|
Beijing
Black Shanzhai village near BeijingPosted by Jeremy Goldkorn, February 2, 2009 6:06 PM
 In the last few months, the word "shanzhai" (山寨) has lept from obscurity to become one of the most common buzz words on the Chinese Internet and the subject of many blog posts and articles in the Western media.  Literally meaning "fortified mountain village", the word's connotations of being outside the law led to its use to describe pirate products, knock-offs and home-made imitations. Although "shanzhai" usually connotes low quality, the word is also used favorably to describe a certain rebellious and creative spirit. Over Spring Festival, your correspondent stumbled on a village in Huairou County, Beijing called "Heishanzhai" or Black Shanzhai. The village has a donkey meat factory (billboard pictured) where you can buy Black Shanzhai Donkey Meat. Links and Sources
|
Partner Links
Jobs in China
Recent Comments
HaiTek on
Chinese in Argentina
Sam Voutas on
Taxi vs Taxi
animal rig on
Cats and dogs in the animal cruelty law
Paul Jones on
Bankrupt schools and their fleeing foreign bosses
Chris/Kati on
Reserve a ticket on the 2012 ark through Taobao!
Media Partners
Visit these sites for the latest China news
China Media Timeline
Major media events over the last three decades
Danwei Model Workers
 Recommended blogs and new media
Books on China
 Tales of Old Hong Kong: The new Tales of Old Hong Kong compiled by Derek Sandhaus is available at Earnshaw Books.
Diamond Hill by Feng Chi-shun: Feng's memoir Diamond Hill describes an era of gambling and gangsters, Suzie Wong and squatter villages, fires and food stalls, and the Kowloon Walled City and its white powder. "A time when people were poor, but life was rich," he says. The world that he grew up in no longer exists, but his book - the first ever on the Diamond Hill refugee settlement, in either Chinese or English - offers a candid picture of what life was like for most Hong Kong residents in the 1950s.
William A. Callahan's China: The Pessoptimist Nation: China: The Pessoptimist Nation shows how the heart of Chinese foreign policy is not a security dilemma, but an identity dilemma. Through a careful analysis of how Chinese people understand their new place in the world, the book charts how Chinese identity emerges through the interplay of positive and negative feelings in a dynamic that intertwines China's domestic and international politics.
Front Page of the Day
A different newspaper every weekday
From the Vault
Classic Danwei posts
+ People: Chen Daming, director (2004.06): Chen's own life story could be rich material for a feature film. After being rusticated from the Henan Opera School, he was forced to move away from Kaifeng to look for work. The Film Academy is the most prestigious film school in China, counting the directors Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige among its alumni, and competition for place to study there is fierce. Chen Daming came to Beijing for an audition, and was accepted after three auditions. + Mo Luo: Turning enemies into people (2009.06): Mo Luo, an essayist and poet, writes about dehumanizing the enemy. + Skirting the law in China's private enterprise reform (2006.05): An essay by Wu Xiaobo (吴晓波), 'Reform Begins with Transgression' (改革从违法开始), about how early Chinese private enterprise dealt with a vague legal framework.
Danwei Archives
Danwei Feeds
Via Feedsky
 (on the mainland)or Feedburner  (blocked in China) Main feed: Main posts (FB has top links) Top Links: Links from the top bar Danwei Jobs: Want ads Danwei Digest: Updated daily, 19:30 |
 |
Chinese media, advertising, and urban life. |
|
tweet
facebook
bookmark
HaoHao
digg
Comments on Black Shanzhai village near Beijing
...which is in fact just dark grey horse meat branded with a donkey logo and "beijing 2008".
Would anyone actually trust that donkey meat? It could very well be horse instead.
Very nice find, Jeremy. Did you really just arrive in that town and realize what fate had handed you?
Donkey ain't bad at all. It has an unusual color, not sure if horsemeat could be substituted.
LACJ: Yes, just stumbled on the village on the way to somewhere else.
Chinamatt: Horses are more expensive than donkeys so I don't think they would sell horse meat.
I love donkey meat. It's hard to find in the south.
I'm not sure if anyone'll get this comment, but I'm in Beijing and looking to look around... How does one get to this place?
One could try buying a map.