Eating vegetarian & Jain in China

✅ Updated Jul 2026

China has one of the world's oldest vegetarian traditions — Buddhist temple cooking goes back over a thousand years — so eating vegetarian here is very doable. The catch is everyday cooking: a dish that looks meat-free is often cooked with lard (猪油), meat or bone broth (高汤 / 骨汤), oyster sauce (蚝油), fish sauce, dried shrimp, or a few bits of pork for flavour. "Vegetarian" (素) on a menu is not a guarantee. So the trick is knowing where to eat and what to say. Your safest option — and the best-kept secret for Jain travellers — is a Buddhist vegetarian restaurant (素菜馆 / 素食餐厅). These are fully plant-based, and traditional Buddhist cooking also avoids the "five pungent roots" (五辛): onion, garlic, chives, leek and asafoetida. That means a proper Buddhist restaurant is naturally close to a Jain diet: no meat, no egg, no onion, no garlic. You'll find them near big temples — Longhua Temple (龙华寺) in Shanghai, Lingyin Temple (灵隐寺) in Hangzhou, the Lama Temple area in Beijing — and as standalone restaurants. Well-known names include Godly / 功德林 (Shanghai & Beijing, since 1922), Vegetarian Lifestyle / 枣子树 (Shanghai) and Jingxin Lian / 净心莲. Ask for 罗汉斋 (luóhàn zhāi, "Buddha's delight"), a classic mixed-vegetable dish that is reliably pure veg. At a normal restaurant, name the hidden traps directly. Say (or show) 我吃全素 (wǒ chī quán sù — "I eat strictly vegetarian"), then 不要肉、不要鱼、不要蛋 (no meat, no fish, no egg) and 不要猪油、不要高汤 (no lard, no meat broth). Many Chinese assume "vegetarian" can include egg, so always say 不要蛋. For a Jain diet add 不要葱、不要蒜 (no onion, no garlic). It helps a lot to carry a written card in Chinese and just hand it over. To find places fast, use Dianping (大众点评) — China's Yelp — and search 素食 or filter by vegetarian; in bigger cities the HappyCow app also works. Reasonably safe everyday dishes include 地三鲜 (potato/eggplant/pepper — ask about the wok), 手撕包菜 (hand-torn cabbage), plain steamed rice and 素包子 (veggie buns), but always confirm no lard or broth. Worst case, self-cater: fresh markets, Hema (盒马) and any supermarket have fruit, tofu, vegetables and instant options.

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   Learn (or screenshot) the key lines and hand them over: I eat strictly vegetarian; no meat, fish or egg; no lard or meat broth.

   我吃全素，不要肉、鱼、蛋，不要猪油和高汤 · wǒ chī quán sù, bú yào ròu, yú, dàn, bú yào zhū yóu hé gāo tāng

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   For a Jain diet, add: no onion and no garlic. Buddhist restaurants already cook without them.

   不要葱，不要蒜 · bú yào cōng, bú yào suàn

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   Seek out Buddhist vegetarian restaurants (素菜馆), often near temples — fully plant-based and onion/garlic-free, ideal for strict veg and Jain diners.

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   Find places on Dianping (search 素食) or HappyCow; order 罗汉斋 (Buddha's delight) as a safe pure-veg dish.

   有没有素食？ · yǒu méi yǒu sù shí? (do you have vegetarian?)

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   At normal restaurants, watch the hidden non-veg: lard, meat/bone broth, oyster sauce, egg and shared woks. When unsure, choose a dedicated vegetarian restaurant.

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   Fallback: self-cater from fresh markets, Hema (盒马) or any supermarket — fruit, tofu and vegetables are everywhere and cheap.