Chinese dietary card: allergies, halal, vegetarian and more
Tick everything you cannot eat. We turn it into one card in Chinese that names the hidden ingredients too: lard, meat stock, chicken powder, oyster sauce, cooking wine. Show it before you order, and let the staff tap their answer.
Your card
Tick at least one box above and your card appears here.
Before you rely on it
- The card is a communication aid, not a guarantee. Small kitchens share woks, oil and stock, so cross-contact is always possible.
- Restaurants in China are not required to tell you which allergens a dish contains, so the answer depends on the person you ask. Pointing at the card works better than reading it aloud.
- If you carry emergency medicine, keep it with you at the table. The ambulance number in mainland China is 120.
Read more
- Eating in Shanghai when you can't read the menu: QR ordering, 'not spicy' and dietary cards in Chinese
- Halal, kosher, Hindu, Jain and Buddhist food in Shanghai: a practical guide
- Vegetarian and vegan in Shanghai: what to order and what to ask
- Food allergies in Shanghai: hidden allergens, labels, medicine and a card in Chinese
- What to eat in Shanghai: 25 local dishes and what's in them
Sources
- 1.Shanghai Regulations on the Administration of Halal Food (adopted 2000, amended 2015; legal database copy) (上海市清真食品管理条例（2000年通过，2015年修正）), 上海市人民代表大会常务委员会, 法大大法律库 (reprint), 2015website
- 2.China releases GB 7718-2025 general standard for the labeling of prepackaged foods (China releases GB 7718-2025 general standard for the labeling of prepackaged foods), ChemLinked, 2025article
- 3.What to do in an emergency (emergency numbers) (What to do in an emergency), Shanghai Municipal People's Government (english.shanghai.gov.cn), 2024website
- 4.Wuhun, the five pungent vegetables (dictionary entry) (五葷), 漢典 (zdic.net)website