Gansu is a long, narrow province in northwest China that follows the Hexi Corridor, the Silk Road passage between the Qilian Mountains and the Gobi. It joins the Yellow River city of Lanzhou, the Mogao Caves and Mingsha dunes at Dunhuang, the Ming fort at Jiayuguan, the rainbow Danxia hills of Zhangye, and the Tibetan monasteries of Xiahe and Langmusi into one of China's richest cultural and landscape routes.
Gansu's cuisine is the food of the Silk Road: hand-pulled wheat noodles, mutton and beef cooked by the region's Hui Muslim and Tibetan communities, and oasis vegetables. Lanzhou is the home of niurou mian, the clear-broth beef noodle bowl served at breakfast; Dunhuang adds donkey-meat yellow noodles; Zhangye is known for saozi noodles and Shandan fried bola; Xiahe serves Tibetan momo, yak butter tea and tsampa. Most restaurants in Lanzhou, Xiahe and the west are halal (qingzhen) or Tibetan, so pork and alcohol are often absent.
Must-try dishes
Iconic dishes that define Gansu.
Lanzhou Beef Noodles (Niurou Mian)
Hand-pulled noodles in clear beef broth topped with sliced beef, radish, chili oil, coriander and scallion; noodle thickness is chosen at the counter.
Where to try: Ma Zilu Beef Noodles / Jincheng Old Bowl Beef Noodles, Lanzhou
Price: CNY 12-25 per bowl (approx $2-4)
Donkey Meat Yellow Noodles (Lurou Huangmian)
Alkaline-water yellow noodles served with braised donkey meat, Dunhuang's signature dish.
Where to try: Wuweixiang, Shazhou Night Market, Dunhuang
Price: CNY 25-45 per bowl (approx $4-7)
Hand-Grabbed Mutton (Shouzhua Yangrou)
Boiled mutton on the bone, eaten by hand with salt and dips; a staple of Hui and Tibetan restaurants.
Where to try: Halal restaurants across Lanzhou, Zhangye and Xiahe
Price: CNY 60-120 per portion (approx $9-18)
Gray Bean Jelly (Huidouzi)
Warm sweet bean-flour jelly served with osmanthus-flavored syrup, a Lanzhou street dessert.
Where to try: Zhengning Road Night Market, Lanzhou
Price: CNY 6-12 per bowl (approx $1-2)
Shandan Fried Bola (Chao Bola)
Stir-fried pieces of hand-torn noodle dough with lamb and peppers, a Zhangye specialty.
Where to try: Ganzhou Snack Street, Zhangye
Price: CNY 20-40 per plate (approx $3-6)
Tibetan Momo with Yak Butter Tea
Steamed or fried dumplings stuffed with yak meat or vegetables, served with butter tea.
Where to try: Snow Mountain Cafe / Geng Sangqu Treasure Meal Bar, Xiahe
Price: CNY 20-45 per plate (approx $3-7)
Top restaurants
Handpicked picks for the best dining experiences.
Restaurants by cuisine
Browse picks grouped by cuisine type.
Zhangye Street Food
Beef Noodles
Nepali
Food tours & tastings in Gansu
Eat your way through Gansu with a guide.
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Street food
Local flavours at affordable prices.
Mutton Skewers (Yangrou Chuan)
Cumin and chili-dusted skewers grilled over charcoal at every night market
Find it at: Zhengning Road Night Market, Lanzhou; Shazhou Night Market, Dunhuang
Niangpi (Cold Rice-Flour Noodles)
Chewy rice noodles in chili-vinegar sauce, a staple cold dish across Gansu
Find it at: Zhangye Road Pedestrian Street Night Market, Lanzhou
Sweet Fermented Rice (Tianpei)
Warm glutinous rice dessert drink sold at Lanzhou night stalls
Find it at: Zhengning Road Night Market, Lanzhou
Apricot-Peel Tea (Xingpi Cha)
Chilled sweet-sour apricot drink sold at Dunhuang and Zhangye stalls
Find it at: Shazhou Night Market, Dunhuang
Poplar-Braised Flatbread (Huyang Menbing)
Thick flatbread cooked with braised meats, a Dunhuang house dish
Find it at: Wuweixiang, Shazhou Night Market, Dunhuang
Food markets
Where locals shop and graze.
Zhengning Road Night Market
Lanzhou's best-known evening food street in Chengguan District
Hours: Evenings, roughly 7PM to midnight
Shazhou Night Market
Dunhuang's main night market with more than 100 stalls in ten themed zones
Hours: Daily 11AM-12AM
Ganzhou Snack Street
Zhangye snack street on Minzhu East Street
Hours: Daily 6AM-Midnight
Nanguan Night Market
Local-oriented market near the Nanguan Mosque in Lanzhou
Hours: Evenings, roughly 7PM to midnight
Dining etiquette & tips
Navigate the local food scene confidently.
Most Lanzhou, Xiahe and Hexi Corridor restaurants are halal (qingzhen) and do not serve pork or alcohol; look for the green qingzhen sign.
Beef noodle shops in Lanzhou are breakfast spots; many close by early afternoon when the broth is finished, so eat before 11AM.
Order at the counter first in beef noodle shops: pick noodle thickness and pay, then take the bowl.
Alipay and WeChat Pay are the norm; foreign cards work at hotels only, so link a card to Alipay or carry RMB cash.
Xiahe and small oasis towns eat early, with many restaurants closing by 9PM; the Dunhuang night market runs until midnight.
- Vegetarian
- Limited but workable; ask for vegetable noodles, tofu, egg-and-tomato or stir-fried greens, and note that broths are meat-based.
- Halal
- Extensive; most restaurants in Lanzhou, Linxia, Xiahe and the Hexi Corridor are halal. Tibetan places in Xiahe serve yak and mutton and are not necessarily halal-certified.
- Gluten free
- Difficult; the diet is noodle- and bread-centred, so focus on grilled meats, rice dishes and stews.
Food budget guide
What to expect at different price points.
| Level | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | CNY 12-35 per meal (approx $2-5) | A bowl of Lanzhou beef noodles, a niangpi plate or a few mutton skewers |
| Mid-range | CNY 50-120 per meal (approx $7-18) | A sit-down halal mutton, Tibetan or Sichuan meal at a local restaurant |
| Upscale | CNY 150-400 per meal (approx $22-59) | Hotel dining at Hyatt Regency Lanzhou, Hilton Lanzhou or a Dunhuang desert resort |