The 9 Best Cooking Classes in China

1.Half-Day Chengdu Cooking Class with a Local Market Visit

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 465 reviews · from $90Our pick

Meet your English-speaking guide at Chilli Cool’s Kitchen, visit Liangjiaxiang market, taste local ingredients, then cook Sichuan dishes with a chef. Lance, Jerry, and other Chilli Cool hosts help explain the spices, translate instructions, and adapt dishes for vegetarians. Your meal, drinks, recipes, and ingredients are included.

“A delightful time in an authentic traditional Chengdu market, followed by an amazing gastronomic experience. Jerry was just great full of knowledge and energy. The cooking kitchen was a top of the line setting for preparing the meals. The location was perfect an very easy to get to, using the subway. Highly recommend it!”

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2.Dumpling Making Workshop with Meal and Tea

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 69 reviews · 3 hours · from $35

Meet your English-speaking guide at the hotel lobby at 16:30, then learn to roll wrappers, prepare fillings, and shape Beijing dumplings. Hosts such as Eric, Jenny, Janine, and Heyang have led this friendly three-hour class. Eat your boiled or pan-fried dumplings with tea, beer, and other Chinese dishes in a communal meal.

“What a fun activity to do whilst in Beijing. Jenny was a fantastic host and taught the group how to make dumplings and made the experience a lot of fun. The dumplings were delicious, highly recommend.”

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3.Online Cooking Class Beijing Dumplings and Cuisine by Sunflowerli Renowned Chef

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 65 reviews · from $20Best value

Join Chef Sunflower Li live from Beijing for a private 60 to 90 minute Zoom cooking class. Choose dumplings, hand-pulled noodles, dim sum, mapo tofu, kung pao chicken, steamed buns, or a vegan dish. You receive the ingredient list three days ahead, then cook from scratch at your own pace.

“I enjoyed very much learning to prepare dumplings and they turned out better than expected! It was so nice hearing all your anecdotes about family meal traditions! The ingredients list sent in advance was clear and instructions easy to follow, also well equipped with the two cameras. Thank you for this fun experience!”

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4.Lijiang Naxi Cuisine Cooking Class & Market Visit

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 48 reviews · from $59

Meet Fancy at 9:15 am near Xiangshan Market for a guided walk through Lijiang’s largest Naxi market. Then cook and eat three dishes at a family-run studio, with snacks, drinks, tea, lunch, and your own cooking station included. The class lasts about three and a half hours and accepts fewer than 10 people.

“Lovely experience to discover Naxi culture through food. You will learn a lot about culinary traditions at the market and cook a delicious meal that is easy to cook and to replicate at home. Fancy host I lovely and kind, I highly recommend it!”

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5.Cooking Class with Fresh Market Half Day Experience

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 42 reviews · 4.5 hours · from $82

Meet Lance, Jerry, or another English-speaking guide at Liang Jia Xiang Station for a market walk, Sichuan tea, and hands-on cooking with a local chef. You will study spices, prepare several dishes, and sit down to eat with beer or soft drinks. Vegetarian and vegan menus can be arranged in advance.

“If you like cooking and Chinese kitchen, this experience is a must in Chengdu! The market tour with the two guides - Lance and Lichi, who speak perfectly English - is very interesting, they taught us many things about Chinese food and culture. Ling, the chef, was a great teacher! And the food was delicious in the end. Truly recommended experience!”

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6.Yangshuo Cooking Class with Market Trip

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 40 reviews · from $45

Meet Hans in Yangshuo for a market walk, local snacks, ingredient shopping, and a hands-on cooking class built around beer fish. You will learn how to choose fresh produce, enjoy family tea, and eat the meal you help prepare. Lunch and dinner time slots are available, with private transport and mobile tickets included.

“Hans was punctual, arriving exactly on time, and we began with a journey through a local Yangshuo market. We had a small bite to eat, then picked up some "happy water" and ingredients for the class. Throughout the experience, Hans shaRead more”

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7.Half-Day steamed Buns Cooking Class with a Local Market Visit

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 26 reviews · from $80

Spend about four hours in Chengdu visiting a local spice market, learning about Sichuan ingredients, and making Baozi in a traditional courtyard kitchen. An English-speaking guide such as Lance or Jerry may lead the class. Ingredients, tea, drinks, and a light meal are included, with vegetarian options available.

“A great experience, the local market was fun, interesting and we got to try and use a little Chinese language. Lance our guide was great from start to finish and took lots of fabulous pictures which meant we could get with our cookery class. Read more”

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8.Half-Day Sichuan Cooking Class Experience in Chengdu

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 17 reviews · from $83

Meet a local chef in Chengdu for a four-hour, small-group cooking lesson limited to five people. Prepare dishes such as Kung Pao chicken, Sichuan eggplant, sweet and sour pork, and dumplings, then eat what you make. Hotel pickup, dinner, an English-speaking chef, and recipe cards are included, though English ability can vary.

“Nice and interesting cooking class, Pretty expensive our group was just the two of us, so the cooking class was at the chef his home.”

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9.Dumpling-Making Class with wet Market visit

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 9 reviews · 5 hours · from $50

Spend about five hours exploring a Beijing wet market, cooking dumplings in a local family’s home, and sharing a meal over tea. Your English-speaking guide may be May, Sonia, or Peter. Choose private or small-group service, hotel pickup, and extra dishes such as Kung Pao Chicken or sweet and sour pork.

“Sonia was not only very knowledgeable but also a sweet and kind guide on this tour! Learned and laughed a lot and I highly recommend taking this tour. She is also available for other tours like forbidden city etc and I wished I had known that before. Thanks again, Sonia!”

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