The 15 Best Workshops & Classes in China

Half-Day Chengdu Cooking Class with a Local Market Visit - Tea, snacks, and a pause before the wok

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 465 reviews · from $90Our pick

Walk through Liangjiaxiang market with Lance or Jerry, learn about Sichuan spices, taste local ingredients, and cook several dishes with a chef at Chilli Cool’s Kitchen. Tea, drinks, recipes, ingredients, and your meal are included.

“The host Lance was very friendly and welcoming, explaining about the ingredients used in Sichuan cuisine. So interesting! Mrs. Li was also very welcoming and experienced. I had a superb experience learning about the techniques oRead more”

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Beijing Tours, Tour Reviews, Workshops

Beijing Calligraphy Class

2.Beijing Calligraphy Class

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 112 reviews · 30 minutes - 1 hour · from $20Best value

Meet an English-speaking teacher at the Sun World Dynasty Hotel in Wangfujing for a 30-minute or one-hour Chinese calligraphy lesson. Learn brush control, character meanings, and traditional styles, then create your own piece on rice paper. Richard and David are praised for their patient, personal teaching.

“We both enjoyed the workshops, very kind atmosphere and teacher is caring about the details. Highly recommend!:)”

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Beijing Tours, Tour Reviews, Workshops

Chinese Calligraphy Class for Small Group

3.Chinese Calligraphy Class for Small Group

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 104 reviews · from $20

Meet an art teacher at the Hilton Beijing Wangfujing and learn brush handling, posture, basic strokes, and the meaning behind Chinese calligraphy. Choose a 30-minute to 2-hour session. Richard and other listed teachers offer patient guidance, practice materials, tea, and a finished piece to take home.

“Our teacher Richard took great care of us with our calligraphy lesson. We were late as our bus back from the Great Wall was late, and even though we missed 40 mins, Richard stayed late and started our 1.5hr lesson when we arrived. Be mindful that the location on Viator is not the exact location. It takes you to the road, but pay attention to the building numbers. It is in the arts centre and shares an entrance with mixed martial arts club. There are restaurants either side. Would have been useful for us to know. We did get a message to help us though and Richard came out to…”

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Hong Kong Tours, Markets, Shopping Tours, Tour Reviews, Walking Tours, Workshops

Organic Chinese Dumpling Class with Market Walk

4.Organic Chinese Dumpling Class with Market Walk

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 88 reviews · from $100

Meet host Feliz at Jordan MTR Station for a guided wet-market walk, then prepare 10 dumplings in a café kitchen. You’ll learn filling, wrappers, folding, and cooking techniques, with organic pork, vegetarian, and vegan options available by request.

“It was a great experience to learn how to make dumplings from scratch. The wet market walk was interesting. Feliz did not text me the right recipe for the dumplings.”

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Beijing Tours, Tour Reviews, Workshops

Beijing: Dumpling Making Workshop with Meal and Tea

5.Dumpling Making Workshop with Meal and Tea

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 69 reviews · 3 hours · from $35

Meet your English-speaking guide at 16:30, then learn to roll wrappers, fill and fold dumplings in Beijing. Hosts including Eric, Jenny, Janine, Julie, Rachel, and Leo have guided past sessions. Eat boiled or pan-fried dumplings with local dishes, tea, beer, and other drinks.

“The food was really good and we had more than just dumplings we prepared. We had Kung pow chicken, egg, tomato, cabbage, a breaded chicken nugget. Beers, water, juice, and more. Our group was fun and we enjoyed everyone’s company. I do wish we could have made the dumpling dough. We were taught how to roll the dough properly, hold it in your hand as you fill it and pinch it in multiple different ways. This was a lot of fun.”

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Beijing Tours, Cooking Classes, Tour Reviews, Workshops

Online Cooking Class Beijing Dumplings and Cuisine by Sunflowerli Renowned Chef

6.Online Cooking Class Beijing Dumplings and Cuisine by Sunflowerli Renowned Chef

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 65 reviews · from $20

Join Chef Miss Sunflower Li live from Beijing for a private Zoom cooking class tailored to your group, skill level and diet. Choose dumplings, hand-pulled noodles, dim sum, mapo tofu, kung pao chicken or vegan dishes. You shop for ingredients after receiving the list three days ahead.

“It has been a fantastic experience to cook with Sunflower. She had sent the ingredient list the a few days before with some comments about substitution for in the case I wouldn't have found all the ingredients I needed for the three meals Read more”

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Hong Kong Tours, Markets, Shopping Tours, Tour Reviews, Walking Tours, Workshops

Organic Xiao Long Bao Soup Dumpling Class & Market Walk

7.Organic Xiao Long Bao Soup Dumpling Class & Market Walk

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 62 reviews · from $136

Meet host Feliz Yau at Jordan MTR Station for a short market walk, shop for ingredients, then learn to make Xiao Long Bao from scratch in a café kitchen. You will prepare dough and filling, pleat 10 soup dumplings, and eat your own work. Vegetarian options are available by request.

“Felicity gave very good instructions of where to meet her and then took the small group on a walk through the market to buy the ingredients for our dumplings. Then we went to a restaurant and she gave us hands on instructions on how to make the soup dumplings. It was a fantastic and yummy experience.”

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Beijing Tours, City Tours, Forbidden City Tours, Tour Reviews, Workshops

Beijing Wangfujing Calligraphy Class by Forbidden City

8.Beijing Wangfujing Calligraphy Class by Forbidden City

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 58 reviews · from $20

Meet at Hilton Beijing Wangfujing for a hands-on Chinese calligraphy class with an English-speaking teacher, often Richard. Learn about brushes, ink, rice paper, seal carving, and the meaning of characters such as 福, with class lengths from 30 minutes to two hours.

“The class was good, he showed me how to write and learn how to do calligraphy in mandarin. Good experience!”

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Food & Drink, Hong Kong Tours, Tour Reviews, Workshops

Tea Tasting and Pairing Concept Workshop

9.Tea Tasting and Pairing Concept Workshop

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 57 reviews · from $65

Meet tea master Vivian at MingCha Tea House in Chai Wan for a 90-minute, hands-on tasting. You’ll sample green, scented green, red, and oolong teas, practice gongfu brewing, and pair the cups with dried nuts, chocolate, and flower honey toast.

“We explored the area and discovered this tea house. The experience was extremely positive and rewarding. We were able to deepen our knowledge of tea. We are very grateful for this experience and heartily recommend it to others. Vivian is truly an expert in what she does and how she conveys information to guests💚”

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Beijing Tours, City Tours, Forbidden City Tours, Tour Reviews, Workshops

Beijing Wangfujing Calligraphy Class Nearby Forbidden City

10.Beijing Wangfujing Calligraphy Class Nearby Forbidden City

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 56 reviews · 45 minutes - 2 hours · from $35

Meet your English-speaking calligraphy teacher at Sun World Dynasty Hotel near Wangfujing. Learn brush handling, posture, basic strokes, and cultural meaning, then create characters on a keepsake canvas. Choose 45 minutes to 2 hours, with tea and supplies provided.

“Great to learn calligraphy from Richard, it was baby steps until the final boss - drawing on the canvas. Happy to see this kind of activity is preserved and introduced to us that are not that familiar with it.”

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Beijing Tours, Tour Reviews, Workshops

Chinese Kungfu class in old temple beside Forbidden Ci

11.Chinese Kungfu class in old temple beside Forbidden Ci

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 53 reviews · 3 days · from $45

Meet Limeng and an experienced kung fu master in Pudusi, a former royal temple in Beijing’s hutongs beside the Forbidden City. In about one hour, you’ll learn basic Shaolin movements, traditional forms, and practical self-defense. A tea ceremony may also be available, and kung fu uniforms can be purchased.

“Was lucky enough to have a one to one class. Enjoyed every second and would definitely do again. Highly recommended. Do not miss this.”

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Cooking Classes, Lijiang Tours, Markets, Shopping Tours, Tour Reviews, Workshops

Lijiang Naxi Cuisine Cooking Class & Market Visit

12.Lijiang Naxi Cuisine Cooking Class & Market Visit

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 48 reviews · from $59

Meet Fancy at 9:15 am near Xiangshan Market, browse Lijiang’s largest Naxi market, then cook three dishes at a family-run studio. This roughly 3.5-hour experience includes food, drinks, tea, lunch, snacks, an individual station, and English guidance in a group of fewer than 10.

“1 million miles travelling the world to all sorts of places and i can tell you tourists and fellow viators this is worth every penny. Fancy is an amazing woman with an amazing bakery. She is doing this out of passion and it is one of the highlightRead more”

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Beijing Tours, Tour Reviews, Workshops

Noon Calligraphy Class

13.Noon Calligraphy Class

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 47 reviews · from $20

At Hutong Calligraphy Class in Wangfujing, an art teacher guides you through brush control, ink, rice paper, seal carvings, and Chinese characters. Choose a 30-minute, 1-hour, or 1.5-hour session. Richard and Li are named as instructors in class feedback, and supplies are provided.

“Great experience, highly recommended!!! Richard is an amazing teacher and kind person, you’ll learn a lot from him!!!”

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Chengdu Tours, Cooking Classes, Markets, Shopping Tours, Tour Reviews, Workshops

Chengdu: Cooking Class with Fresh Market Half Day Experience

14.Cooking Class with Fresh Market Half Day Experience

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 42 reviews · 4.5 hours · from $82

Meet Lance, Jerry, or another English-speaking guide at Liang Jia Xiang Station for a market walk and hands-on Sichuan cooking class. You will learn about local spices, cook several dishes with a professional chef, then eat with beer or soft drinks. Vegetarian and vegan menus can be arranged in advance.

“We loved every minute of the tour. The walk in the market was our favorite part, we were able to see and smell the ingredients and spices used in Sichuan. I asked a millon questions and our guide, Lance, was knowledgeable and so kind to answer everything. The restaurant where the cooking part happens is nice and works very well for the class. We also had fun cooking and eating. We would recommend this to anyone.”

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Beijing Tours, Cruises & Boat Tours, Dining Experiences, Dinner Experiences, Tour Reviews, VIP, Workshops

Din Tai Fung Dinner and VIP Class River Cruise Experience in Shanghai

15.Din Tai Fung Dinner and VIP Class River Cruise Experience in Shanghai

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 31 reviews · from $173

Spend an evening with a private guide and driver, visit the Bund, cruise the Huangpu River for 60 minutes in VIP Class, and finish with a Din Tai Fung dumpling dinner. Guides such as Sunny and Mason are noted for friendly, attentive service.

“The overall experience was excellent. The guide (Mason) was polite, friendly and takes care of us during the whole tour. Would highly recommend him as the guide to my family and friends if they are to visit Shanghai.”

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