China's night-market culture is gloriously loud: after 6 pm, pedestrian streets and old quarters sprout rows of food stalls, aromas and smoke rising together.
Must-try list: skewers (lamb, eggplant), malatang or chuanchuan (choose-your-own hot pot), jianbing guozi (the king of northern breakfasts), tanghulu (candied hawthorn) and stinky tofu (smells awful, tastes amazing).
How to order: most stalls display prices; point at what you want and say how many. Pay-before or after varies by stall; QR payment is the smoothest.
Hygiene and prices: follow the longest lines — locals vote with their feet. A snack runs ¥5-30. Mind the spice: say "wēilà" (mild) or "bú là" (no chili) up front.
The culture: night markets are about more than eating — they're the evening pulse of friendship, family strolls and city life. Summer is the season; many northern markets close in winter.
