Xi'an: Dumpling Making, Tea & Belt Noodle Pulling Experience

What a treat! So much better than we had hoped. Our guide, SunPing, picked us up and promptly at our hostel and drove us to the wonderful market to purchase all of the freshest foods. She was very accommodating to our wishes in the food choices.. We visited a local supermarket to see the contrasts. We then went to the home of the local family where we met our hostess who had done some of the preparation already. The lesson in making dumplings began. Sun ping is wonderful! She is a very good teacher full of energy and encouragement. Her English is excellent and she is a natural teacher. Not only did we get a lesson in food preparation we also got a great lesson in Chinese culture and history and customs around food. The meal was so good and full of variety. I can not recommend it highly enough.

My son and I enjoyed a fabulous cooking class, with our amazing guide, Sunday, and a local mother-daughter pair. We started with a shopping trip to the local markets, then made three dishes, plus a huge pile of dumplings! We loved the chance to visit in a local home, and of course, the food was phenomenal. It felt like a visit with friends, not a "tour." This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip!

When we returned from China (Beijing and Xi'an) and our friends asked us what the highlight of our trip was, we told them the four-to-five hours we spent with the local family learning to make dumplings, cooking a few traditional dishes, sharing a (large) meal, and discussing life in China. This was by far the most interesting and memorable portion of our nine days in China and we highly recommend you ask for Cindy to take you on this tour and introduce you to one of the local families she knows in Xi'an. Cindy made both our family and the host family feel at ease and in no time we were sharing food, drinks, and conversation as if we were old friends. Not only did we get a hands-on lesson from the family in making traditional Chinese dumplings but we were able to talk to them -- via Cindy and the family's daughter who spoke English -- about their life in China. We could have stayed at their apartment all evening but eventually left with full stomachs and happy hearts. The portion of the tour prior to our time with the family was spent at a local market where Cindy provided great insight into the local culinary tradition and what each of the products in the market were used for. In all, it was an exceptional tour, for both the wonderful food and the great insights into local Chinese culture. Ensure you ask for Cindy to take you on this tour.