Traditional markets, food circulation and supply, market transformation, and urban food ecologies.
Foodthink Says Wet markets today appear to be undergoing a remarkable ‘restoration’: what was once nothing more than the mundane daily errand of elders lugging bags of groceries has now become a destination young people flock to—a trending hotspot, a window into the city’s character, even a ‘healing space’…
This Saturday (22 August) anthropologist and Foodthink’s longtime friend Zhong Shuru is coming to Beijing with her new book *China’s Wet Markets*! In the morning, we’ll head to a “special market” together to browse and chat; in the evening, we’ll start from “shopping for food in Beijing” and talk…
As someone born in the 1980s, before I had my daughter Shu’er at thirty, I rarely visited the wet market. I could hardly understand why my mother, rain or shine, insisted on pulling her trolley to the market, why she so relished recounting her market observations to me, or…
Foodthink Says Not long ago, through Foodthink’s ‘Eat Well’ story submission column, we received a great many fresh observations and reflections about wet markets from our readers. So, what do wet markets signify through the eyes of an anthropologist? To grasp the vitality and challenges of China’s wet…
I grew up as a girl who spent her childhood wandering through wet markets. In my day job, I’m an office worker tied to a cubicle, but when the Lunar New Year rolls around, I step in as the “second-in-command” at a market grocer’s stall.What sort of place is a…
Foodthink Says As the Qingming Festival approaches, whether for travel or tomb-sweeping, many will head to the countryside for a few meals of “farmhouse food”. This year’s Spring Festival was no different for the author of this piece. This account of dining during a return to the village for the…
I. Spreading White to Dry, Hanging Gold to Cure; Fragrant Wine and Curling Smoke From the Start of Winter, amidst the mountain ranges of south-west Zhejiang and across the Songgu Plain, the people of Songyang have already begun preparing for the New Year’s Eve feast. In these valley settlements, cradled…
Foodthink Says This marks the sixth instalment of story submissions for Foodthink’s “Eat Something Good” series, themed around “wet markets”. What has surprised us is that, in an age of relentless acceleration, we continue to receive a wealth of personal accounts from readers about these spaces. Set against earlier themes…
Foodthink Says Today, fresh produce delivery platforms such as Alibaba’s Hema, Meituan’s Xiaoxiang, JD’s Qixian, and Dingdong Maicai are capturing public attention like never before. From the comfort of your home, a few taps on your phone are all it takes to have your daily essentials delivered in as little…
Foodthink Says Another 618 Shopping Festival is upon us. After the thrill of endless buying and unboxing, have you ever stopped to think about where all that plastic packaging we so casually sweep out the door actually ends up? “Eating well” is not just about nourishing ourselves; it is also…
