing your allergens in big, clear characters: 花生 (peanut), 坚果 (nuts), 奶制品 (dairy), 鸡蛋 (egg), 海鲜/贝类 (seafood/shellfish), 芝麻 (sesame), 大豆 (soy).
• Add a short sentence: 我对此过敏，非常严重，请务必确认 (I am severely allergic to this — please confirm).
• Show the card to the server and, in a sit-down restaurant, ask them to confirm with the kitchen. Don’t rely on a quick glance.
• Carry your medication (for example an epinephrine auto-injector) with you and keep it accessible.
• Note that “allergy” is increasingly understood in big cities, but in small-town eateries English may be nonexistent — the written card does the talking.

Restaurants that make it easier

• Buddhist vegetarian restaurants — the safest and most delicious option for vegetarians and vegans.
• Big-city health-food and vegan cafes — a growing scene in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu.
• International hotel restaurants — expensive but reliable, and staff usually speak English.
• For self-catering, big supermarkets and import stores stock tofu, rice, gluten-free basics and labeled products — read labels with a translation app.

Payment note

Most of these places are small and operate on QR payment, so having Alipay or WeChat Pay set up with a foreign card makes ordering and paying smooth — you can also show the menu on a translation app and pay by scan in one go.

Before you go

• Print or save your key phrases and allergy card in Chinese.
• Load Dianping to find 素食 and 清真 places in your destinations.
• Pack safe snacks and any prescription medication with documentation.
• Learn the Chinese words for your specific allergens — they’re the words that matter.

Last updated: August 2026. Restaurant menus, kitchens and halal certification vary by establishment — confirm before you go.