30 Noodle Dishes You Should Try In China : Ultimate Bucket List (2026)
Introduction
This list has been created by me, a person who has worked part-time for 8 years in Chinese restaurants and takeouts. Yes, I’m from a restaurant family. 👨🏻🍳
I frequently explore new dishes, with an aim to recommend them to family and friends. Noodle dishes are one of my favourite categories.
In my experience, most people new to China are only familiar with noodle soups and stir-fried noodle dishes.
I have hand-picked these dishes to cover a range of tastes for visitors to China. Most of the dishes are top choices for the locals.
I recommend you prioritise the local dishes in the city you’re visiting first. But you should be able to find excellent versions of the other dishes in any major city. 🍜
The items cover different regions of China but doesn’t cover every single province. There are hundreds more noodle dishes that have not been covered here.
Wishing you an amazing food journey throughout China! Do your best to “collect” all of these dishes during your trip! 🥢
Northern China
1. noodles with fried bean sauce (Beijing version) | 炸酱面 | zhá jiàng miàn⭐
2. knife cut noodles (from Shanxi province) | dāo xiāo miàn |刀削面 ⭐
3. hand pulled noodles in spicy sauce (from Xi’an) | biáng biáng miàn | 𰻞𰻞面/油泼面⭐
4. cold noodles in chili and vinegar sauce (from Xi’an) | liáng pí | 凉皮
5. braised noodles (from Henan province) | huì miàn | 烩面
6. hot dry noodles (from Wuhan) | rè gān miàn | 热干面
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Western China
7. Lanzhou beef noodle soup | lan zhou niú ròu miàn | 兰州牛肉面⭐
8. minced pork noodles with chili oil and Sichuan pepper | dàn dàn miàn | 担担面 ⭐
9. hot and sour noodles (from Sichuan province) | suān là fěn | 酸辣粉
10. “ants climbing a tree” (ground meat noodles) | mǎ yǐ shàng shù | 蚂蚁上树
11. Sichuan cold noodles | liáng miàn | 凉面
12. Chongqing noodles | chóng qìng xiǎo miàn | 重庆小面
13. Uyghur Laghman (Xinjiang stirred noodles) | Xīn jiāng bàn miàn | 新疆拌面
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Eastern China
14. Shanghai fried noodles | shàng hǎi chǎo miàn | 上海炒面
15. scallion oil noodles (from Shanghai) | cōng yóu bàn miàn | 葱油拌面⭐
16. spring noodle soup (from Shanghai) | yáng chūn miàn | 阳春面
17. pork chop noodles (from Shanghai) | dà pái miàn | 大排面
18. duck blood vermicelli soup (from Nanjing) | yā xiě fěn sī tāng | 鸭血粉丝汤
19. Nanchang rice noodles | nán chāng chǎo mǐ fěn | 南昌炒米粉
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Southern China
20. won ton noodles | wan tan min / yún tūn miàn | 云吞面⭐
21. roast goose rice noodles | shāo é lài fěn | 烧鹅濑粉
22. lobster longevity noodles | lóng xiā yī miàn | 龙虾伊面
23. stir fried beef rice noodles | gān chǎo níu hé | 干炒牛河
24. Singapore-style fried rice noodles | xīng zhōu chǎo mǐ | 星洲炒米
25. shacha noodles (known as satay in some countries) | shā chá miàn | 沙茶面
26. snail rice noodles | luó sī fěn | 螺蛳粉
27. Guilin rice noodles | guì lín mǐ fěn | 桂林米粉
28. Yunnan crossing-the-bridge rice noodles | yún nán guò qiáo mǐ xiàn | 云南过桥米线⭐
29. Nanning old-friend noodles | nán níng lǎo yǒu fěn | 南宁老友粉
30. glass noodles claypot | fěn sī bāo | 粉丝煲
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