Halal Food in Shanghai 2026: A Guide to Qingzhen Dining

If you only remember one thing from this guide, make it this word: 清真 (qingzhen). It is the Chinese word for halal food, and once you can spot those two characters on a shopfront, Shanghai becomes much easier for Muslim travelers. China has millions of Muslims, and their restaurants, from Lanzhou beef noodle shops to Xinjiang grills and Ningxia lamb specialists, can be found across Shanghai, including near People's Square and Nanjing East Road.

One honest note before we start. Shanghai has its own rule for qingzhen food: under the Shanghai Regulations on Qingzhen Food (上海市清真食品管理条例), a business that makes or sells qingzhen food must first obtain a qingzhen sign (清真标志牌) from the city or district ethnic and religious affairs office and hang it where customers can see it. This is a government permit, not a JAKIM-style halal audit, and we have not seen the permits of the restaurants below. Ask the staff about ingredients and alcohol when you arrive.

The short answer

Base yourself around People's Square / Nanjing East Road and three of the four restaurants below are close by. For prayer, Xiaotaoyuan Mosque is in the old town near Laoximen station, and Huxi Mosque is near the fourth restaurant in Putuo District. Order lamb: it is at the heart of Chinese Muslim cooking.

Where to eat: People's Square & Nanjing East Road

Hongchangxing (洪长兴) is a long-established qingzhen restaurant. According to the Huangpu District government's news account, it reopened on 23 September 2026 on the 10th floor of the Baodaxiang building (宝大祥商厦) on Guangxi North Road, in the People's Square area. Shanghai Observer reported that the new site serves qingzhen dishes and has added a dedicated qingzhen noodle counter. We could not confirm its opening hours or whether it serves alcohol, so ask on arrival.

Guanguanji (贯贯吉清真餐厅), at 70 Middle Zhejiang Road in Huangpu District, has qingzhen (清真) in its name and serves Chinese Muslim home-style cooking. In December 2025 it ranked 26th on Amap's Shanghai Top 30 must-eat list, as reported by the Huangpu District media center. Dashijie station (Line 8) is about 500 m away. Opening hours differ between listings, so check before you go.

Yongfeng Noodle House (永丰面馆), at 320 Hankou Road near Nanjing East Road, is described by the MICHELIN Guide as a long-established, family-run halal noodle shop that opened in 1962. Its best-known dish is braised lamb noodles made with Ningxia lamb.

Worth the detour

Ningxia Yinxiang (清真·宁夏印象), Room 102, 1F, 1580 Jiangning Road in Putuo District, specializes in Yanchi tan lamb from Ningxia, home of many of China's Hui Muslims. Its full name starts with 清真 (qingzhen), and according to the Putuo District government it appears on Dianping's 2026 Must-Eat list. Jiangning Road station (Line 13) is about 700 m away, and Huxi Mosque is nearby.

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Mosques you can visit

Xiaotaoyuan Mosque (小桃园清真寺), 52 Xiaotaoyuan Street in Huangpu District, is in the old town about 600 m from Laoximen station (Lines 8 and 10). It was founded in 1917 and rebuilt in 1925, and a separate women's mosque stands next door, according to the Shanghai government's visitor guide to the city's mosques.

Pudong Mosque (浦东清真寺), 375 Yuanshen Road, is about 350 m from Yuanshen Sports Centre station (Line 6) and has a women's prayer room. It is the convenient choice if you are staying on the Lujiazui side.

Huxi Mosque (沪西清真寺), No. 3, Lane 1328 Changde Road in Putuo District, has a prayer hall for men on the ground floor and for women upstairs. Jiangning Road station (Line 13) is about 950 m away.

The same government guide says non-Muslim visitors are generally not allowed inside prayer halls. Dress modestly, take off your shoes where asked, keep quiet and follow the separate areas for men and women. We could not find official Friday prayer times, so ask the mosque before you go.

Practical tips

• Look for 清真. Screenshot the characters and look for them on signs and menus. In Shanghai, a business selling qingzhen food needs a permit for its qingzhen sign, but it is still worth asking about alcohol and ingredients.
• Apps that work: Chinese map apps (Amap/Gaode) work without a VPN and understand "清真" as a search term. Google services are unreliable in mainland China, so download offline maps or a Chinese map app before you fly.
• For Malaysian travelers: a mutual visa exemption agreement between China and Malaysia came into force on 17 July 2025. Rules and lengths of stay can change, so check the Chinese embassy's current rules before you fly.

What we could and could not verify

How we checked (October 2026): for each restaurant we looked for a dated source from the past 12 months, such as a district government notice or the MICHELIN Guide, and we checked addresses against map data. We removed three restaurants from an earlier version of this guide (Madina, Yershari and Efes) because we could not find a recent source confirming that they are qingzhen or halal. Our station distances are straight-line estimates from map data. We could not open the Dianping listings, and we have not seen any restaurant's qingzhen permit. Confirm anything that matters to you when you arrive, and tell us if something is outdated. We correct within 7 days.

About this article

Written and halal-verified by Zeshan Hayat, CMO & Head Halal Auditor, Halal Navi.

Update policy: If you spot outdated information, we will review and correct it within 7 days.

Disclosure: Halal Navi receives no payment from any restaurant or hotel in exchange for inclusion, and all recommendations reflect independent editorial judgment based on Muslim-friendly criteria. Some articles contain affiliate booking links (e.g. Trip.com); if you book through one, Halal Navi may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Last verified: 2026-10-15