How to Order Food on Meituan in China: A Step-by-Step Guide for Foreigners (2026)
The short answer
Meituan is China’s largest food delivery platform, and you can order from it even if you cannot read Chinese. The flow is short: install the Meituan app, sign in with a Chinese mobile number, set a delivery address, open the takeout tab, pick a restaurant and dishes, pay with Alipay or WeChat Pay, then track the rider on a live map until the food reaches your door. The whole app is Chinese-only, so the vocabulary list below is the key to tapping the right buttons.
Why the app feels harder than it should be
Three things surprise first-time foreign users more than anything else.
First, the interface is in Chinese. Meituan has not shipped a full English mode for its main ordering flow, so every button you need to tap is labeled in Chinese. Second, sign-up normally expects a Chinese mobile number, which a short-stay tourist may not have. Third, the payment step assumes an Alipay or WeChat Pay account, and whether your foreign card works inside those accounts depends on current policy, which changes over time.
None of these are blockers if you know which screen does what. The steps below map one-to-one onto the real app flow, and the vocabulary table at the end translates the buttons you will actually see.
How to order step by step
1. Install the app
Download Meituan from the App Store or Google Play, or from the official Meituan site if you are outside the app stores. Look for the yellow icon with a delivery-style logo. The app is free; you do not pay anything until you place an order.
2. Sign in with a Chinese mobile number
Open the app and register with a Chinese mobile number, which receives a verification code by SMS. Whether a foreign number is accepted depends on the current app version and region, so check at the signup screen. If you plan to stay in China for a while, a local SIM is the reliable route. If you cannot register at all, ask your hotel or host to place the order for you.
3. Set your delivery address
Before you search for food, add where the food should go. This is the step most foreigners trip on, because you cannot easily type a Chinese address.
- Hotel: search the hotel name in English, or drop the map pin on your building, then add your room number in the remark field.
- Apartment: enter the community name and building number; the map-pin helper can find the gate.
- School or campus: pick the nearest gate or dorm building that the rider can actually reach.
Save the address once and reuse it for every order.
4. Open the takeout tab
The main Meituan home screen includes many services, from hotels to movie tickets. Tap the takeout tab at the top of the screen. From here everything on the page is food delivery.
5. Search and pick a restaurant
Search for a dish, a restaurant name, or just browse the feed. Look at two things before you choose:
- Sales volume: a restaurant with thousands of orders is a safe bet because it delivers constantly.
- Reviews: skim the star rating and recent comments; photos in reviews show what the food actually looks like.
6. Choose size and add to cart
Tap a dish, pick any size or spice-level option, and add it to your cart. Some restaurants charge a packaging fee per item, which is normal and appears in the order summary. Keep an eye on the minimum order for the restaurant, because you cannot check out below it.
7. Review fees and apply coupons
Before paying, review the summary: delivery fee, packaging fee, minimum order, and estimated arrival time. These all vary by restaurant, city, and time of day, so treat them as approximate. If a coupon is offered, apply it before confirming; it usually shaves a little off the total.
8. Submit and pay
Choose delivery rather than pickup, confirm the order, and pay immediately. Alipay and WeChat Pay are the standard options, and whether an international card works through them depends on current support, so check your account settings ahead of time. Some setups top up a balance or use a card-linked account; the app shows whatever your account supports.
9. Track the rider and receive the food
After payment, you see an estimated arrival time and a live map. Watch the rider’s dot move toward you, and stay near your phone because the rider may call in Chinese when arriving. You have three ways to handle that last step without speaking Chinese:
- Answer the call and say your room or gate number in English; riders are used to foreign guests.
- Use the in-app call button and let the hotel front desk handle the handoff.
- Add a remark at order time, for example “leave at the door”, so the rider does not need to call at all.
A realistic hotel scenario
A first-time tourist checks into a hotel in a Chinese city around dinner time. They install Meituan, register with a Chinese SIM number, and set the address by searching the hotel name and adding the room number. They browse the takeout feed, pick a restaurant with high sales volume and good reviews, choose a dish and a spice level, and add it to the cart. After confirming the delivery fee and applying a coupon, they pay with Alipay. Then they watch the rider approach on the live map. When the rider calls, the guest hands the phone to the front desk, the desk gives the room number, and the rider delivers upstairs. Total time from tap to food is usually about half an hour, depending on the restaurant and traffic.
Chinese vocabulary you will see on the screen
The app is Chinese-only, so memorize these labels or keep this list open. The pinyin spellings match the buttons as they usually appear:
| Button label (pinyin) | Meaning |
|---|---|
| waimai | takeout / food delivery tab |
| peisongfei | delivery fee |
| qisongjia | minimum order amount |
| yujisongda | estimated arrival time |
| dabaofei | packaging fee |
| lijizhifu | pay now |
| qishou | delivery rider |
| beizhu | remark / note |
| gouwuche | shopping cart |
| youhuiquan | coupon |
| queren dingdan | confirm order |
Common mistakes to avoid
- Skipping the address first. You cannot order until a delivery address is saved; setting it up front saves a confusing mid-order detour.
- Choosing pickup by accident. Delivery and pickup are different options; make sure delivery is selected before you pay.
- Missing the pay-now step. Some apps let you pay later or at pickup, but for a first order, pay immediately so the restaurant starts cooking.
- Ignoring the minimum order. If your total is below the restaurant’s minimum, you cannot check out; add a small side dish instead of switching restaurants blindly.
- Not using the remark field. A saved remark like “leave at the door” removes the most stressful part of the handoff for non-Chinese speakers.
Summary checklist
- Install Meituan from the App Store, Google Play, or the official site.
- Sign in with a Chinese mobile number and a verification code.
- Add a delivery address: hotel name plus room, or apartment building.
- Open the takeout tab, pick a high-sales restaurant, and check reviews.
- Choose sizes, add to cart, and watch the packaging and delivery fees.
- Apply any coupon, choose delivery, and confirm.
- Pay with Alipay or WeChat Pay; check whether your card is supported first.
- Track the rider on the map and handle the handoff with a saved remark or the front desk.
Payment rules, delivery fees, minimum orders, and foreign-number support all change over time, so treat this as a 2026 baseline and confirm the details inside the app on your first order.
Final words
More reading and next steps
That is the main thread of the article. Keep the links below handy, and use the related posts to continue exploring the same topic from a different angle.
References and links
- Meituan official website Official Meituan site for downloading the app and checking current service, fees, and payment policy.
- Alipay Global Alipay's official international page with account and payment support information.
- WeChat Pay official site WeChat Pay's official help center covering account setup and supported payment methods.
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