The 5 Best Market Tour 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 produce and spices, then cook several Sichuan dishes with a chef. Lance, Jerry, and the kitchen team help with translation, technique, vegetarian requests, recipes, and the final meal.

“It took a while to get this book, but I truly loved everything about this tour. Jerry was great and personable. I loved going around a real Chinese market learning how the local people pick and choose their food. I even got to try my hand at making dumplings (I was very good 2 out of 10 times). From there we went to the kitchen where I met Auntie Lee (Chef Lee). She was wonderful and with Jerry translating I was able to make a good mapu tofu and an excellent twice cooked pork and pretty darn nice cucumber salad. I couldn't recommend this tour enough and I hope more…”

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2.Chengdu: 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 and hands-on Sichuan cooking class. Learn about local spices, cook several dishes with a chef, then eat your meal with tea, beer, or soft drinks.

“10/10 experience, one of my favourite activities in China so far! If you are looking for an authentic small group cooking experience, don’t hesitate to book! Our guide Lance was fantastic, the market visit was almost as enjoyable as the cooking class itself. Lance even purchased different fruits and foods for us to try from the market that were new to us. The dishes we cooked were super tasty and there was something for everyone!🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟”

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

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 26 reviews · from $80

Join an English-speaking guide such as Lance or Jerry for a four-hour Chengdu food experience. Visit a local spice market, learn about Sichuan ingredients, make Baozi in a traditional courtyard kitchen, then eat your buns with tea, beer, or soft drinks.

“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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4.Half-Day Professional Mapo Tofu Cooking with a Local Market Visit

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 19 reviews · from $69

Meet Jerry or the Chilli Cool China team in Chengdu for a market visit, Sichuan tea, and a hands-on mapo tofu lesson with a professional chef. You’ll explore local spices, cook in a professional kitchen, eat your dish with a drink, and take home recipes and a souvenir.

“100% Recommend this class. We were met at the station by Jerry and taken to a local food market. The food Market was an experience in its self and we ended up picking up some spices to take back home with us. After the Market Jerry tooRead more”

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5.Beijing: Vegan Home Cooking & Local Market Tour with Sanxia

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 4 reviews · 4 hours · from $47Best value

Join Sanxia in Beijing’s Tongzhou District for a market visit and hands-on vegan cooking class. You’ll choose seasonal ingredients, make dumplings, noodles, buns, and other Chinese dishes, then share tea and a home-cooked meal. English and Chinese sessions suit private groups of 1 to 8.

“Super friendly and was able to learn a lot about cooking as well as everyday life in Beijing.”

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