4 Best Restaurants in Beijing to Shanghai, China

Locals squeeze around tables at this simple eatery, a quick hop from the Master of the Nets Garden, to lunch on mouthwateringly zingy wonton soup and xiaolongbao (freshly steamed, soup-filled pork dumplings). There is no menu—order at the entrance, take a number, and find a seat.

Busiest at breakfast, this venerable institution steams all sorts of delicious buns and dumplings that are hungrily wolfed down by both locals and tourists who also sip cups of the light, fragrant, green, kui dragon (aka Monkey King) tea. Be sure to try the xièfĕn tāngbāo (oversized crabmeat dumplings filled with rich soup that you slurp out through a straw) as well as the dish that Yangzhou gave to the world: fried rice.

On the grounds of the Kiessling Beidaihe Hotel, this popular restaurant, originally opened by Austrians, mixes a few Western dishes in with the menu's predominately Chinese fare. Its European-style café-bakery, on the main street, does a brisk business in freshly baked walnut cakes.

Popular with overseas students studying at Nanjing University, Skyways offers the perfect antidote to oily Chinese food. This clean, user-friendly deli offers a list of sandwiches and salads that lets you choose, check, and chow in a matter of minutes.