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Zoey Zhang

Today, we can order food from apps and enjoy it at home, thanks to smartphones and e-payments.
But long before modern vehicles and technology, ancient China had already developed a rough version of food delivery services.
Historical records say that during the Han dynasty (206BC-220), an emperor once asked his officials about the living conditions of ordinary people.

To conceal the fact that famine had struck the city, one official deliberately bought a bowl of meat soup from a market, presented it to the emperor and claimed it was what commoners ate every day.
Historians believe the episode suggests that takeaway food from restaurants already existed in the Han period.
At the time, elites in major cities were said to buy takeaway food as gifts to show respect and build social ties.
By the Tang dynasty (618-907), food delivery services had expanded to ordinary urban residents.

Their takeaways tended to be food that was easy to store and carry, such as various flatbreads and dried meats.
This earlier food delivery culture took shape most clearly during the Song dynasty (960-1279).
By then, curfews had been lifted, and night markets and the restaurant economy flourished in cities.
Historical records suggest Song emperors ordered food from outside to signal frugality and project closeness to ordinary people. They often sent eunuchs to the market to buy whatever they craved, sometimes offering tips.
Chinese painter of the Song dynasty Zhang Zeduan’s famous painting Along the River During the Ching Ming Festival Festival depicts a man who has just left a shop.

He is shown hurrying along, wearing an apron, with two food boxes in his left hand and eating utensils in his right.
The painting, now housed at The Palace Museum in Beijing, is widely seen as one of the earliest visual portrayals of a food delivery man in China.
In the Song dynasty, delivery riders were known as xian han, literally meaning “idle men”.
They often lingered outside restaurants, helping customers shop and delivering food and other items.
They got around on foot, by boat or in a sedan chair. Today’s counterpart is more likely to ride an electric bicycle.
Emperor Huizong of Song even set up a dedicated royal delivery rider post within the palace.

Ancient food delivery could be ordered in three main ways.
The first was to send a servant to a restaurant to place an order, after which an idle man would deliver the dishes to the home.
The second was a long-term arrangement with a restaurant, which would deliver meals to the customer’s home on agreed dates.
The third was door-to-door selling.
After the Song dynasty, entertainment venues such as gambling houses and theatres became more common and drew dense crowds, so restaurants would dispatch vendors to peddle food from door-to-door.
To preserve heat and presentation, the Song dynasty also produced its own takeaway “tech”: the wen pan, or warming plate.
Crafted from two layers of porcelain with a hollow core, it could be filled with hot water so dishes stayed warm on the move.
Instead of today’s thin plastic and paper boxes, historical takeaway containers were often sturdier and more refined, made from wood or bamboo and sometimes finished in enamel or lacquer.
The food delivery habit did not fade with the dynasties. Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) rulers were also known to order food from outside restaurants.
One historical record says the Xuande Emperor, travelling incognito to experience farm work, bought takeaway on his return and shared it with his entourage.
The encounter sharpened his sense of farmers’ hardship and nudged him towards tax relief.

Even China’s last emperor, Puyi, reportedly kept a telephone reserved for ordering food delivery.
In the modern era, food delivery in China was rebuilt around platforms and algorithms.
By 2025, the market had topped 1.8 trillion yuan (US$262 billion), with more than 10 million riders on the road.
The sheer scale has made food delivery one of the country’s most prominent city industries and one of its most contested.
As discounts fuel relentless competition, public attention has also sharpened on patchy food hygiene and the human cost of speed, from punishing hours to alleged minimum-wage breaches.


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Ancient China had food delivery services; during Song dynasty, emperors ordered meals via eunuchs

Ancient China had its own food delivery system long before today’s incarnation. Emperors ordered meals through eunuchs to connect with the people. Photo: SCMP composite/RedNote/Zhihu

This painting depicts how some food deliveries in ancient China were carried by boat. Photo: RedNote

In other cases the food was delivered to the emperor’s palace by sedan chair, as shown in the painting above. Photo: RedNote

This painting depicts the ancient predecessor of today’s delivery rider, right bottom, a so-called idle man carrying takeaway food. Photo: RedNote

This painting shows an emperor, left, waiting for his delivery to arrive by boat. Photo: RedNote

One of the 10 million delivery riders who ply their trade on the streets of China today. Photo: AFP

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People & Culture

Lingering ‘idle men’ who hung about outside restaurants preceded today’s delivery drivers; others had their food sent using sedan chairs


Lingering ‘idle men’ who hung about outside restaurants preceded today’s delivery drivers; others had their food sent using sedan chairs.


Food delivery apps

Ancient China had food delivery services; during Song dynasty, emperors ordered meals via eunuchs

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Lingering ‘idle men’ who hung about outside restaurants preceded today’s delivery drivers; others had their food sent using sedan chairs

Lingering ‘idle men’ who hung about outside restaurants preceded today’s delivery drivers; others had their food sent using sedan chairs