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“The worst gift is a fruitcake,” said Johnny Carson. “There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.” Most Chinese people have never heard of Carson, a beloved American television host who died in 2005. Yet many would get his joke. China has its own fruitcake equivalent: yuebing, or mooncakes.
Mooncakes are often dense, cloyingly sweet—and, as Carson suggested, re-gifted. They play a central role in celebrations of the mid-autumn festival, a popular Chinese holiday that falls on September 10th this year (it is timed to coincide with a full moon). But in the months leading up to the celebration, mooncakes have become the object of intense government scrutiny.
Something similar happened during President Xi Jinping’s first term (from 2013 to 2018), when he moved to stamp out corruption. Mooncakes have long been associated with graft. Businesses seeking favours from the government often send officials fancy boxes full of the pastry—and other, more expensive goodies. It is probably no coincidence that Mr Xi’s campaign was followed by a steep drop in mooncake sales.
But the market has since rebounded. This year China is expected to churn out 437,000 tonnes of mooncakes, according to iiMedia Research, a consultancy. Sales are expected to reach 24bn yuan ($3.5bn), up by 11.8% compared with last year.
Most bakeries and restaurants offer mooncakes in their traditional form, with a heavy crust encasing fillings such as red-bean paste, egg yolks or lotus seed. But expensive delicacies, such as shark’s fin and edible bird’s nest, are sometimes added. Luxury hotels and designer brands have packaged these fancy mooncakes together with gold leaf, jade and expensive tea or liquor. That has led to new concerns over corruption and is out of step with Mr Xi’s drive to reduce inequality and rein in ostentatious wealth.
Officials, therefore, have been inspecting mooncakes for sale in malls, supermarkets, hotels and restaurants. State media have published photos of uniformed agents on the hunt for “overpackaging and overpricing” (pictured). Anyone selling a mooncake gift set for more than 500 yuan must store the transaction data for two years, in case officials want to investigate. In Mr Xi’s China, the worst gift is expensive yuebing.
Share on Twitter Share on FacebookUnbelievable! Its comfort actually!
read moreAs time went by, this blog was developed for many different purposes. Last time, I had a lot of pleasure in sharing some of my Lego-related hobbies. However, I will mostly upload a blog about bikes and their development in the next few months! Recently, I have so much into ebike cargo. They say this type of bike can replace the car! And I am very into it since my place is crowded with traffic jams! The video above showed a funny situation: I started the review from Brooks's handle! And after nine years! It's still an excellent bike handle and not even destroyed!
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Hi, hi, hi. So, it's been a while for the last couple of weeks since I have considered buying a cargo bike. The reason is that I am often trapped in a traffic jam because I can't get faster in my car.
read moreIndonesia has launched Southeast Asia’s first-ever bullet train, a high-speed rail line connecting two of its largest cities.
Congrats! Indonesia launched Southeast Asia’s first bullet train.
Custom LEGO Transformers Devastator
My faith in humanity is restored! OK, that’s a bit overboard – but you couldn’t blame me if you see an incredibly, exquisitely and wonderfully executed custom LEGO Transformers Devastator such as this by Alex Jones. I feel transported to the 80’s once again, with the same intense childhood wonder when I first saw the Constructicons combine and become the formidable Devastator.
Collaboratively administrate empowered markets via plug-and-play networks. Dynamically procrastinate B2C users after installed base benefits. Dramatically visualize customer directed convergence without
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