Beijing - Post Report Question and Answers
What do people who suffer from environmental or food allergies need to know?
Anyone with severe asthma or respiratory ailments should think twice before coming to Beijing. As noted above, Beijing’s air quality has improved significantly in recent years, but there are still days/weeks when the AQI surges over 200. Similarly, although large restaurants in predominantly expat areas (like Chaoyang and Shunyi) often understand food allergies, the risk increases the farther you get from these establishments. Chinese dishes rarely use milk/dairy, but all the other major allergens (including sesame) are commonly used. If you do have a food allergy, memorize that word in Mandarin and consider carrying a Mandarin language card – easily ordered online – that you can hand to your server. - Nov 2024
Nuts, soy, and shellfish products are abundant, and I wouldn't count on being able to avoid them when eating out. If you don't eat dairy, there are quite a few dairy alternative products. You can get soy, oat, coconut, or almond milk easily. The local supermarket carries both coconut and almond yogurt. - Nov 2021
You never really know what you’re eating here. If you have special needs or food sensitivities, know that you can’t necessarily trust package labels in China. For all expats, it’s best to stick to the restaurants you know and trust, since sanitation standards vary widely. - Aug 2020
Air pollution is no joke. Hard to manage some allergies, but possible. - May 2020
Do not come here, sorry. - Nov 2019
There is peanut oil in most Chinese food dishes here or nuts. - Oct 2017
Food: you will never know what is in anything. If you have allergies you could have some serious issues. I haven't had seasonal allergy problems here. - Dec 2015
Those with food allergies must learn to communicate that in Chinese in order to inquire as to whats in the food. - Apr 2015
