5 Cooking Classes in Beijing Worth Losing a Morning To

1.Dumpling Making Workshop with Meal and Tea

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 69 reviews · 3 hours · from $35Our pick

Meet your English-speaking guide at the hotel lobby at 16:30, then learn to roll wrappers, fill, and shape dumplings before eating them with tea, beer, and other Chinese dishes. Guides such as Jenny, Janine, Eric, and Heyang lead the sessions, though names vary. Expect a relaxed class, communal table, and plenty of food.

“Such a fun evening! The hosts were lovely and went out of their way to make it an enjoyable evening. Delicious food and tea. Really nice to make a share a meal together.”

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2.China’s Favourite Street Food Cooking Workshop

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 16 reviews · from $80Top rated

At 10 Shi Que Hutong in central Beijing, Dom from Our Beijing introduces you to jian bing, explains its street-food roots, then helps you mix batter, cook your own pancakes, and choose fillings. This private 90-minute class suits families, friends, and anyone who wants a tasty Beijing skill to take home.

“Such a fun workshop. Dom explained the history of Jian Bings with an entertaining story, then the technique of making them and was there to help when needed. There was a plentiful assortment of fillings to use, from traditional savoury to sweet chocolate and banana. Read more”

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3.4-Hour Private Beijing Hutong Bike Tour with Dumpling Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 13 reviews · from $199

Meet Sunflower Tours China at your hotel for a four-hour private ride through Beijing’s hutongs. You’ll cycle around Houhai, Yandai Xie Street, Nanluoguxiang, and Mao’er Hutong, watch the Drum Tower show, eat dumplings, and return by private car. Bring WeChat for a Mobike rental.

“Our Beijing hutong bike tour with sunflower was fantastic. Sunflower was very responsive throughout the booking process and happy to help us personalize our bike tour to meet all of our requested stops. I scheduled a private group toRead more”

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4.Beijing Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Hutong and Dumpling Making

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 10 reviews · from $190

Spend eight hours with a private guide and driver visiting Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, a Hou Hai hutong, and the Summer Palace. You will make and eat dumplings with a local family, travel in an air-conditioned car, and receive hotel pickup, entrance tickets, water, and a choice of English, Spanish, French, German, or Russian guiding. Erica may be your guide.

“Erica is a very attentive tour guide. She took a lot of great photos and had a lot of information about each location.”

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5.Dumpling-Making Class with wet Market visit

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 9 reviews · 5 hours · from $50

Spend about five hours exploring a Beijing wet market, then visit a local family to make dumplings and two Chinese dishes. English-speaking guides such as May, Sonia, and Peter lead the experience. Choose private or small-group service, with hotel pickup available. The schedule may finish sooner than advertised, so leave some flexibility in your day.

“Really interesting insight into life as a local in Beijing. We loved the colours of the market and the different fruit and spices we’d not seen anywhere before. The tea ceremony was fascinating and a highly recommended part of the trip. Personal favourites were the lychee and fruit teas. We finished the tour with a dumpling making session and a plentiful lunch. Altogether a great tour with May who looked after us extremely well.”

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