What people drink in China, besides tea
Tea is the headline, and it should be. But if you spend a few weeks traveling here, you notice the cup in front of you changes constantly: sweet soy milk at a breakfast stall in Xi’an, a plastic jug of room-temperature water at a Sichuan restaurant, a shot of baijiu (白酒) at a wedding table in Shandong, a cup of sour plum drink on a Beijing sidewalk in July. China has a drinking culture that runs far wider than most visitors expect, and most of it is cheap, local, and worth trying.
I learned this the hard way on my second trip. I ordered “juice” at a hot pot place in Chengdu and got a glass of warm hawthorn infusion that tasted like someone had boiled a fruit pastille. It was odd, then oddly good, and it set me down a path of ordering the strange local drink instead of a beer. This guide covers the main categories a traveler meets, where to find them, and what they cost. For the foundation, our Chinese tea guide goes deep on green, oolong, and pu-erh.
The hot drinks you will meet first
Soy milk (doujiang, 豆浆) is the breakfast default. In the north it is often salty, served warm with a sprinkle of pickled vegetable and scallion; in the south it is sweet. A cup from a street cart runs 2 to 4 RMB, and the fresh version from a soy-milk chain beats the packaged carton every time. I prefer the unsweetened fresh soy milk near universities, where the queue is long and the batch is new.
Then there is the soybean “milk” confusion: do not assume soy milk is cold. In China it is a warm breakfast drink, and ordering it iced will get you a look. The same goes for many grain-based drinks.
Congee (zhou, 粥) is technically food, but people drink it from bowls at breakfast like a thin gruel. Rice congee, millet congee, and eight-treasure congee (with red dates, lotus seed, and barley) are common. A bowl costs 3 to 8 RMB depending on the toppings.
Sweet grain and seed drinks
Walk through any northern night market in winter and you will find cauldrons of roasted sweet potato and thermoses of hot drinks made from black sesame, walnut, or almond. The black sesame paste (heizhima hu, 黑芝麻糊) is my favorite: nutty, slightly bitter, and filling. A cup costs 5 to 10 RMB. These are sold from carts and from chains like Bestore and San Haishang, though the cart version is usually better.
The cold and sweet: sodas, juices, and sour plum
Suanmeitang (酸梅汤), sour plum drink, is the quintessential Beijing summer cooler. It is made from smoked plums, hawthorn, and licorice, served over ice, dark as cola and far more interesting. A fresh glass from a street vendor is 5 to 8 RMB; the bottled version in convenience stores is paler and sweeter. I would pick the fresh version every time.
Chinese soda is its own world. The classics are Jianlibao, a vaguely orange, vaguely medicinal cola from the 1980s that tastes like a flatter Fanta; Beibingyang, a Beijing orange soda with a loyal following; and various local orange and lychee sodas. They cost 3 to 6 RMB. None are great, but each is a small piece of local nostalgia.
Fresh juice is widely available but watch the price. A cup of squeezed sugarcane juice (ganzhe shui, 甘蔗水) at a market runs 5 to 10 RMB and is worth it; a “fresh” orange juice at a tourist cafe can be 25 RMB and come from concentrate. Ask “xian zha?” (fresh pressed?) before you order.
Coffee and the new café habit
Coffee in China was a novelty twenty years ago and is now a daily ritual in every major city. The big chains are Luckin and Cotti, which sell decent lattes for 9 to 18 RMB, and Starbucks, which costs double and is treated as a sitting room. Independent cafés have exploded, especially in Shanghai, Chengdu, and Kunming, where a good pour-over runs 25 to 45 RMB. For background, our China coffee culture piece covers the scene city by city.
One quirk: many Chinese iced coffees come sweet by default. If you want it unsweetened, say “bu jia tang” (no sugar) clearly, and check the cup, because the syrup is often added before you speak.
Bubble tea and the milk tea boom
Milk tea (naicha, 奶茶) is the drink of Chinese cities under thirty. The leaders are Heytea and Nayuki at the premium end (18 to 30 RMB), and Mixue, the yellow-frog chain, at the budget end (4 to 8 RMB for a basic milk tea). Bubble tea with tapioca pearls is the global face of this, but in China the range runs to cheese-foam tea, fruit tea, and “light” versions with less sugar. Our bubble tea guide explains the menu and how to order.
My practical advice: order fruit tea (guo cha) in summer from a fresh-fruit shop like Yidiandian, and ask for “ban tang” (half sugar). Full sugar in Chinese milk tea is usually too sweet for Western palates. Also, the pearls are best eaten within ten minutes of arrival; they turn to rubber in the cup.
The strong stuff: baijiu and rice wine
Baijiu is the national liquor, a distilled grain spirit that runs from 40 to 65 percent alcohol and tastes, to most first-timers, like gasoline with a headache. It is made from sorghum, wheat, or rice, and the aroma categories (strong, light, sauce) mean little to newcomers. A bottle of the famous Maotai (茅台) costs 1,500 to 3,000 RMB retail and is given as a gift more than drunk casually. Cheaper baijiu like Erguotou (二锅头) from Beijing runs 15 to 30 RMB a bottle and is what locals actually drink.
The social rule matters more than the taste: at a banquet, toasts are constant, and refusing is difficult. Our baijiu guide explains the toasting etiquette so you do not offend a host. If you are invited to a dinner, accept a small glass, raise it with both hands toward the host, and sip. You do not need to keep up.
Huangjiu (黄酒), yellow rice wine, is the softer older cousin. Shaoxing wine served warm in winter, around 15 percent, is mellow and drinkable. A small heated jug at a restaurant costs 20 to 40 RMB.
Fruit and herbal waters
Restaurants almost always bring a free thermos of hot water or, in the south, plain cold water. Bottled water is cheap: a 500 ml Wahaha or Nongfu Spring is 2 RMB at any corner shop, 8 RMB at a scenic spot. Coconut water is sold fresh in the south, especially Hainan and Guangdong, for 8 to 15 RMB with the top hacked off.
Herbal and “cooling” drinks are sold at street stands and in the south: grass jelly (xiancao) drinks, chrysanthemum tea served cold, and winter melon tea. These tie into the Chinese idea of balancing the body’s heat, which our companion guide on Chinese herbal drinks explains in detail.
A quick price table
| Drink | Typical price | Where to find it | My take |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh soy milk (doujiang) | 2 to 4 RMB | Breakfast carts, north and south | Warm, cheap, better fresh than boxed |
| Sour plum drink (suanmeitang) | 5 to 8 RMB | Beijing summer stalls | The best hot-weather cooler |
| Black sesame hot drink | 5 to 10 RMB | Winter night markets | Nutty, filling, order hot |
| Luckin/Cotti coffee | 9 to 18 RMB | Every city, every mall | Decent latte, say no sugar |
| Mixue milk tea | 4 to 8 RMB | Nationwide budget chain | Cheap, very sweet by default |
| Baijiu (Erguotou) | 15 to 30 RMB | Convenience stores, restaurants | An acquired taste; sip at banquets |
| Bottled water | 2 to 8 RMB | Anywhere; more at sights | Carry your own into parks |
Quick facts
- Tea is the base, but soy milk, sour plum, and sesame drinks are the everyday choices
- Most Chinese breakfast drinks are served warm, not cold
- Milk tea chains default to full sugar; ask for “ban tang” (half sugar)
- Baijiu runs 40 to 65 percent alcohol and is the banquet spirit, not a casual sip
- Luckin and Cotti undercut Starbucks by half on basic coffee
- Fresh sugarcane juice costs 5 to 10 RMB; confirm it is fresh pressed
- Restaurants provide free hot or room-temperature water as standard
Frequently asked questions
Is tap water safe to drink in China?
No. Locals boil it. Drink bottled, boiled, or filtered water. The free water at restaurants is always boiled and cooled, so it is safe; the risk is only from untreated tap water.
What drink should I try first as a visitor?
Suanmeitang in summer and fresh soy milk at breakfast. Both are cheap, widely available, and genuinely local. Skip the tourist-priced “fresh juice” until you learn to ask if it is fresh pressed.
How do I order milk tea without it being too sweet?
Say “ban tang” for half sugar, or “wu tang” for no sugar. Also specify “re cha” (hot) or “bing” (iced), because the default iced milk tea often arrives sweetened before you speak.
Is baijiu worth trying?
Once, at a banquet, to understand the culture. Buy a small Erguotou (15 to 30 RMB) rather than Maotai, and sip slowly. The strong aroma is an acquired taste that most travelers do not love on day one.
Can I get good coffee outside the big cities?
Yes, but spottily. Luckin and Cotti cover most county towns now. Independent cafés cluster in Chengdu, Kunming, Hangzhou, and Xiamen. In remote areas, instant or convenience-store coffee is your fallback.
What about drinks for kids or non-drinkers at banquets?
Soft drinks, juice, or tea are fine. You are not required to drink alcohol; holding a glass of soda and joining the toast gesture works. Baijiu etiquette is about the raise and the sip, not the volume.
Are herbal “cooling” drinks safe?
Generally yes, from established stalls and chains. If you have allergies to chrysanthemum or licorice, ask. These are mild and sold everywhere in the south during hot months.
If you want a drink-and-food route built around tea houses, coffee streets, and night-market stalls, we can plan a custom itinerary through the contact page. The fastest way to understand a Chinese city is to follow what people are holding in their hands at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Written by the ChinaTravelFood editorial team.
