How to order food delivery in China

Food delivery in China is fast and covers almost anything, but it’s built for people with a Chinese phone number who can read a Chinese menu. As a visitor you can make it work: use a mini program inside Alipay or WeChat, deliver to your hotel lobby, and have your address ready in Chinese characters. If it still won’t go through, the hotel front desk can usually help.

Which apps handle food delivery in China

Meituan and Ele.me are China’s two big food delivery platforms. Both sell meals, coffee, groceries and pharmacy items.

• Ele.me is part of Alibaba and runs as a mini program inside Alipay, so you can use the Alipay account you’ve already set up.
• Meituan has its own app and a mini program inside WeChat.

The apps and mini programs are mostly in Chinese. Your translation app’s camera mode or the menu reader helps with menus.

Step by step: ordering food delivery from your hotel in China

1. Get your address in Chinese. Copy your hotel’s name and full address in Chinese characters from your booking, or make one with the address card tool.
2. Open the delivery mini program in Alipay or WeChat, or the app itself.
3. Add a delivery address. Paste the Chinese address, set the pin on the hotel, and add a note such as “deliver to lobby” in Chinese.
4. Add a phone number the rider can call or message. The apps may ask for a Chinese number; see below.
5. Choose a restaurant and dishes. Check the delivery time and minimum order shown on the page.
6. Pay with Alipay or WeChat Pay and confirm.
7. Track the order. The app shows the rider’s progress and the estimated arrival time.
8. Meet the rider in the lobby, or collect the order from the front desk or the delivery shelf if your hotel has one.

Phone numbers and food delivery in China

Food delivery in China works best with a Chinese phone number. Registration and rider contact often expect one, and riders may not call a foreign number.

• A Chinese SIM gives you a local number; see eSIM vs Chinese SIM vs roaming.
• Without one, ask the hotel front desk whether you can use the hotel’s number for the delivery.

Check before you go: Whether Meituan and Ele.me accept a foreign phone number, a foreign card or a visitor’s account changes often. Test with a small order after you land rather than relying on delivery for your first meal.

Hotel lobby delivery in China

Many hotels in China don’t let delivery riders go up to rooms. Expect to meet the rider in the lobby, or to pick the food up from the front desk, a delivery shelf or, in some hotels, a delivery robot. Write the lobby instruction into the order note in Chinese.

If food delivery goes wrong

• The app won’t let you sign up: try the Alipay or WeChat mini program, or ask the front desk to order for you.
• Payment fails: try the other wallet or another linked card. See Paying in China.
• The rider can’t find you: show the front desk the order screen and let staff talk to the rider.
• Wrong or missing items: report it in the order page, with a photo if you can.
• Nothing works: eat out instead. Scan-to-order restaurants are everywhere; see Food and ordering.