Food on China Train

When traveling on a China train, the food can be bought from the dining car and the food trolleys. The fare of the food is not included in the train ticket and only Chinese Yuan, WetChat Pay and AliPay are accepted for payment. Generally, the food price is higher than that of the outside restaurants or stores. If possible, you can bring some on your own, like hamburger, bread, fruit, or the most popular instant noodles among Chinese passengers. Food delivery service is available on some high speed trains, but one needs to read Chinese to use it. 
 

Most normal trains in China have a dining car (except some short-distance ones), which provides meals, drinks, and snacks during a trip. On high speed trains, the dining bar without many seats and tables is available as most passengers ordering meals will eat on their own seat; only a few bullet trains set one of their coach as a special dining area. Dining car or dining bar is usually at the carriage No.8 on a normal train and carriage No.5 or 13 on a high-speed one.

Dining is not included in the ticket, so you need to pay for the food.

More Food on Train Pictures(18)

Dining Bar on High Speed Trains

Food on board is usually Chinese style, and western food is usually not available. On some trains, Halal food is also available. Tibetan dishes can be found on the coaches to Tibet. Breakfast usually includes porridge, pickles, boiled eggs, Chinese breads, and steamed stuffed buns; sometimes, breads, tea, and coffee are also available. For lunch and dinner, you can find rice with fried vegetables, soups and noodles.

Available food on high speed trains also include prepared and heated packed meals, and the prices range from CNY 15 – 45. In the dinning car of non-high-speed trains, there is a kitchen and the cooks make dishes during the trip; passengers can order the dishes on the menu, and each dish is about CNY 25. As for drinks, beers, non-alcoholic beverages, and bottled water are usually available. Popular snacks may also be purchased and include items such as sunflower seeds, peanuts, crackers, potato chips, fried rice crust and vacuum packed braised food.
 

The seats in a dining car are limited 30 to 40, so there are railway attendants bringing trolleys through the carriages selling packed meals at meal time, which are the same rice, vegetables, and noodles as those in the dining car. At other times, they also sell drinks, snacks, magazines, and packed fruits.

Packed Meal Sold on a Trolley

Snack Trolley on High Speed Trains

Food delivery service is provided on high speed trains passing by many cities including Shanghai, Tianjin, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Hangzhou, Shenyang, Wuhan, Changsha, and Chengdu. However, the service is currently only available through the Chinese version of cell phone APP of China Railway Corporation. If you have a Chinese friend, you can ask him or her to make a reservation for you, which should be made one hour prior to departure. Or you could seek help from the train staff.
 

The price is exorbitant to most passengers. On the non-high-speed trains, a simple vegetable dish starts up from CNY 25, while a same dish at an ordinary restaurant is larger in quantity and costs about CNY 10 - 15. From some passengers’ experience, a lunch for two persons at dining car costs about CNY 100. The food is freshly-made, so tastes OK if you are lucky enough to be served by a good cook.

The packed meal, however, is not good. The price ranges from CNY 15 – 45 but may be even more, while the food is not so delicious, according to most passengers. On the non-high-speed trains, the packed meal sold from the trolley is the same as the freshly-made dishes from dining car, and the price is about CNY 20 for two kinds of vegetable and one box of rice and CNY10 for one more braised chicken leg. The price may go down after meal time and could be lower as time goes on.

The point we wish to convey is that you should not expect too much from the catering arrangement on railway coaches and it's best to bring your own favorite for a happy journey.
 Most Chinese passengers, however, prefer to bring their own food and eat in their carriages. If you travel a lot in China, you must notice that most Chinese passengers take an extra plastic bag full of food. What’s inside their bags? There are instant noodle cups, fruits, bottled water (or just a bottle), and snacks mentioned above.

For most Chinese travelers, the meal on board is expensive and unpalatable. It is not surprising that the prices for drinks, snacks and fruits on board are twice or three times higher than usual. Boiled water is readily available for free in each carriage, so instant noodle cups are popular with most Chinese rail travelers. However, when everyone around you is eating their noodles filling the whole carriage with the same aroma, a cup of noodles is probably the best choice to satisfy your appetite. Sunflower seeds and peanuts are their favorite with the locals to kill time.

Eating Instant Noodles on the Train

Drinkable Hot Water Tap on Bullet Trains

 1. Only take bottled water or simply a bottle (you can get free boiled water in the carriages) if you take a short-distance trip. If your happen to travel at meal time, take some snacks and have a good meal after arriving at your destination.
2. If you are planning to have a meal at the dining car, try to go there as early as possible, because it may be crowded at meal time.
3. Instant rice and noodles are easy and recommended as train food, if you decide to bring your own.
4. Self-heating food is not allowed on China trains.
5. Sandwiches, bread, milk, eggs, and fruits are good choices for those who are not used to Chinese dishes. Many railway stations have fast food chain restaurants, such as KFC, McDonald, and Subway, so you can buy items there before boarding. Fresh fruits are popular as they provide both energy and water. Railway attendants pushing the trolley through carriages also sell packed fresh fruits.
6. Don’t eat too much and try to avoid the food that is hard to digest, especially during a long trip. You won't move a lot, so your digestive system is inclined to work more slowly than usual. Take hand sanitizer with you and remember to wash your hands before eating.
7. Bring a bottle that can take hot water. Some foreigners may be not used to the water in China, but boiled water is better than cold bottled water during a long trip.