Food · Ranking
What are the most popular Chinese snacks?
The snacks people in China actually buy — what each tastes like, where it comes from, and where to find it.
No. 1 · Latiao
Spicy gluten strips called latiao are the snack most associated with China online, alongside sunflower seeds, White Rabbit milk candy, spicy duck neck and dried fruit. Most are cheap, sold in convenience stores and supermarkets, and increasingly in bulk-snack chains. This ranking is illustrative while our sales data is collected.
| Most iconic | Latiao 辣条 |
|---|---|
| Best souvenir | White Rabbit candy 大白兔 |
| Where to buy | Convenience stores, bulk-snack chains |
| Typical price | ¥3–¥30 (illustrative) |
The ranking
Prices are what you pay in China. Online prices abroad will be higher.
- 1
Shana Wu / Unsplash Latiao spicy strips 辣条
Sweet, spicy, oily wheat-gluten strips.
— - 2
jason hu / Unsplash Sunflower seeds 瓜子
Cracked by hand at every gathering.
— - 3
Haydn / Unsplash White Rabbit candy 大白兔奶糖
Milk candy with an edible rice-paper wrapper.
— - 4
Spicy duck neck 鸭脖
Braised, numbing, sold by weight.
Buy in China only - 5
MChe Lee / Unsplash Tanghulu 糖葫芦
Candied hawthorn on a stick; winter street snack.
Street stalls only - 6
Seaweed snacks 海苔
Popular with children and office snackers.
—
Order and prices are illustrative until our data pipeline is live. “↗” links are affiliate links; they never change the order.
How this list is made
There is no official national ranking. We combine three signals, normalise each, and weight them.
Baidu, GoogleSocial 35%
Xiaohongshu, DouyinSales 25%
Tmall, JD
Before you pack it home
Sealed, shelf-stable items travel best. Many countries restrict meat products. Check your home country’s customs rules.
Where do people in China buy snacks?
Convenience stores such as FamilyMart and Lawson, supermarket aisles, and fast-growing bulk-snack chains that sell by weight. Online, snacks are bought on Taobao, JD and Pinduoduo.
Which Chinese snacks travel well as gifts?
Sealed, shelf-stable items: White Rabbit candy, mooncakes in season, dried fruit and vacuum-packed duck neck. Check your home country’s customs rules for meat products.
Questions readers ask
Are latiao safe to eat?
Buy sealed, branded packs from mainstream stores. They are high in oil, salt and sugar, like many snacks.
Can I buy Chinese snacks abroad?
Asian supermarkets and online grocers stock most packaged snacks listed here.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Latiao · accessed 19 Oct 2026
- Wikipedia, White Rabbit (candy) · accessed 19 Oct 2026
Update log. 19 October 2026 — reviewed. Next review due 17 January 2027. Suggest a correction
Newsletter · Free · Every Thursday
The China Brief
This list changes as tastes do. Get the new order in your inbox.