In China, if you want to truly get to know a place, there is nothing quite like sitting down to a local communal banquet. It matters little whether you are a local or from far away, a near or distant relation, a familiar face or a complete stranger. The…
Foodthink Says On 23 May, the documentary *Whose Pasture, Whose Table* was screened in Urumqi. Following the screening, audience members from local Xinjiang organisations, universities, animal husbandry experts, and various sectors of society shared insights and discussed the conditions of Xinjiang’s pastoral regions, drawing on the film’s content. The…
Foodthink says Globally, there are 75.6 million domestic workers, 76.2% of whom are women. Just 6% enjoy comprehensive social security. In China, those who have mastered the art of cooking, cleaning and caregiving are commonly known as “ayi” or “baomu”. In major cities, they shoulder the domestic burdens of…
My grandmother, Yang Xiuying, is seventy-four years old. Weighing under 40 kg and standing less than a metre and a half tall, she began heading into the hills each day ahead of the Qingming Festival to dig for and gather bamboo shoots. She combed through seven or eight nearby…
Foodthink says Another 618 mid-year shopping festival is upon us. Open the homepage of any major e-commerce platform, and you will inevitably be greeted by slogans such as “platform subsidy programmes”, “time-limited threshold discounts”, and “flash-sale prices”, all designed to coax you into placing an order immediately. Some might…
This year’s bayberry scandal has thrust this highly seasonal, delicate fruit into the spotlight. Whether they’ve been soaked in preservatives, which chemicals are legal, whether they pose any health risks, or what counts as a safe threshold—I’m entirely indifferent. It’s not that I don’t eat bayberries; it’s simply…
Foodthink says At a Technology Courtyard run by China Agricultural University in Quzhou County, the daily routine of Xianzi, a postgraduate student born in the 2000s, bears little resemblance to clean lab benches, precision instruments, and reagent bottles. Instead, her days are spent amidst the scent of fermenting piles,…
What springs to mind when you think of agriculture students? The best university cafeterias? Drinking coffee like it’s soup? Or perhaps viral quotes like “The machinery over there is far too loud, mind turning it down?” or “I have no idea, but my strawberries are looking rather graceful”?…
Foodthink says Is there a food-related item you have used for years that continues to be part of your daily life? Recently, Foodthink invited readers to share their takes on “long-termism in the kitchen”. When an object is passed down through generations, it is no longer just a…
At eight o’clock on the morning of 19 April, I stood on the main street of Lihu Yao Ethnic Township in Nan’an County, Guangxi, feeling like a piece of scrap. I had travelled from the county town to Lihu entirely on my own to visit the market. The…
