Before winding eastwards into Beijing’s urban centre, the Yongding River traces a series of U-shaped bends through the hills. The villages of Longjiazhuang and Shuiyuzui lie on opposite banks, linked by a single road bridge. From 29 July to 2 August, extreme rainfall across the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region caused the Yongding…
Is the shift towards warmer and wetter conditions in China’s northwestern region a benefit or a detriment to local agriculture? The instinctive reaction among many is that increased moisture is a positive development for the arid inland northwest—after all, access to water means more crops can be cultivated. Yet the…
In Russian, summer is also known as “dacha season”. Maxim Gorky wrote a short play that was translated into Chinese as *The Summer Visitors*; its original Russian title, *Dachniki*, is more literally rendered as “Dacha Dwellers”—in 1995, the same story was adapted into a film titled *Summer People*. The dacha…
Foodthink Says In 1924, Fei Dasheng, along with teachers and students from the Jiangsu Provincial Women’s Sericulture School, arrived in Kaixiangong Village, Wujiang County, to found the Silk Improvement Society. Nearly a century has passed since then. Later, his younger brother, Fei Xiaotong, wove the society’s experiences into his doctoral…
Foodthink Says In November 2021, Foodthink interviewed Bānóng and Shíbā, two musicians from the band Wayina, during the Harvest Festival in Guangzhou. This formed the inaugural episode of the “Food Talk” podcast. Moreover, during the early days of the “Food Talk” podcast, Bānóng generously composed the opening and closing themes…
“Whenever I travel to a new place, the first thing I do upon arrival is ask the locals where the market is.” In June, much as food writer Han Liangyi describes in *Wandering Through Markets Around the World*, I embarked on a market tour of Barcelona, Spain. Rather than the…
The World Health Organization’s recent assessment suggesting that aspartame may be carcinogenic has sparked widespread debate, prompting a renewed focus on the use of sugar substitutes in processed foods. In this episode of Food Talk, we are joined by Lulu, a PhD candidate in Cardiology at Fuwai Hospital, Peking Union…
In recent days, the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, still reeling from the aftermath of the heaviest rainfall in six decades, has once again been gripped by heatwaves following the start of autumn. This summer has truly been a trial by fire and flood, reminding the public yet again of the formidable power…
Key Takeaways The potential for profit has spawned professional anti-counterfeiting claimants. Following the introduction of punitive damages under the Food Safety Law—which raised compensation from three to ten times the purchase price—the formerly unprofitable food sector saw an influx of such professionals. While this has helped standardise food business operations,…
Key takeaways Food safety issues can arise at any stage of the supply chain. If regulation fails to keep pace in other areas, simply slapping heavy fines on individual street vendors is a superficial fix that addresses the symptoms, not the root cause, and will not solve food safety problems.…
