Every year, thousands of wholesale buyers travel to China for the Canton Fair and factory visits across major manufacturing cities. While exploring China’s vibrant food streets is a must-do, there’s a faster, more local way to eat — food delivery apps.
Platforms like Meituan and Ele.me allow you to order meals straight to your hotel, often at lower prices than dining out. This quick guide helps international buyers adapt to daily life in China by mastering online food ordering — saving you time, money, and energy during your sourcing trip.
Step 1: Download the Food Delivery Apps
The most popular food delivery apps in China are Meituan (美团) and Ele.me (饿了么), trusted by millions for fast, reliable service and a wide range of food options. Recently, JD (京东) has also been making headlines with generous promotions — such as ¥20 off when you spend ¥25, and even viral stories of the company’s founder delivering meals in person.
To get started, simply open your smartphone’s app store (Apple App Store or Google Play) and search for:
"Meituan" (yellow icon with 美团)
"Ele.me" (blue icon with 饿了么)
"JD" or "京东" (red icon under the JD brand)
Download the app(s) of your choice and get ready to explore food delivery in China like a local.
Step 2: Set Up Your Account
No matter which app you download, you need to set up your account. To order, you’ll need a local phone number and a payment method. If you’re traveling for the Canton Fair or visiting suppliers, consider getting a Chinese SIM card at the airport or from local carriers like China Mobile. For payments, apps like Alipay or WeChat Pay are essential — and both can now be linked to foreign credit cards.
If you have any questions about working or living in Guangzhou, you can visit the Buyers’ Club, which belongs to Guangzhou LIUHUA Fashion Wholesale Market, is a dedicated Foreign Service Center for international wholesale buyers. Whether you need assistance with:
Getting a Chinese SIM card
Setting up mobile payments
Booking hotels or arranging local transport
Registering for trade fairs
Or simply figuring out how to get around
and so on.
Address: No. 24-26, Zhan Nan Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
Tip: Canton Fair buyers can also receive free souvenirs at Guangzhou Liuhua Clothing Wholesale Market!
Step 3: Order Food Online
3.1 Order Foods on JD（京东） or Ele.me（饿了么
The methods of ordering takeout on Ele.me（饿了么） and JD（京东） are similar. Let’s take JD（京东） as an example to explain to you how to order takeout.
1. Download and login the JD（京东）, click the “Second Delivery（秒送）”, which is the JD Food Delivery entrance. Then select your location，you can see the restaurants around you. Like my screenshot picture, I choose “广州流花服装批发市场”(Guangzhou LIUHUA Fashion Wholesale Market), then I can find the nearest Starbucks.
2. Select the restaurant you want to order from, and you can see the restaurant's online takeaway menu and prices.
3. Select the food and quantity you want to order, and you will see the corresponding discount. Use JD（京东）Food Delivery, you can get the coupons on the first page or on the restaurant page where you ordered.
4. Fill in your receiving information, pay the fee, and then you can wait for your food to be delivered. You can see the delivery time, cost detail and discount on the order page.
3.2 Use Meituan to book local services
The method of ordering Food Delivery on Meituan is similar to that of JD, but there are also many local life services that can be booked on Meituan.
You can order takeout, book hotels, see doctors and buy medicine online, etc.If you want to dine out, you can find nearby restaurants through “Food（”美食）. There are also many restaurant coupons or packages you can buy on Meituan.
You can also buy scenic spot tickets, movie tickets, make appointments for Gym, etc. In the Cheap Food （拼好饭）, you can also order Food Delivery at super low prices.
If you are Canton Fair buyers, you can also go to the Guangzhou LIUHUA Fashion Wholesale Market to find more than 2000+ china sourcing suppliers. LIUHUA Market has nearly 30yrs forcing on wholesale clothing globally,and has exported to more than 200 countries and regions in Europe, America, the Middle East, Africa, etc.
In addition, there are many delicious foods worth visiting around Guangzhou LIUHUA Fashion Wholesale Market., like KFC, MIYATA, Starbucks and so on.
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