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Food delivery was one of the best things about our trips to China. We ordered to the hotel at the InterContinental Pudong, at the voco in Shanghai and in Hangzhou, and at the voco a little robot brought it up to our room.
I used Meituan, inside WeChat. I did not install a separate app. WeChat translates the whole thing into English, it fills in the hotel address for you, and you can leave the rider a note. This guide is exactly how I did it, with my own screenshots, plus what the sources say if you do not have a Chinese phone number like I did.
Quick answers
Can foreigners use Meituan in China?
Yes. I used the Meituan mini program inside WeChat with a Chinese phone number, and turned on WeChat's translation to read it in English. Without a Chinese number, Travel to China says the Meituan mini program inside Alipay works on your Alipay account.
Do I need a Chinese phone number for food delivery in China?
Not always. I had one, so it was easy. Hidden China Travel says Taobao Instant (formerly Ele.me) works as a mini program in Alipay with no separate sign-up, and Travel to China says the same for Meituan in Alipay. The standalone apps usually want a Chinese number.
Can I get food delivered to my hotel room in China?
Often, yes. At the voco in Shanghai a robot brought our food to the room. Other hotels had a delivery spot downstairs. Write a note: leave it at reception, or bring it to the room with the room number.
How much is food delivery in China?
On our biggest order, ten dishes came to ¥225.80 and the delivery and packing fee was ¥3. Hidden China Travel says fees are usually ¥3 to ¥6 and often waived on bigger orders.
How do I talk to the delivery rider if I do not speak Chinese?
Write in the note that they should send a message, not call. Messages translate automatically. My China Guide also recommends the in-app chat with its translate button over phone calls.
How we ordered, step by step
- 1
Open Meituan inside WeChat
You do not need to download anything new. In WeChat, tap search, type meituan and open the mini program called 美团外卖 (Meituan Waimai, the food delivery one, with the yellow kangaroo). I had a Chinese phone number on this trip, so Meituan let me in without any trouble.
Search meituan in WeChat and open 美团外卖, the food delivery one From my own phone, April 2026.
- 2
Turn on translation
This is what made it easy for us. Tap the ··· button at the top right of the mini program and tap Translation. The menus, shop names and buttons switch to English, so you can actually choose what you are ordering. It is not a perfect translation, but with the food photos it is more than enough.
Tap ··· then Translation 
The Meituan home screen after translation From my own phone, April 2026.
- 3
Check the delivery address
When you order, WeChat fills in the address for you from where you are. Check that it really is your hotel, and add your room number. If it says the shop cannot deliver to your location, that shop is too far away, so pick one closer to you.
- 4
Pick your food
Every dish has a photo, a price and how many were sold that month, and each shop shows the delivery time. On our biggest order, ten dishes from a pot sticker place came to ¥225.80, and the delivery and packing fee was ¥3.
A menu in English, with photos and prices From my own phone, April 2026.
- 5
Leave a note for the rider
There is a note box when you order. This is where you tell the rider what to do: leave it at reception, or bring it to the room with your room number if the hotel has a delivery robot. If you do not speak Chinese, write that they should not call you and should send a message instead. Messages translate automatically, phone calls do not. The Chinese for these is in the phrase list below.
- 6
Collect it at the hotel
This depends on the hotel. At the voco in Shanghai a delivery robot brought the food up to our room. Other hotels we stayed at had a delivery spot where riders leave the orders. We ordered delivery at the InterContinental Pudong, the voco and in Hangzhou, and it was easy every time.
The delivery robot at the voco Shanghai Hongqiao Hub, April 2026 From my own phone, April 2026.
- 7
Find your past orders
The Orders tab keeps everything you ordered, so you can order the same thing again. The orders tab shows in Chinese for us, but the photos and prices make it easy to follow.
Our past orders in the Orders tab From my own phone, April 2026.
Notes for the rider, ready to copy
Copy these into the note box. Most of them are my own standard Mandarin, so I mark where each one comes from. Check them in a translator if you are unsure.
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 请放前台 | qǐng fàng qiántái | Please leave it at reception | Mine, standard Mandarin. Travel to China gives 请送到前台, please deliver to reception. |
| 请送到房间 | qǐng sòng dào fángjiān | Please bring it to the room | Mine, standard Mandarin. Add your room number. |
| 房间号 | fángjiān hào | Room number | Mine, standard Mandarin. Write the number after it. |
| 我不会说中文，请不要打电话，发消息 | wǒ bú huì shuō zhōngwén, qǐng bú yào dǎ diànhuà, fā xiāoxi | I do not speak Chinese, please do not call, send a message | Mine, standard Mandarin. |
No Chinese phone number?
I had a Chinese number, so I did not have this problem. Here is what the sources say for when you do not:
- Try the Meituan mini program in WeChat first. Hidden China Travel (updated 5 September 2026) says it may work without a separate Meituan account, depending on your WeChat verification.
- Or use Alipay. Travel to China (updated 3 July 2026) says the Meituan mini program inside Alipay piggybacks on your Alipay account, so no Chinese number is needed.
- The other big delivery app, Ele.me, is now called Taobao Instant (淘宝闪购). Hidden China Travel says it runs as a mini program in Alipay with no separate sign-up, and searching eleme in Alipay takes you there.
- The standalone apps are harder. My China Guide says the standalone Meituan and Ele.me apps ask for a Chinese number for the text message code.
Whichever you use, you pay through WeChat Pay or Alipay, so link your card before you fly. My China travel apps guide shows how, and my SIM story explains why a full Chinese SIM made apps like this easier for me.
If it goes wrong
My China Guide says riders call from a +86 number when they arrive, and some upscale hotels stop riders in the lobby, so you go down to collect. If you cannot order at all, the same sources suggest asking reception to order for you, or walking to a convenience store.
Links for this guide
You need mobile data to order, chat with the rider and pay, so sort your eSIM before you fly. These are my partner links: if you book through one, I earn a small commission and you pay the same price. All of them are on my Travel deals page.
The eSIM I use myself. I used Firsty in Japan and in Saudi Arabia with no problems, and I plan to use it in China too. Before China, check in the app how it handles Google and WhatsApp there.
eSIM data plans for travel, bought and installed in an app. The link opens the Airalo app in the App Store.
Open Airalo
