Selecting the best Chinese street food city is really no easy task as the country pretty much invented the whole street food genre all by itself. Yet while you really cant go wrong when selecting Chinese street food cities, some are of course better than others.
Again my criteria is that I have to have been to the place and I am only including Chinese street food cities. Yes Hong Kong and Macao need not apply.
Chinese Street Food Cities (honorable mentions)
When you make a list like this you always end up leaving out places that deserve a mention. China is huge and the list of Chinese street food cities could easily stretch to fifty. So here are a few that did not quite make the top twenty but are still worth eating your way through.
Hangzhou is famous for West Lake, but it is also a fantastic food city. Street stalls here sell beggars chicken, lotus root snacks and sweet pastries that reflect the refined Jiangnan style. It is a softer, sweeter take on Chinese street food.
Changsha in Hunan is another fiery city where spice dominates. Stalls serve stinky tofu, chili laden noodles and skewers that test your limits. It is the kind of place where you eat standing up while sweat pours down your face.
Xiamen, down in Fujian, is a seaside city with seafood snacks everywhere. Oyster omelettes and peanut soups are the local specialties, and you can find them sold hot on busy streets near the ferry terminals.
Guiyang in Guizhou deserves love for its sour and spicy noodles, while Lhasa, although technically Tibetan, offers yak meat skewers and butter tea as true street food experiences.
20. Harbin
Harbin sits up in the far north of China and is famous for its freezing cold winters, its Russian architecture and its vodka culture. But Harbin is also one of the most fascinating Chinese street food cities, thanks to the Russian and Manchu influence on its cuisine. In winter you will see meat skewers cooked over hot coals, frozen fruits on sticks and even ice cream eaten outdoors in minus 20. Harbin also does dumplings differently, thick-skinned and packed with meat, designed to keep you warm in Siberian weather.
Must try dish: Harbin smoked sausage
19. Shenyang
Shenyang is the industrial heart of northeast China, but it also has a thriving street food culture. As one of the top Chinese street food cities, you will find a blend of Manchu snacks, Korean dishes and straight up northern Chinese comfort food. Think fried breads, giant bowls of noodles and hearty skewers. Street markets in Shenyang stay open until late and it is the kind of city where you need to keep drinking beer to keep up with the food.
Must try dish: Guo Bao Rou (sweet and sour pork from the northeast)
18. Tianjin
Tianjin is close to Beijing, but food wise it is very different. It is one of the most unique Chinese street food cities because of its port history. International sailors brought influence, but Tianjin developed its own snacks that you still find today in night markets and breakfast stalls. This is the home of deep fried dough, steamed buns filled with pork, and all manner of seafood skewers.
Must try dish: Goubuli Baozi (steamed pork buns)
17. Nanning
Down in Guangxi province near the Vietnamese border you find Nanning, one of the most underrated Chinese street food cities. The mix here is southern Chinese flavour with Southeast Asian touches. Expect noodles with herbs, spicy dipping sauces and a lot of street side barbecue. Vietnamese pho is easy to find too, but with a Chinese twist.
Must try dish: Luosifen (river snail rice noodles)
16. Kunming
Kunming in Yunnan province is known as the city of eternal spring, and it has food to match. Yunnan is one of the most diverse parts of China, and Kunming is where minority food meets Han staples. In the street markets you can find fried insects, spicy mushrooms, grilled cheese and rice noodles in endless styles. Kunming earns its spot as one of the best Chinese street food cities because nowhere else has such a mix of tastes from tropical to mountain.
Must try dish: Crossing the Bridge Rice Noodles
15. Urumqi
The capital of Xinjiang, Urumqi feels like another world compared to eastern China. This is one of the Chinese street food cities where you will find lamb cooked in every way possible. Skewers, pilaf, bread stuffed with meat, and of course huge naan breads sold on the street. The food here reflects Central Asia more than it does Beijing, and that makes it one of the most exciting street food destinations in the country.
Must try dish: Lamb skewers with cumin
14. Lanzhou
Lanzhou is famous throughout the world for its beef noodles, and visiting the city itself is the only way to taste the real thing. Stalls on every corner hand pull noodles, boil them in beef broth and serve them topped with chili oil. As far as Chinese street food cities go this is noodle heaven, with variety in spice and toppings but always built around the same core dish.
Must try dish: Lanzhou beef noodles
13. Qingdao
Qingdao is the beer capital of China, and with beer comes street food. The city is one of the best Chinese street food cities because of its seafood culture and German beer history. Walk down the night markets and you will see prawns, squid, oysters and every type of shellfish grilled on open flames. The stalls here serve beer in plastic bags with straws, and the seafood is best eaten while standing in the street with your hands full.
Must try dish: Barbecued squid
12. Guangzhou
Guangzhou is the capital of Cantonese cuisine and has one of the most developed street food cultures in China. Dim sum, rice rolls, congee and endless seafood dishes all spill out into the streets. Cantonese food is about balance, freshness and variety, and as one of the top Chinese street food cities Guangzhou delivers on all counts. You can spend all day eating here and not repeat a dish.
Must try dish: Cheung Fun (rice noodle rolls)
11. Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a young city, but its street food scene is booming. Migrants from all over China brought their food here, making it a melting pot of dishes. Street food in Shenzhen ranges from spicy Sichuan skewers to Cantonese sweets and northern breads. This mix is what makes it one of the most interesting Chinese street food cities, and it reflects the energy of a place that never stops growing.
Must try dish: Chao Fen (fried rice noodles)
10. Suzhou
Suzhou is known for its gardens and canals, but its street food is just as beautiful. Sweet pastries, noodles and dumplings dominate the street stalls here. It is one of the more refined Chinese street food cities, but it still has that atmosphere of late night markets and snacks eaten by hand.
Must try dish: Tangyuan (sweet glutinous rice balls)
9. Wuhan
Wuhan is right in the centre of China and its food reflects its crossroads position. Spicy, hearty and often oily, the street food here is about stamina. Wuhan night markets are chaotic and noisy, and food comes hot and fast. It is one of the great Chinese street food cities for breakfast too, with locals lining up for bowls of noodles before work. Try not to get Covid (the coronavirus.net) mind.
Must try dish: Hot dry noodles
8. Chengdu
Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province, and that means spice. Street food here is dripping with chili oil and numbing peppercorn. From hotpot skewers to dan dan noodles and rabbit heads sold on the street, Chengdu is easily one of the most exciting Chinese street food cities. The culture here is to sit, eat, talk and sweat, and the street food is perfect for that.
Must try dish: Dan Dan noodles
7. Dandong
Dandong sits right on the border with North Korea, and that makes it one of the most fascinating Chinese street food cities. You can see the Korean influence in kimchi, barbecued meats and pickled vegetables sold on the street. But it is still Chinese enough that you will get skewers, noodles and dumplings in the mix too. This unique blend is what makes Dandong worth the trip.
Must try dish: Korean style barbecue beef
6. Shanghai
Shanghai is China’s biggest city and its food scene matches that. This is one of the best Chinese street food cities for dumplings, buns and snacks that have spread across the world. The variety in Shanghai is huge, from fried dumplings sold on street corners to crab soup buns and sticky rice rolls. Eating on the street here gives you the best of old Shanghai culture.
Must try dish: Shengjianbao (fried soup dumplings)
5. Chongqing
Chongqing is where hotpot became a way of life. Street food here is all about spice, chili and more spice. You will find skewers dipped in boiling broth, noodles that burn your mouth and snacks that leave you sweating. Chongqing is one of the loudest, busiest and hottest Chinese street food cities, and the food matches the pace.
Must try dish: Chongqing spicy hotpot skewers
4. Nanjing
Nanjing is not always talked about in food circles, but it deserves its place in the list of best Chinese street food cities. The city has a duck obsession, and that runs from street stalls to high end restaurants. Markets here sell roast duck, duck blood soup and duck skewers, alongside noodles and dumplings.
Must try dish: Salted duck
3. Beijing
Beijing has a long history of street food, from lamb skewers to pancakes filled with egg and spring onion. The night markets of the capital have changed over the years, but the energy of Beijing street food is still there. As one of the most important Chinese street food cities, Beijing gives you imperial dishes alongside snacks eaten by workers for centuries.
Must try dish: Jianbing (Chinese breakfast pancake)
2. Xiangyang
Xiangyang in Hubei province is not as famous as some of the big names, but when it comes to authentic snacks it has everything. Street food here is about fried breads, noodles, grilled meats and bowls of soup sold on the side of the road. It is one of those Chinese street food cities where you can still eat like a local without tourists in sight.
Must try dish: Fried stuffed buns
1. Xi’an
And finally the number one slot, Xi’an. This is the street food capital of China and the heart of Shaanxi cuisine. Walk through the Muslim Quarter and you will see lamb skewers, roujiamo pork burgers, endless noodle dishes and sweets dripping with sugar. Xi’an is the most important of all Chinese street food cities because of its mix of history, Silk Road culture and sheer variety. This is the city where every corner has something new to taste and every snack is legendary.
Must try dish: Roujiamo (Chinese burger)
And those are the best Chinese street food cities according to me! And why is that important? Well aside from literally being The Street Food Guy I have also lived in China almost 20 years.
Check out my China tours with Young Pioneer Tours.