- Home
- China Tours
- Study Tours
- Xi'an Tours
- City Tours
- Travel Guide
-
Popular China Destinations
-
China Travel Guide
-
- Chinese Culture
- About Us
- Tailor My Trip
A private one-day food tour that runs from a dawn bowl of xiaomian noodles to a nine-grid hotpot at night. In between you eat your way through Ciqikou's snack lanes and watch a hotpot base being made from chilli paste, fermented broad-bean paste and beef tallow. A separate mild pot is provided for anyone who would rather not meet the full heat.
Morning - Xiaomian for breakfast
Chongqing starts the day with xiaomian, a bowl of thin wheat noodles dressed with chilli oil, ground pork, peanuts and pickled vegetables, sold from counters that open before dawn. Your guide orders two versions - one mild, one with the full chilli - and explains why the city treats a bowl of noodles as a public institution.
Late morning - Ciqikou Old Town
Ciqikou has been a river port and market for centuries, and its Ming and Qing lanes survive on a bluff above the Jialing. The town is now one of the city's great snack streets: Chen's fried dough twists, hot-and-sour sweet potato noodles, preserved bean curd, sticky rice cakes and bowls of sour plum drink. You walk the lanes, taste as you go, and your guide explains which of these are genuinely local and which arrived for the tourists.
Lunch
A small restaurant in or near Ciqikou, with Chongqing cold dishes and a soup.
Afternoon - Market and chilli
Visit a produce market to see the dried chillies, Sichuan peppercorn and beef tallow that go into a hotpot base, and watch a stall prepare a base from scratch - the chilli paste, the fermented bean paste, the spices, the fat.
Evening - Nine-grid hotpot
Dinner is Chongqing hotpot, cooked in beef tallow rather than water and served in a pot divided into nine squares so that ingredients can be dropped into zones of different heat. The order is standard: tripe, beef, luncheon meat, potato, tofu skin, greens. Mild and vegetarian broths can be provided in a separate pot at the same table.
Meals
Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation
Day tour - no hotel night included.
| Group Size | Adult(Age:8-80) Price/p.p | Child(Age:4-7) Price/p.p | Infant(Age:0-3) Price/p.p |
| 2 PAX | from $336 | / | / |
| 4 PAX | from $236 | / | / |
| 6 PAX | from $205 | / | / |
| 8 PAX | from $188 | / | / |
| 10 PAX | from $167 | / | / |
| 20 PAX | from $140 | / | / |
| 30 PAX | from $131 | / | / |
Please read the notes below before you book. They cover entry formalities, pace, weather and what to bring.
Q: Is this tour private or shared?
A: It is a private tour. Only your own party travels with the guide and vehicle, so the pace and the order of stops can be adjusted on the day.
Q: What is the best season for this itinerary?
A: April to June and September to November bring the mildest weather and clearest light. The programme runs year round, and we adjust the daily timings in mid-summer and winter.
Q: Can you handle dietary requirements and accessibility needs?
A: Yes. Vegetarian, halal, gluten-free and allergy-aware menus are arranged when you tell us in advance. Step-free and low-mobility versions of the route can also be planned.
Q: How do we book and pay?
A: Send us your travel dates and group size for a same-day quotation. A deposit confirms the booking, the balance is due before arrival, and prices are guaranteed for 7 days.
