Ordering food in a restaurant, selecting which products are vegan-friendly in the supermarket and trying to explain to people why you choose a plant-based diet can be some of the most difficult challenges facing you as a vegan in China.

Here, we have put together a brief 'survival guide' to help you.

You may get some weird looks when you shoot off some of these phrases, but people will generally be understanding and willing to help you out.

Be prepared to send some dishes back a few times and explain that chicken and fish are not in fact vegan! If you have some more phrases to add to the list then please get in touch.

Vegan Phrasebook

I don’t eat… 我不吃…      Wǒ bù chī    

I’m a vegetarian 我吃素  Wǒ chīsù   

I’m a vegan 我是纯素食者   Wǒ shì chún sùshí zhě 

I don’t eat meat 我不吃肉   Wǒ bù chī ròu  

I don’t eat fish, shrimp, shellfish or any other seafood.  我不吃鱼，虾，蚌等其它动物性水产品 Wǒ bù chī yú, xiā, bàng děng qítā dòngwù xìng shuǐ chǎnpǐn

I don’t eat chicken, duck, goose or any other poultry 我不吃鸡，鸭，鹅等家禽  Wǒ bù chī jī, yā, é děng jiāqín

I don’t eat eggs 我不吃鸡蛋 Wǒ bù chī jīdàn

I don’t drink milk, eat butter, cheese or any other dairy products 我不吃牛奶，黄油，奶酪和其它奶制品 Wǒ bù chī niúnǎi, huángyóu, nǎilào hé qítā nǎi zhìpǐn

I love animals so I don’t eat them 我爱动物，所以我不吃它们 Wǒ ài dòngwù, suǒyǐ wǒ bù chī tāmen

I dont want any meat, fish or seafood in any of the food I ordered 所有的我点的菜一点的肉，鱼，海鲜，都不放 Suǒyǒu de wǒ diǎn de cài yīdiǎn de ròu, yú, hǎixiān, dōu bù fàng

Gelatine  明胶 míngjiāo

Milk powder 奶粉 nǎifěn 

Honey 蜜 mì

Casein 酪蛋白 lào dànbái

Rennet 凝乳酶 níngrǔméi 

Whey 乳清 rǔqīng