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The glory of being a duck in China.
At the fairgrounds in Nanjing, I found this display of some very un-happy ducks. China's feeds one-fifth of the world's population, daily. Much of the economy of China, in the cities and in the villages, conspicuously depends on the food industry, struggling to supply the variety of tastes for the exotic or the more mondane.
China has suffered much during its well-documented famines. They are still in the memories of my students' parents. But the variety, quantity, and the quality of foods that are consumed by the people around me at the college, and what I see when I travel throughout China leaves little doubt, that those struggling times are fading into China's history.
Sadly, many of the young of China show a lack of awareness and appreciation for the hard times and sacrifices their parents only recently endured. I see them in the restaurants surrounded by mountains of food, and in the shops on spending sprees.
Whenever I ask my students, where they are going as we pass each other, the two prominent responses are: "We're going shopping" or "We're going eating."
When students or adults meet me or each other and say hello, the very next question is not: "How are you?". They will only ask: "Have you
This dish will give me night-mares.
These extra-large and extra-black taranjulas didn't last long. They are consumed on a skewer, and they leave a smile on the face of the diner. had your lunch/supper?" I am told by my students, that this form of greeting is a reminder, when the Chinese knew only one meal a day and sometimes none.
In modern China it is all about food, where 1.4 billion children, women, and men now want to eat three times a day, and I truly mean three meals a day. This requires a steady supply of all kinds of imaginable and un-imaginable nourishment, keeping the transport industry in high demand, traversing the highways of China.
It is amazing the amount of trucks, which haul vegetables and grains in massive quantities.
It was more astonishing and painful to realize, how many trucks of pigs, sheep, chicken, geese, ducks, etc. pass me on my travels on the roads in high speeds. Returning from Suzhou last week, my bus passed one of those trucks. It had over-turned, and the road was strewn with some 20 pigs. The sight of their condition was quite un-settling, and I prayed for their quick end.
Sadly, I also see similar trucks daily below my apartment window, hauling huge quantities of frightened animals, in tightly-packed trucks, to their doom in the slaughter-houses. There is
"Alle meine Enten...."
The claws of the ducks are delicacies, and they are the first body parts to disappear from the carcass. no compassion, as these trucks are in a great hurry to deliver tomorrow's meals.
The choicest morsels of these soon to be carcasses will quickly grace the tables of a smiling and satisfied population, un-aware and un-caring for the suffering of the animals they are now contentedly digesting.
After the meals, the belch and the burp contest remains a custom, and is passed on to the next generation. This ancient Chinese ritual lives on, and a symphony of sounds originate from the stomachs and throats of the population after every good meal. The sounds attest to satisfied customers in millions of restaurants, and food-stands all around China.
For Western standards, the dining etiquette in China can still be somewhat abrasive and un-compromising, but I learned early in my travels this famous German saying: "Andere Laender, andere Sitten!" (Other countries, other customs!")
I gave up on the other expression: "When in Rome, do as the Romans!" It would take my eating-experience to a completely new level.
China's restaurant business is booming. China's new food-entrepreneurs are less restraint by controls, and they think of new ways to tempt the tastes of the population.
You never have
to walk far to find restaurants or food in China. The crowds of happy customers attest to the quality of the food of an eatery, and not the usually simple decor of these places.
It is easy to find breakfast on the street by 6 a.m. Lunch is usually served between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and dinner begins around 5 p.m. Every meal is important to the Chinese and the time it is consumed is religiously observed.
The large Western-style hotels will of course serve meals more easely recognized by the Western visitors, and tend to be very expensive.
The more typical, smaller, neighborhood restaurants, and the portable stalls of the street vendors make up most of China's eateries, selling cheap and popular foods.
For breakfast it can be dough-sticks and beancurd, or snacks like scallion-pancakes, sweet potatoes roasted in old oil drums, deep-fried beancurd cubes, and a wonderful variety of fruits. There seems to be little difference in the types of dishes served for lunch and for dinner, but these can range from the "surprising" to the "amazing".
Some of my past photo-entries in previous blogs have lauded the quality and quantity and
duck-heads at the super-market
Since there is only one head per duck, they are rather expensive, and quite a delicacy. presentation for which Chinese food is famous around the world. It is fresh and healthy though often exotic. I have had food poisoning in France, but I have never been ill from eating foods here in China.
The photo review of this blog recounts some of my more difficult moments with Chinese cuisine. The photos are from visits to local Chinese festivals in various cities, much like the Art-Deco Festival on Miami Beach.
The images could be a little unsettling to some, as they were for me, though I encourage you once again to enlarge the images for maximum impact. The display and consumption of these foods at the fairs were for young and old alike.
Because some of the critters on display are more exotic, they are also more a drain on the wallet.
(There are 2 pages of photos, and they should not be viewed by the squeamish. Sorry, "maybe" this warning should have been added at the beginning of the blog.)
(To my Seniors at Coral Gables High School, your time has arrived, and the year has passed. Your graduation makes you America's new hope for a better and more honorable future.
Claws of geese, ducks, chicken, etc.
Each size and color claw has its own flavor. Not a part of fowl is wasted, and they are eaten like corn on the cob. Take your commencement as the opportunity to let the world know, what it truly means to be an American, so that America will once again be viewed with pride and envy around the world. Please let this be your calling. I am so proud of you, and I will never forget you! Congratulations to each of you. How much I wish I could have been there with you, to share in your glory. I will keep you in my heart, always.)
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Brittney Hinckley
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I think I would starve if I moved to China, I'm not sure I could eat any of that.