Food Delivery in China Guide 2026: Meituan, Eleme & How Foreigners Can Order

Table of contents

The Two Main Platforms

Meituan (美团)

The dominant food delivery platform in China, Meituan covers approximately 2,800 cities and counties. Founded by Wang Xing in 2010, it has expanded from food delivery into hotel booking, travel, grocery delivery and many other services. For food delivery, it’s the first-choice platform in most cities.

Download: Search “美团” in the iOS App Store (international) or Android (sideload or from third-party stores).

Eleme (饿了么)

Owned by Alibaba, Eleme (“Are you hungry?”) is the second-largest platform and is particularly strong in Shanghai and eastern China. It integrates directly with Alipay, making payment somewhat easier for visitors who have set up Alipay with an international card.

Download: Search “饿了么” in the App Store.

Which to Use?

For most foreign visitors, Eleme + Alipay is the easier combination because Alipay has better international card integration. If you’re using WeChat Pay, Meituan is equally accessible.

Setting Up: What You Need

Payment Method (Essential)

Both platforms require Chinese payment methods. Options for foreign visitors:

Option 1: Alipay with International Card Alipay has offered limited international card support since 2023. You can link a Visa or Mastercard to an Alipay account; the process is:

1. Download Alipay
2. Sign up with your phone number
3. In the app: Profile → Bank Card → Add International Card
4. Verification required via bank OTP

Limits apply: International Alipay accounts are typically limited to ¥2,000/month in spending. For short trips this is usually sufficient.

Option 2: WeChat Pay with International Card Similar process via WeChat: Wallet → Bank Cards → Add International Card. The same ¥2,000/month limit applies.

Option 3: Have a local contact help order If you have a Chinese friend, colleague or helpful hotel staff member, they can order on your behalf via their account. You pay them in cash.

Option 4: Hotel concierge Many hotels with international guest focus have staff accustomed to ordering food delivery for guests. Ask the front desk.

Phone Number Registration

Both apps require a Chinese phone number for registration. Options:

• Buy a local SIM card (China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom)
• Use an international SIM if it has a Chinese number (some networks provide this)
• Use your hotel’s phone number for registration (ask front desk)

Navigating the Menu Without Chinese Reading Ability

This is the main practical challenge. Solutions:

Use Google Translate Camera Feature

1. Open Google Translate (works offline for image recognition with downloaded Chinese language pack)
2. Point the camera at your phone screen showing the menu
3. The app overlays English translations on the Chinese text in real-time

This works well for menu items and roughly conveys what you’re ordering. It’s not perfect but gets you 80% of the way.

Using WeChat Translate

WeChat’s built-in translation feature translates screenshots. Take a screenshot of the menu page, share it to WeChat, and use the translate function.

Restaurant Image Menus

Many restaurants on both platforms provide photo menus. Look for items with photos — you can order by appearance without reading any Chinese. This is actually how most Chinese consumers order too.

Pre-Search Strategy

Before opening the app, decide roughly what you want. Search terms that work even with Roman letters:

• “hotpot” / “火锅” — hot pot delivery kits
• “KFC” / “McDonald’s” / “Pizza Hut” — these operate on both platforms with English product names
• Enter your hotel’s name in Chinese (ask front desk to write it) to find the address-based recommendations

Step-by-Step: Placing an Order on Eleme

1. Open Eleme and allow location access. The app shows restaurants delivering to your current location.

2. Browse restaurants or use the search bar. Categories (see icons at top) include: Chinese fast food, noodles, rice dishes, Western, desserts, grocery.

3. Select a restaurant. The rating (stars), average delivery time, minimum order and delivery fee are shown.

4. Choose items. Tap items to add to cart. Check quantity in the cart icon at the bottom.

5. Review cart. Check the total including delivery fee (配送费) and any minimum order requirement (起送价).

6. Check delivery address. The app should show your location; verify it matches your hotel address. Ask front desk for the exact Chinese address characters.

7. Place order. Select payment method and confirm.

8. Track delivery. A real-time map shows your rider’s position.

Delivery Tips

Minimum order: Most restaurants have a minimum order (起送价) of ¥15–¥30 ($2–$4). Some premium restaurants set ¥50–¥80.

Delivery fees: Typically ¥2–¥6 ($0.3–$0.9) for nearby restaurants; higher for farther ones or in bad weather. Both apps offer delivery fee coupons (in the “coupon” section of each restaurant page).

Delivery time: Most orders arrive within 25–45 minutes. During peak meal times (12:00–13:00, 18:00–20:00) times can extend to 60 minutes.

Leaving instructions: In the order notes (备注 beizhu) field, you can add delivery instructions. Common useful phrases:

• “送到前台” (deliver to front desk) — for hotels where riders can’t enter
• “请打电话” (please call) — if you want a call when they arrive
• If you can’t write Chinese, ask your hotel to write the note for you

Common Issues and Solutions

”Cannot find the address”

The delivery system relies on precise Chinese address data. If your hotel address isn’t auto-detecting, type the hotel name in Chinese into the delivery address field. Ask the front desk to write the hotel name in Chinese characters; copy-paste it into the address field.

”The app won’t register with my phone number”

Some international numbers work; others don’t. Purchase a local SIM card (from any China Mobile or Unicom store; from ¥20, $3) to guarantee this works.

”Payment rejected”

International cards linked to Alipay/WeChat have intermittent acceptance issues. Carry cash as a backup; many restaurants in the building or block will offer direct walk-in ordering.

Order incorrect or missing items

Both apps have a customer service chat (客服) function. If items are wrong or missing, open the order history, select the order, and tap “after-sale service” (售后). Common resolutions are coupon credits for the value of the wrong item.

Grocery and Convenience Delivery

Beyond restaurant food, both platforms offer grocery and convenience delivery services — often in under 30 minutes from local convenience stores.

Meituan’s 美团优选 delivers from supermarkets and convenience stores including 7-Eleven, FamilyMart (operating as Quanjiamian in China) and local chains.

Eleme’s 天猫超市 integration allows ordering from Alibaba’s supermarket ecosystem.

This is particularly useful for:

• Late-night snacks when restaurants are closed
• Bottled water and soft drinks at lower prices than hotel room prices
• Medicines from registered pharmacies (see pharmacy section of the app)

Price Expectations

To give a sense of the remarkable value in Chinese food delivery:

Final Tips

• Order early: Both platforms get very busy at 12:00 and 18:00; orders placed 30 minutes before peak times arrive faster.
• Save your address: Once you’ve set your hotel as the delivery address, save it for easy reuse.
• Group orders: Both platforms allow a single order from multiple menu items within one restaurant; split the cost with travel companions.
• Ratings: Restaurant ratings on both platforms are reliable. Anything above 4.6 stars is consistently good.

Food delivery in China is genuinely one of the great practical pleasures of travel here — particularly useful on arrival days when you’re too tired to go out, during bad weather, or for a late-night meal. Set up the app before you need it, sort the payment method, and you’ll have reliable access to thousands of restaurants from your hotel room.