Is street food safe in Chengdu?

Pick stalls with a steady local queue and food cooked to order. High turnover means ingredients are fresh. Watch the vendor handle food; if they touch raw meat and then ready-to-eat food without gloves or washing, walk away.

Avoid pre-cut fruit sitting in the sun, cold dishes that have been out for hours, and meat skewers that look dry or reheated. Stick to cooked, hot food and bottled drinks.

Good signs: a short queue that moves, one or two items done well, a vendor cooking in front of you, clean oil, and turnover fast enough that ingredients do not sit. Bad signs: food held at room temperature, dirty tongs, cash handled with the same hand that touches food, and a menu covering twenty unrelated dishes.

• Choose busy stalls
• Order freshly cooked food
• Avoid pre-cut fruit and lukewarm meat
• Watch how the vendor handles cash

Dan dan noodles, long chao shou, chuan chuan skewers, grilled corn, and fried rice cakes are common street foods. Some stalls specialize in one item, which is a good sign. Ask for mild spice if you are sensitive.

Carry tissue and hand sanitizer. Many stalls do not provide napkins or hand-washing facilities. Use cash or mobile payment; not all stalls accept cards.

Chengdu-specific snacks worth trying include dan dan noodles, long chao shou, chuan chuan skewers, mao cai (a single-person hotpot), bo bo ji (cold skewers in chili oil), guo kui (stuffed baked flatbread), dan hong gao (sweet egg cakes), bing fen (chilled jelly dessert), and tang you ba ba (fried glutinous rice cakes). 'Bù yào là' means no chili, 'wēi là' means mild, and 'shǎo fàng là' means go easy on the chili.

If you have a sensitive stomach, introduce street food gradually and avoid raw or cold items. Bottled water is safer than tap water. If a stall looks dirty or the vendor seems careless, choose another.

Food poisoning is uncommon but possible. Carry oral rehydration salts and know the emergency number for an ambulance: 120. Most travelers eat street food without problems.

Wash hands or use sanitizer before eating, and avoid ice in drinks from questionable sources. Peel fruit yourself. If you have a shellfish or peanut allergy, street food is high-risk because oil and utensils are shared. Carry oral rehydration salts and a basic first-aid kit, and do not push through a long day if you feel unwell.

• Introduce street food gradually
• Drink bottled water
• Carry rehydration salts
• Allergies make street food high-risk

Street snacks are cheap: expect roughly CNY 5–20 per item at a stall and CNY 25–60 per person for a small meal of skewers or noodles; check the current price, which is often posted. Many stalls accept WeChat Pay or Alipay, but small vendors may prefer cash, so keep a few CNY 10–50 notes. Point at what you want and hold up fingers for quantity.

Do not expect napkins, seats, or English. Eat standing or on a low stool, put waste in the bin, and do not block the queue while you photograph. If a vendor offers you a taste, it is fine to accept; if you do not want chili, say so before they cook. A smile and 'xièxie' go further than a large tip, which is not expected.

• Keep small cash notes
• Say 'bù yào là' before cooking