Who doesn’t love snacks? Every country has their own takes and variations, and China is no exception! Some Beijing Streets, in particular, are known the world over for their incredible street vendors and snack streets. If you join one of our Beijing Tours we will take you to the Top 10 Best Beijing Streets for Snacks.
As a metropolis, Beijing tantalizes hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world year after year. To serve this tremendous flow of people, because eating still a very important part of any vacation, restaurants and snack stores are playing an ever-increasing role in Beijing.
Beijing is an incredibly large area to traverse, but here are 10 Beijing Streets to nibble away on.
Top 10 Beijing snack streets
#1 Qianmen Street
Chinese Name: 前门小吃街
Location: Qianmen Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
With a long history and many time-honored restaurants, this street doesn’t quite bustle with people like the other snack streets on this list. Qianmen Street is a way to gain a taste of upper-class Beijing. When you find yourself surrounded by fantastic buildings in the traditional Chinese design, be sure to try these delicacies:
- Old Beijing Hotpot
- Beijing Duck
- Siu Mai
- Wonton and Syrup of Plum
You will see enough delicious food and awe-inspiring architecture here to fill any Instagram in style.
#2 Wangfujing snack street
Chinese Name: 王府井小吃街
Location: Wangfujing Snack Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Usually, ‘Wangfujing’ only reminds people of shopping. However, due to the popularity of the famous shopping street, and a testament to Chinese ingenuity, the now booming snack street was established, taking position number two on our list.
Different from Qianmen Street, these vendors set up small snack stores and stalls filling the Wangfujing Snack Street. The benefit of its proximity to the shopping hub is that all the food sold there is able to be eaten on-the-go. which is convenient for everyone.
We recommend the following:
- Baodu (Fried beef tripe)
- Strong-smelling preserved bean curd
- Bingtanghulu
- Grilled Mutton
- Fried Scorpion, or one of its relatives.
#3 Guijie snack street
Chinese Name: 簋街
Location: Inside Dongzhimen, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Praised as the first popular snack street in Beijing, Guijie earns its place at Number 3 on our list as one of the only streets where all the stores are open 24/7. It stretches about 1.5 kilometers and is also called the Ghost Street, for the street is extremely busy at night with an old saying that ghosts would enter the city in the night to have their dinner. Want to dine like a local? Try one of these specialties:
- Hot and Spicy Crayfish
- Sautéed Bullfrog in Chili Sauce
- Beijing Hotpot
- Wheat cake boiled in meat broth
- Lamb Spine Hot Pot.
We loved these, but with almost every snack imaginable able to found here, you are really spoiled for choice!
#4 Niujie Muslim snack street
Chinese Name: 牛街
Location: Niujie, Xicheng District, Beijing
The area is most famous for the Niujie Mosque, which is the largest and oldest mosque in the city, Niujie quite literally translates to Ox Street in Chinese. It hosts a large variety of ethnicities in this downtown Beijing street, the Hui people making up the majority, it is said that this cultural cooking pot has roughly 23 distinct ethnic groups living there. Both traditional Beijing snacks and Muslim delicacies are served here, giving all visitors an exotic experience, with our favorites being:
- Seasoned millet mush (Miancha),
- Douzhir
- Jellied bean curd
- Fried sugar cake
- Lǘdagunr
- Yam and date rolls
#5 Fucheng Road
Chinese Name: 阜成路
Location: Fucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing
At number 5 on our list, located near a booming business district, customers frequenting the restaurants on Fucheng Street are generally business people. Which explains why the majority of restaurants here are known for providing premium and luxurious morsels. Many Chinese regional cuisines from Hangzhou, Huaiyang, and Sichuan can be found here.
The seafood sensations offered by Cantonese restaurants is also praised as being some of the best in Beijing. Be sure to sample everything!
#6 Ping’an Street
Chinese Name: 平安大街
Location: Ping’an Street, Shunyi District, Beijing
Ping’an Street, also called Ping’an Avenue, is a snack street actually made famous for its ancient buildings and surprisingly not its amazing restaurants. Stretching for approximately 7 kilometers, the street houses a number of structures and buildings constructed in the Qing dynasty; among which several of them housed members of royal families. Don’t let that deter you from a good meal though, the snacks available here are unbelievable with the likes of Baodu, Douzhir, and Zhajiangmian.
#7 Suzhou Street
Chinese Name: 苏州街
Location: Suzhou Street, Haidian District, Beijing
Lucky Number 7, Suzhou Street is near the famous hi-tech center of Beijing, Zhongguancun. With restaurants originally serving to provide take-away options for the technicians that lived there. Dishes served in several restaurants were highly praised by their patrons, and rumors quickly spread across the city about the delicious food near Zhongguancun. This attracted more restaurants to buy there, which laid the foundations of the popularity of the renowned street that Suzhou Street is best known for today. Keep an eye out for Cantonese and Hunan cuisine, as well as the seafood.
#8 Fangzhuang
Chinese Name: 方庄
Location: Fangzhuang Area, Fengtai District, Beijing
Fangzhuang is the new kid on the block of best Beijing Streets for dining and snacks. Compared with the other snack streets on this list, this Beijing street’s most advantageous selling point is the restaurants here serve dishes from all across the world.
We definitely recommend sampling the: hand-pulled noodle soup, Peking Duck, Grilled Fish, dumplings, Siu Mai, and the hot pot.
If Ping’an or Niujie Street are identified as ethnic or local cuisine, then Fangzhuang defiantly could be described as an international smorgasbord.
#9 Xiaoyun Road
Chinese Name: 霄云路
Location: Xiaoyun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Xiaoyun road is an oasis, surrounded by skyscrapers as well as highrise villas giving the area a strong sense of being one part removed from the bustle that is Beijing. An assortment of restaurants populate the roadside, serving delightful foreign dishes, such as spicy and unforgettable Thai foods, and simple French cuisine. Xiaoyun also offers patrons unique and exciting African temptations.
#10 Huguosi Hutong snack street
Chinese Name: 护国寺小吃街
Location: Huguosi Street, Xinjiekou, Xicheng District, Beijing
Taking the last spot on our list is Huguosi Hutong snack street, where local Beijing residents visit the time-honored Beijing food snack stores. The alluring smell of traditional cuisine in the air can be intoxicating, with authentic Beijing dishes being served.
Put these traditional snacks on the menu for your stroll down Huguosi Hutong Snack Street:
- Fermented bean drink
- Glutinous rice rolls with sweet bean flour
- Yellow split peas cake
- Wontons
- Donkey Burger (a kind of sesame seed cake)
Come on an adventure with ChinaTours.com
When you tour Beijing with ChinaTours.com your professional China tour guide will use their expertise to help you to locate the best Beijing Streets for restaurant and snacks. With over a decade of experience in first-class China tour packages, we invite you to join us on tour so you can experience the REAL China.
Are you a culture aficionado who wants an authentic experience when you travel? The team at ChinaTours.com is too. With over 10 years of experience, designing China tours is in our DNA. As a family-owned business, we’re committed to opening up a whole new world of China to Western travelers. We focus on giving our guests a genuine experience of the history, culture, and cuisine of Beijing and other areas of China in ways that build bridges and forge understanding between people. Ready for a China tour made of beautiful travel memories? Talk to ChinaTours.com – the friendliest China tour company.
About the author
Great experience!
