The Buddhist influence and relative scarcity of meat until the 70s does mean that if you did want to go vegetarian or vegan in China though that it's really easy, so many dishes were created with the lack of meat in mind. Especially if you're like me and can't stand imitation meat. I would much rather just have tofu or beans or mushrooms in their normal forms. Also, try gluten, it's really good and is imo better than meat substitutes.
Yeah China eats a lot of meat, especially pork. I can see vegetarianism being more popular in China than the USA, but not veganism.
The Buddhist influence and relative scarcity of meat until the 70s does mean that if you did want to go vegetarian or vegan in China though that it's really easy, so many dishes were created with the lack of meat in mind. Especially if you're like me and can't stand imitation meat. I would much rather just have tofu or beans or mushrooms in their normal forms. Also, try gluten, it's really good and is imo better than meat substitutes.