The 15 Cooking Classes in China That Earn Their Price

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

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

Explore a Chengdu market, taste local spices, and cook classic Sichuan dishes with a chef in this hands-on four-hour food tour.

“We loved this cooking experience and it was a highlight of our time in Chengdu! We were met promptly outside the metro station, taken to a local market where we did some food shopping (paid by our guide Lance), tried making dumplings at a market stall and had a go at ordering food in Chinese. We then had some snacks and tea at the kitchen before getting stuck in making three dishes which were a pork dish, tofu dish and salad. We enjoyed the cooking and settled down to eat together and critique our dishes. The Chilli Cool team were so friendly, spoke excellent English and their kitchen was beautifully…”

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2.Dumpling Making Workshop with Meal and Tea

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

Shape Beijing dumplings with a local guide, learn their cultural meaning, then enjoy a generous tea-paired meal for $35.

“This was so much fun! Eric and Lan were so nice, helpful and good fun. This was a great introduction into Chinese culture and the food was delicious. There was heaps of food, we tried some Chinese tea, desserts main meals and a tonne of dumplings. I highly recommend this activity! The meeting point is the lobby of the Scared Hotel. It’s right next to the pin provided on the map.”

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

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

Cook authentic Beijing dumplings, noodles, dim sum, or kung pao chicken live with Chef Sunflower Li in a flexible private Zoom class.

“It’s such a pleasure the cooking classes with chef Miss Sunflowerli. She is warm, patient, attentive and explains so well all the steps. Oh, the dumplings were delicious ! Thank you !”

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4.Lijiang Naxi Cuisine Cooking Class & Market Visit

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 48 reviews · from $59

Explore Lijiang’s Naxi market, shop with a local family, and cook three dishes in this friendly small-group class for $59.

“The cooking class with Fancy was very insightful and fun. Along with making traditional recipes, we also got to experience the local market, native foods & drinks and more. Fancy is able to speak many languages and was able to cleRead more”

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5.Cooking Class with Fresh Market Half Day Experience

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

Explore Chengdu’s spice market, learn Sichuan cooking with a local chef, and enjoy your own dishes in this friendly half-day class.

“This cooking class was one of the most meaningful experiences I had in Chengdu. It's run by a small, passionate team who go out of their way to make you feel welcome and at home. The day started with a stroll through a local market, where Lance, our guide, explained everything in great detail. His English is excellent and he made sure nothing was lost in translation, even though the chef didn't speak English. Back at their cozy kitchen, the atmosphere was warm and relaxed. What impressed me most was how effortlessly they adapted the entire menu to be fully vegan just for me. No hassle, no shortcuts, just real…”

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

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 26 reviews · from $80

Visit a Chengdu spice market, learn Sichuan cooking, and make steamed Bao Zi buns in a four-hour class with drinks included.

“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.Hong Kong Market Walking Tour & Chinese Cooking Class

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 24 reviews · from $131

Explore Ngau Tau Kok market, shop for fresh ingredients, and cook a three-course Chinese meal with Bill in a private Hong Kong class.

“A great way to experience Hong Kong. Bill gave us an authentic look at the food culture as well as hands on cooking preparation.”

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9.Half-Day Sichuan Cooking Class Experience in Chengdu

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 17 reviews · from $83

Learn Sichuan cooking in Chengdu with a local chef, hotel pickup, hands-on recipes, four dishes, dinner, and a small group of five.

“The cooking class was in a kitchen of a Hostel. The woman spoke only a little English but was very nice. We made 3 recipes and got to take English versions with us to make at home. The food was very good. Overall a very nice experience.”

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11.Private Home Cooking Class with Shanghai Mama

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 14 reviews · from $199

Tour Shanghai’s wet market, taste local snacks, then cook a traditional meal in a Shanghai Mama’s home with private pickup included.

“Wonderful experience, delightful guides. Very friendly, pleasant and knowledgeable about food (at market & during cooking) and China in general. Food market had interesting selection, some very good, others a little much for those not Read more”

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12.2.5hrs Chinese Kitchen Cooking Class: Xiaolongbao Soup Dumplings

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 12 reviews · from $98

Learn to fold, cook, and eat Shanghai xiaolongbao in a small English-language class with vegetarian options, tea, and a take-home recipe.

“I thought this experience was amazing! The instructor was very sweet and helpful. The dumplings turned out so delicious as well. I couldn’t recommend this cooking class enough!”

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13.Beijing Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Hutong and Dumpling Making

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 10 reviews · from $190

Review of Beijing’s private 8-hour tour covering Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, a hutong dumpling class, and Summer Palace.

“Erica is a very attentive tour guide. She took a lot of great photos and had a lot of information about each location.”

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14.Private Hutong Culture Tour with Dumpling Cooking Class plus Cricket Fighting Game

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 5 reviews · from $176

Explore Beijing’s hutongs by rickshaw, make dumplings with a local family, watch cricket fighting, and see old Beijing from the Drum Tower.

“Lily was our guide and we have a fantastic time with her from the time we met her ..making the dumplings were just awesome food was great highly recommend this trip ..:”

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15.Private Wet Market Visit with Cooking Class in Shanghai

★★★★★★★★★★3.0 · 4 reviews · from $238

Visit a Shanghai wet market, shop with a local guide, and cook a private three-course meal in a chef’s home.

“We could not reach our tour operator by phone or email or WhatsApp up until 30 minutes before the tour was supposed to start. Then we were told that the tour could not be done. So we missed our chance for this during our once in a lifetime visit to Shanghai. Viator said we will get a full refund but it has not come through yet…”

Live prices and dates →Our review in full