Beijing Local Market & Cooking Experience

A truly memorable travel experience is no longer confined to checking out those classic scenic spots, but also involves delving into the hustle and bustle to touch the most genuine pulse and warmth of the city. For this, we’ve specially designed a trip for you to explore a local market and learn to cook Chinese food for yourself to experience the soul of Beijing.

• Duration: 5 to 6 hours
• Recommended Start Time: 8:30 or 12:00
• Flexible scheduling is available. Feel free to discuss with our travel consultant in advance.

At the time previously agreed upon with you, either in the morning or in the afternoon, your private guide and driver will pick you up from your self-booked hotel in downtown Beijing, and then escort you in our private vehicle to Sanyuanli Market, the most renowned internationalized market in Beijing, dubbed the “United Nations of fresh produce”.After arriving, follow your guide into this “museum of colors in everyday life” to learn about and shop for fresh ingredients like locals for the upcoming cooking class. Unlike most of China’s traditional bustling and chaotic farmers’ markets, Sanyuanli is orderly and spotless, and reportedly even held art exhibitions. While moving around inside, what come into view are rows of neatly arranged stalls, with the items on display sprucely packed and the color combinations carefully designed, pleasing to your eyes. Surprisingly, everything is available here - besides usual vegetables, fruits, seafood, meat, and seasonings, you can also find various imported produce like European cold cuts, South American oxtails, and Southeast Asian lemongrass, allowing for a one-stop shopping experience. See, smell, and even touch these ingredients, while glimpsing into their roles in daily cooking and traditional Chinese medicine. Moreover, as it is located in the embassy area, most of the shops have English signs, and the air is always filled with the rhythm of bilingual price inquiries. There are also cafes in the market, and if you get tired, you can stop by one to rest at your own expense. 

★ Travel Kitchen: A Chinese Cooking Class

Next, let’s move to a handpicked Chinese kitchen and learn to cook Chinese cuisine from a professional English-speaking chef. We’ll learn to make three dishes, such as Chinese Dumplings, Noodles with Fried Soybean Paste, Kung Pao Chicken, and seasonal vegetable salad. The top recommended one is precisely dumplings, often hailed as the “No.1 delicacy of China”, dating back some 2,500 years. Under guidance, take a piece of dough, knead it slightly and roll it out into a round shape with a rolling pin. Afterward, spread in the palm, put the right amount of filling, fold in half, and then pinch the edge - a beautiful dumpling is thus formed. Fancy an authentic Beijing dish? Follow the chef to pull the noodles, make the fried bean sauce, and sprinkle on seasonal ingredients such as shredded cucumbers, bean sprouts, and radish strips. As for Kung Pao Chicken, a traditional Sichuan dish with a mixed flavor of spicy, sour and sweet, it can be easily stir-fried with diced chicken and peanuts.

After that, enjoy the yummy food you just cooked yourself as lunch or dinner, and savor the unique appeal of Chinese culinary culture. What’s more, we’ll specially share the recipes with you, so that you can recreate those delicacies whenever you want at home. 

At the end of the tour, your guide and driver will escort you back to your downtown hotel. Thank you travelling with us!