Will You Get Sick in China? Stomach Problems, Food Hygiene and What to Do

The short version

You will probably be fine, and you may have one or two uncomfortable days. A mild upset stomach is the most common health problem for visitors to China, as it is across most of Asia. Serious food poisoning is uncommon.

To lower your risk:

1. Eat food that is cooked and served hot.
2. Choose busy restaurants and stalls with a fast turnover.
3. Drink bottled or boiled water, not tap water.
4. Wash or sanitize your hands before every meal.
5. Start gently with chili and oil, especially in Sichuan, Chongqing and Hunan.
6. Carry oral rehydration salts and tissues.

Health advice in this guide follows the US CDC and the UK government’s travel advice, checked on 30 September 2026. It is general information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before you travel if you have a health condition.

Why stomachs react in China

There is rarely one cause. Usually several small things add up:

Many travelers blame one bad meal when the real cause is three days of hot pot, little sleep and a body clock that thinks it is 3 a.m.

Lower-risk and higher-risk food

The CDC’s core advice is simple: eat food that is cooked and served hot, and be careful with anything raw or left standing.

Practical habits:

• Follow the crowd. A queue of local people is the best hygiene sign you will find.
• Look at the turnover, not the decor. A simple noodle shop that serves 300 bowls a day is safer than a quiet, smart-looking restaurant.
• Use separate chopsticks at hot pot for raw food and for eating, and cook meat until it is done all the way through.
• Many restaurants provide serving chopsticks or spoons (公筷) for shared dishes. Use them.
• Rinsing bowls with tea at the table is a local habit in southern China. It does little for hygiene, but nobody minds if you join in.

Start gently with spice

In Chengdu, Chongqing, Hunan and Guizhou, “a little spicy” is hotter than “very spicy” in most restaurants abroad.

• Order mild for the first few meals: wēi là (微辣, a little spicy) or bú yào là (不要辣, not spicy).
• At hot pot, order a split pot (鸳鸯锅, yuānyang guō) with a clear broth on one side.
• Do not drink the hot pot broth. It is for cooking, and it is mostly oil and chili.
• Eat rice with spicy dishes, and drink soy milk, yogurt drinks or tea instead of icy beer.
• Give your stomach a plain meal every second day if you feel it complaining.

See Chengdu vs Chongqing for how the food differs between the two.

Water, ice and drinks

• Drink bottled or boiled water. The UK government’s advice is that tap water is generally not safe to drink.
• Hot water is free almost everywhere: on trains, in stations, in airports and in restaurants. Carry a bottle that can take hot water.
• Brushing your teeth with tap water is what most visitors do without trouble. Use bottled water if your stomach is sensitive.
• Ice in chain cafés, bars and hotels is usually made from filtered water. Skip it at street stalls.

Full details: can you drink tap water in China?

Hands and toilets

• Carry hand sanitizer and tissues every day. Many public toilets have no soap and no paper.
• Wash your hands before eating, especially before snacks you eat with your fingers.
• Public toilets are easy to find in metro stations, malls, parks and tourist sights, and are usually free. Many are squat toilets. Shopping malls, hotels and international chain cafés have the cleanest ones, with Western toilets.
• In many places used paper goes in the bin, not the toilet, because pipes are narrow. Follow the sign in the cubicle.

A small stomach kit

Bring these from home, in their original packaging:

• Oral rehydration salts. The most useful item on the list.
• An anti-diarrhea medicine such as loperamide, for days when you must travel.
• Hand sanitizer and a pack of wet wipes.
• Tissues.
• Your regular medicines, with the prescription.
• Antacids or your usual remedy if you suffer from heartburn or reflux. Rich, spicy food triggers it.

Ask your doctor before you go about a standby antibiotic, particularly if you have a long-term condition or are traveling to remote areas. The CDC advises using antibiotics only for severe cases.

Check what you can bring in: China customs rules.

If you get sick

Most cases pass in one to three days with rest and fluids.

1. Drink more than you think you need. Bottled water, oral rehydration solution, weak tea and clear soup.
2. Eat plain food when you are ready: congee (粥, zhōu), plain rice, plain noodle soup, steamed buns (馒头, mántou), bananas and toast. Every hotel breakfast and most small restaurants have congee.
3. Avoid alcohol, coffee, dairy, chili and oily food until you feel normal.
4. Rest for a day. Cancel the big sight. One quiet day usually saves the rest of the trip.
5. Use anti-diarrhea medicine for travel days if you need it. The CDC notes it eases symptoms but does not treat an infection.

At a Chinese pharmacy

Pharmacies (药店, yàodiàn) are on almost every street and are marked with a green cross. Staff rarely speak English, so show these words on your phone:

Use a translation app to read the box and the dose, and tell the pharmacist about any allergy or other medicine you take. See translation apps for China.

When to see a doctor

Get medical help if you have:

• a high fever;
• blood in your stool;
• severe stomach pain;
• signs of dehydration: very dark urine, dizziness, a dry mouth, or passing very little urine;
• vomiting that stops you keeping fluids down;
• symptoms lasting more than two or three days.

Get help earlier for children, older travelers, pregnant women and anyone with a long-term illness.

Where to go: in big cities, international clinics and the international departments (国际部) of large hospitals have English-speaking staff. Your hotel can call a taxi and write down the address. In an emergency, dial 120 for an ambulance.

Paying: Chinese hospitals expect payment before treatment, and many do not take foreign cards. Call your insurer’s assistance line early and keep every receipt. See travel insurance for China.

Sensitive stomachs, IBS and reflux

You can enjoy China with a delicate stomach. Plan around it:

• Choose your regions. Cantonese food in Guangzhou and Hong Kong, Shanghai and Jiangsu cooking, and northern food in Beijing and Xi’an are mild. Sichuan, Chongqing, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan are the spicy ones.
• Reliable plain dishes: steamed rice, congee, noodle soup in clear broth, steamed fish, steamed egg custard, stir-fried greens with garlic, tomato and scrambled egg, dumplings and steamed buns.
• Ask for less oil and no chili: shǎo yóu (少油) and bú yào là (不要辣).
• Eat at regular times and do not skip breakfast. Hotel breakfasts are an easy, safe meal.
• Keep a fallback. Supermarkets, bakeries, convenience stores and international chains are in every city for the days when you need something familiar.
• Plan toilets on long days. Know where the facilities are at the Great Wall, on mountain walks and on long drives. High-speed trains have toilets in every carriage.

If you have a food allergy, not just a sensitive stomach, read food allergies in China. For vegetarian and halal meals, see vegetarian and halal food in China.

Children and older travelers

• Dehydration happens faster in small children and older people. Start oral rehydration early and see a doctor sooner.
• Keep meals simple for children: dumplings, fried rice, noodles, steamed buns and fruit you peel.
• Use bottled or boiled water for baby formula and for washing bottles.

See China with kids.

Do not let it stop you

Food is one of the best reasons to visit China, and most travelers eat everything from street skewers to hot pot with nothing worse than a day of discomfort. A few simple habits, a small kit and a gentle first few meals are enough.

If you would like restaurants chosen for a sensitive stomach, or a guide who can explain your needs to the kitchen, our local guide service and free trip planning service can help.