Vegan & Vegetarian Restaurants in China

China (992 listings)

Also see: Taiwan

Vegetarianism is not highly common in China; however, in major cities like Beijing, vegetarian restaurants are slowly being established. Although Chinese food is vegan friendly by default (without the added flesh meat), it is likely that most vegetarians in China do consume either dairy and/or milk. "Vegetarian" in Mandarin Chinese is pronounced, "Chur Su," which translates to, "Eat Vegetables." The word for MSG (monosodium glutamate) is good to know when traveling to China and other parts of Asia, because restaurants there are generally accustomed to using heavy amounts of it.  MSG is pronounced, "Wei Jiing," so you could say, "Wo bu yow wei jiing," which means, "I don't want MSG." See chart below for more key phrases to use when traveling to China.

HappyCow's Useful Phrases for Vegetarian Travelers to China:

• English
  Say
  Chinese
• English: I eat vegetarian
  Say: Wo chur su
  Chinese: 我吃素
• English: I do not want...
  Say: Wo bu yow...
  Chinese: 我不要...
• English: I do not want MSG
  Say: Wo bu yow wei-jing
  Chinese: 我不要味精
• English: I do not eat meat
  Say: Wo bu chur rou
  Chinese: 我不吃肉
• English: I do not eat fish
  Say: Wo bu chur yu
  Chinese: 我不吃鱼
• English: I do not eat egg
  Say: Wo bu chur dun
  Chinese: 我不吃蛋

All cities listed alphabetically: