My Experience 3 weeks in China as a vegan
Just got back from three weeks doing a plant-based trip across China - Beijing, Jiangxi, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hong Kong - and it was genuinely the hardest place I've travelled as a vegan. Meat is everywhere and "no animal products" often doesn't translate the way you'd hope, so I wanted to share the practical stuff that actually helped:
- Get a translator device that works offline - the Great Firewall kills Google Translate, and phone apps need a SIM/WiFi that's often too slow to be usable. A physical device is recommended.
- A local guide (ideally plant-based) is worth it more for the language and pre-booking than anything else.
- Print a pointing-sheet of common phrases + the character for vegan (纯素) - waiters often won't chase down ingredients, so you have to show them.
- Bring your own cocoa powder and expect basically zero vegan chocolate beyond dark.
- You can bring food from one stall into another eatery as long as you buy something - huge for piecing together a full meal.
- Beijing has some genuinely great vegan buffets (I found a couple near the Forbidden City).
I wrote the whole thing up with photos and a bunch more detail on my own site if it's useful, the blog article is called: Challenge: Eating Vegan in China – Difficulty Setting: Hard but happy to answer any questions here.
Curious what other people found in China specifically, if their experience reflects mine. Happy to answer any questions.