Absolutely! Chinese cuisine is extremely plant-forward. Most traditional Chinese dishes consist of things like stir-fried or rice/noodle dishes that are prepared fresh and easy to veganize. Vegetarian and vegan restaurants are also plentiful, especially in big cities, if you are worried about cross-contamination or the language barrier.

Lard or pork oil is a common cooking oil in some areas of China (particularly the south), but this is not true for all parts of China. In fact, some areas like Xinjiang or Ningxia have a strong Muslim minority and would never!

Many restaurants (even in southern regions) prefer to use other oils like vegetable, soybean, peanut or rapeseed. Even if a place does use lard, you can often ask them to prepare your dish with an alternative.

Chinese: 不要猪油，请用植物油。
Pinyin: Bùyào zhū yóu, qǐng yòng zhíwùyóu.
English: Please don’t use lard, use vegetable oil.

I ask! I have spent the past 6 years studying Mandarin and learning about Chinese cuisine directly from locals. I ask about the preparation and the ingredients that go into each dish, and I have learned which non-vegan ingredients to look out for. Do mistakes happen? Yes, but I’d argue that happens in every country, not just China.

To me, veganism is about trying my best to live a life of compassion and to reduce animal suffering. While it sucks to accidentally consume an animal ingredient, I take it as a learning experience and continue on my vegan journey rather than give up entirely.

While I understand that many vegans would prefer to avoid their food being cooked alongside animal products, my personal food philosophy is that as long as I do not require an animal to die for my meal, I am still living a vegan lifestyle.

I love and regularly dine at Chinese vegan restaurants, but certain flavours and experiences can only be had at traditional restaurants. I also hope to show my audience that vegan food can be enjoyed ANYWHERE in China, and choosing a plant-based lifestyle doesn’t mean you have to give up your favourite eatery or begging your omnivore friends to always eat with you at vegan restaurants.

Bigger cities will usually have the most vegetarian/vegan restaurants (ex. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen).

However, I find Southwestern Chinese cuisine to be the most vegan-adaptive (ex. the provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan) if you are interested in venturing beyond the vegetarian restaurants.