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China Food & Drinks

China Says Potato

Rice and wheat have been the dominant staple in China for centuries. The potato, generally perceived a vegetable instead of staple food, is a cuckoo in the Chinese nest. Something is about to change.

Manya Koetse

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READING TIME: 1 MINUTE, 30 SECONDS

 

Rice and wheat have been the dominant staple in China for centuries. The potato, generally perceived a vegetable instead of staple food, is a cuckoo in the Chinese nest. Something might be about to change, as China’s Ministry of Agriculture announced changes in China’s national cuisine this week, turning the potato into a hot topic on social media.

Chinese cuisine is globally famous, with rice being the essential…

Manya Koetse is a sinologist, writer, and public speaker specializing in China’s social trends, digital culture, and online media ecosystems. She founded What’s on Weibo in 2013 and now runs the Eye on Digital China newsletter. Learn more at manyakoetse.com or follow her on X, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

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China Brands, Marketing & Consumers

Quack Like a Goose: Why Beijing Street Vendor “Auntie Goose Legs” Sparked a Nationwide Debate

After the first complaints surfaced, Auntie Goose Legs admitted the truth about her business: she ha been selling duck legs all along.

Manya Koetse

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🔥 Originally published in Eye on Digital China.
My premium newsletter covering the stories, memes, debates, and viral moments shaping online conversations in China. Subscribe here to receive future editions.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it might still be a goose – or the other way around. That, at least, is the takeaway from two stories that recently went viral on Chinese social media.

The woman at…

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China Animals

China Faces Unprecedented Donkey Shortage Crisis

“We have plenty of cattle and horses in China now — just not enough donkeys” (“目前我国牛马都不缺,就缺驴”).

Manya Koetse

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China is facing a serious donkey shortage. China’s donkey population is far below market demand, and the prices of donkey-related products continue to rise.

Recently, this issue went trending on Weibo under hashtags such as “China Currently Faces a Donkey Crisis” (#我国正面临缺驴危机#).

The Donkey Branch of China’s Livestock Association (中国畜牧业协会驴业分会) addressed this issue in Chinese media earlier last week, telling China News Weekly(中国新闻周刊): “We have plenty of cattle and horses in…

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