2024 Year of the Dragon

Martial Media, Culture and Other Arts Off Topic
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Just $1!

‘$1, $1! Just $1!’: A look at what happens to unsold Chinese New Year goodies


This is a last-ditch effort by stall owners to clear their goods before the end of the Chinatown Bazaar. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
Cherie Lok
UPDATED FEB 25, 2024, 10:26 AM

SINGAPORE – “One dollar, one dollar! Just one dollar!”

In the days leading up to the eve of Chinese New Year, Temple Street is a sea of slashed prices. Snacks that used to retail for $10 a tub now go for $5. And if you are buying in bulk, $20 can get you five boxes of cookies that originally cost $6 each.

This is the final hurrah – a last-ditch effort by stall owners to clear their goods before the end of the Chinatown Bazaar, which folded on Chinese New Year’s eve.

In 2024, the urgency to sell is greater than ever. “Business is about 20 per cent worse than last year,” says Mr Xiao Yong, 33, who mans a snack stall in front of Hotel 1888 Collection. “There is a lot of footfall, but no one wants to buy.”

According to another employee in her 20s, who wanted to be known only as Ms Tan, the stall has already cut the amount of food it orders from suppliers in the light of waning demand.

Still, on the second-last day of the fair on Feb 8, stacks of pineapple tarts, cashew cookies, egg rolls and many other biscuits remain.

For first-time stallholders, this is a disappointing showing.

“Business is a lot slower than I expected,” says Ms Li, another snack vendor in her 30s, who gave only her surname.

“But I suppose many people are struggling with the rising cost of living this year, so they don’t have much cash to spare for snacks.”

While Mr Xiao will try to peddle his leftover goods elsewhere – “As long as they haven’t expired, they can be sold!” is his war cry – Ms Li, who sells nuts in large, open sacks, is less optimistic.

“I might have to discard whatever I can’t sell by the end of the bazaar,” she says.

A season of excess


Some stalls try to sell unsold goods at other markets around Singapore, while others donate their stocks to social enterprises like MoNo Foods. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
The National Environment Agency does not track exactly how much food is thrown away in Singapore during the Chinese New Year period. But a 2023 survey by Hong Kong food bank, Feeding Hong Kong, found that 40 per cent of respondents had leftover goodies – mainly a result of unwanted gifts.

Overall, food waste during the festive season could surge by 20 to 30 per cent, estimates Dr Henry Leung, senior specialist of pharmacology and toxicology at Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Applied Science.

LightBlue Consulting, a social enterprise that helps businesses implement sustainable practices, has also observed that diners and hotel kitchens generate about 10 per cent more waste during the Chinese New Year period.

“The principal challenge food service operators and retailers may struggle with is estimating the right quantities of food needed, leading to over-buying ingredients and over-preparing produce,” says Ms Mathilde Chatin, 33, managing director at Penta Group, who works on corporate communication projects with clients in the food and agriculture industry.

“This can be attributed to cultural and social pressure to provide an abundance of food to meet expectations and create a festive atmosphere.”

Suppliers also tend to offer additional discounts for bulk buys to entice vendors to take on more stock and ever taller stacks of snacks.


Overall, food waste during the festive season could surge by 20 to 30 per cent. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
However, over-preparation could come at a considerable cost to businesses. LightBlue Consulting founder Benjamin Lephilibert estimates that at hotels, for example, the cost of unchecked food waste could eat into as much as 10 per cent of their food revenues.

As such, some restaurants and bakeries here have made a concerted effort to resist the urge to over-provide.

Mr Francis Looi, 58, chief executive of Polar Puffs & Cakes, says the company “employs a comprehensive approach to estimate the quantity of seasonal snacks to prepare”.

This process typically involves analysing past sales, market trends and customer feedback.

As a result, the majority of the company’s products – especially those baked fresh daily, like its Fortune Orange Butter Cake – are sold out by the end of the Chinese New Year period, with only 3 to 7 per cent of cookies left over.

At Keong Saik Bakery, production is based on pre-orders, which typically average around 2,000 bottles of festive goodies such as pineapple balls and Milo cornflakes. On average, it is left with only 20 unsold bottles by the eve of Chinese New Year. These are sold at a discount after its reopening on the third day of the new year.
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Continued from previous post


On the second-last day of the Chinatown Bazaar on Feb 8, stacks of pineapple tarts, cashew cookies, egg rolls and many other biscuits remain. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
Likewise, a majority of the orders for seasonal treats such as bak kwa and kueh lapis from Si Chuan Dou Hua are placed in advance by corporate clients. The restaurant sells about 80 per cent of these seasonal goodies each year.

At Red House Seafood, any unsold almond biscuits and pineapple tarts are served to restaurant guests at the end of their meal to “thank them for their support”.

Diners at Orchard Hotel get to benefit too. Remaining goodies are integrated into the hotel’s buffet line-up or included among amenities to welcome in-house guests. The joy is also shared in the staff cafeteria.

Second life for leftovers

Others rope in extra help to clear their stocks.

For instance, Fairmont Singapore and Swissotel The Stamford team up with Treatsure – an app that connects consumers with surplus food at hotels and grocers – to offer diners buffet leftovers at a discount.

Likewise, some snack vendors donate their goods to MoNo Foods – a social enterprise that redistributes food that is nearing or past its best before date – after the Chinatown Bazaar.

Donations are sorted and shelved at MoNo’s store on the second level of Yue Hwa building in Chinatown.

Customers can pick a box – they come in different sizes, priced from $10 to $15 for a 25cm by 20cm box, and $40 to $50 for a 45cm by 35cm box – and fill it up with as many snacks and drinks as it can hold.

“Usually, our first-time customers are sceptical about eating this food because it’s nearing the ‘best before’ date. But we explain that the supplier would not have taken the risk of donating these items to us if they were not still safe to eat. We also don’t carry any perishables,” says Mr Leonard Shee, 36, co-founder of MoNo, which aims to change consumer mindsets on when food should be thrown away.

“And we always remind them to check the look, smell and taste of all the food they get from us before eating.”

For the 2024 festive period, the shelves are filled with assorted unsold treats, such as plant-based bak kwa from Ayam Brand’s Yumeat and cookies from Raintree Bakery & Coffee.

“It has to be wrapped well, but we try not to keep it longer than three months,” says MoNo co-founder Lorraine Koh, 40.

The demand for festive goodies does not end with the new year celebrations, as she quips: “There’s always somebody who wants it.”

Unsold food is distributed to residents – including seniors, large low-income families and former offenders – living in rental flats at nearby neighbourhoods like Jalan Kukoh and Jalan Minyak.

Some grocers also count on food charities to inject a new lease of life into their leftover goods.

At FairPrice supermarkets, festive snacks like yu sheng platters and jars of pineapple tarts remain on sale until around the end of the 15-day festive period on Feb 24.

The supermarket chain did not specify what happens to unsold Chinese New Year treats.

However, some non-perishable goods a month away from their expiry date are included in FairPrice’s monthly donation drives to organisations such as Food from the Heart or The Food Bank Singapore (FBSG).


A volunteer sorting through donated biscuits at The Food Bank Singapore’s warehouse in Pandan Loop. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
“These sustainable partnerships are long-term and highly impactful, enabling us to provide up to one to two tonnes of food just within the Chinese New Year period,” says Mr Ian Butler, 75, executive director of FBSG.

FBSG accepts only donations that have not expired and meet strict hygiene standards. Mr Butler says that most donations are within their acceptable consumption period, and nearly all the food is distributed to beneficiaries from more than 370 partners, including Family Service Centres and Active Ageing Centres.

“This ensures that everyone gets a taste of Chinese New Year goodness,” he adds.

But, while such organisations play an important role in tackling food insecurity, Dr Leung cautions that relying solely on food charities to repurpose waste is “complex and fraught with challenges”.

“Businesses often find it cheaper and simpler to dispose of unwanted products than to donate them, citing the high costs associated with food donation,” he says, citing how only a fraction of edible surplus food gets redistributed – just 4 per cent in the United States, for instance – due to transportation delays, improper storage and other barriers.

Then there is the question of how much charities can handle. FBSG’s Mr Butler concedes that while the festive season brings a surge in generous donations, it also presents logistical challenges.


Around the festive period, FBSG receives a spike in donations from individuals, schools, suppliers and supermarkets. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
“The sheer volume of food requires increased deliveries and pickups, stretching our resources thin. As a non-profit, we have limitations on the amount of manpower and resources that we have access to.

“Hence, to ensure timely delivery and prevent food waste, additional funding is crucial during this critical period,” he says.

Dr Leung therefore stresses the need for a multifaceted approach to food waste management.

“Each small effort towards responsible consumption and waste reduction is vital. Setting realistic and attainable targets based on individual or organisational capacities can make a significant difference.”
I should stock up…:rolleyes:

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Dinocephalosaurus orientalis

Stunning 240 million-year-old ‘Chinese dragon’ fossil unveiled by scientists
News
By Ben Turner published 4 days ago
A bizarre dragon-like creature that lived during the Triassic period used its remarkably long neck to hunt unsuspecting prey in shallow water, scientists have found.


A cropped photo of the Dinocephalosaurus orientalis fossil. (Image credit: National Museums Scotland)
Scientists have unveiled stunning fossils of an ancient seaborne “dragon” discovered in China.

The 240 million-year-old animal — nicknamed the “Chinese dragon” — belongs to the species Dinocephalosaurus orientalis, a reptile that used its remarkably long neck to ambush unsuspecting prey in shallow waters during the Triassic period (252 million to 201 million years ago).

The species was first found in limestone deposits in southern China in 2003, but scientists have now pieced together remains to reconstruct the full 16.8-foot (5 meters) span of the spectacular ancient carnivore for the first time.

The researchers revealed the new findings in a study published Feb. 23 in the journal Earth and Environmental Science: Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

“It is yet one more example of the weird and wonderful world of the Triassic that continues to baffle paleontologists,” Nick Fraser, keeper of natural sciences at National Museums Scotland said in a statement. “We are certain that it will capture imaginations across the globe due to its striking appearance, reminiscent of the long and snake-like, mythical Chinese Dragon.”


A full-size photo of dinocephalosaurus orientalis. (Image credit: National Museums Scotland)

The fossil reveals some of the ancient sea dragon’s striking features.

First and foremost is its neck, which stretches nearly 7.7 feet (2.3 meters) and contains 32 separate vertebrae — in comparison, giraffes (as well as humans) have only seven neck vertebrae.

The snake-like shape of the dragon’s articulable neck likely gave it a remarkable ability to sneak up on its prey, which it did after maneuvering into position with its flippered limbs. Some of the fish snared in the dragon’s serrated teeth are still preserved inside the sea monster’s belly.

The researchers note that though the strange creature may be reminiscent of the Loch Ness Monster, it is not closely related to the long-necked plesiosaurs that inspired the famous mythical creature.

“We hope that our future research will help us understand more about the evolution of this group of animals, and particularly how the elongate neck functioned,” first-author Stephan Spiekman, a postdoctoral researcher based at the Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History, said in the statement.

Ben Turner
Staff Writer
Ben Turner is a U.K. based staff writer at Live Science. He covers physics and astronomy, among other topics like tech and climate change. He graduated from University College London with a degree in particle physics before training as a journalist. When he’s not writing, Ben enjoys reading literature, playing the guitar and embarrassing himself with chess.

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Taboo

Man in China violently assaulted over ‘cultural taboos’ after he helped child pull beard of dragon during traditional festival procession
Touching the dragon is allowed, but not dragging it by beard or scales
Man beaten after almost making head of dragon fall to the ground
Alice Yan
in Shanghai

Published: 9:00am, 29 Feb, 2024

A man in China was beaten because he tried to help a little boy yank on the beard of a dragon prop during a local festival, an action that is considered a cultural taboo.

The centuries-old Cannon Dragon Festival is little known across China but is popular in Binyang county in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region of southern China.

Touching the dragon’s body is considered good luck, but people cannot yank either the beard or the scales.

The attack started when a man was holding a little boy and trying to help the child yank the beard of the dragon, which is usually held up by people carrying wooden sticks while dancing around fireworks.


A struggle involving the man, the child he was carrying and a group of “dragon protectors” ended with the man being badly beaten. Photo: Baidu
A member of the “dragon protection squad” told the man to stop several times but was ignored and became outraged when the man nearly knocked over the dragon’s head.

One of the dragon protectors knocked over the man, who was still carrying the child, and several other men of the team began to kick and beat him.

The police arrived quickly and detained both the dragon protector and the victim.

“The assault case is under investigation and it is not appropriate for me to release more details. We will announce in due course,” an information officer from the county’s government said.

The Cannon Dragon Festival, held on February 20 this year, originated from the Song Dynasty around 1,000 years ago and prospered during the Qing dynasty (1644-1912).

Experts say it is an excellent example of the cultural blending of the Han and Zhuang ethnic groups.

The annual event was included on China’s intangible cultural heritage list in 2008.

The incident has trended on mainland social media, sparking a debate about the protection of traditions.

One online observer wrote: “As a native of Binyang, let me introduce this festival. The dragon dancers will never allow the dragon’s head to drop to the ground because it means bad luck will linger at the location for three years.


The police made arrests at the scene and are still investigating to find out if criminal charges are necessary. Photo: Baidu
“This is our belief as Binyang people. You cannot drag the dragon’s head!”

But others thought the beating went too far.

“It’s not right to resort to violence, plus he was holding a child. It’s not good for the kid,” said one person.

“Why not dispatch police officers to safeguard order at the site? They are more professional,” another said.

Everyone here knows that pulling the beard of a dragon or lion is insulting, right? Right? :rolleyes:

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Zhonghua Yang - Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2024

Lunar New Year dim sum image by Chinese photographer wins global food photo contest
An image of a woman in Zhejiang, China preparing red bean paste balls for a festive meal wins Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2024
Joanne Yau

Published: 6:45pm, 5 Jun 2024

The 36 winners of the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2024, a long-running competition that celebrates food photography and film around the world, were announced this week.

The overall winner was Red Bean Paste Balls by Chinese photographer Zhonghua Yang, a photograph of steamed dim sum being prepared for Lunar New Year celebrations in a rural part of China’s eastern Zhejiang province.

Yang’s photograph also took first place in the contest’s Champagne Taittinger Food for Celebration category.

It shows a woman holding a tray of piping hot red bean paste balls being prepared for the holiday celebration, which traditionally also includes dishes such as dumplings and glutinous rice, in Xiangshan, Zhejiang.

[QUOTE]The woman who has made the food, weary, carries in yet another tray. Her role is to labour and to serve, while the guests party and enjoy
Caroline Kenyon, founder of the competition, on the winning entry

The image is an ode to the scale of the festival – the most important holiday on the Chinese lunar calendar – and the dedication that goes into preparing food for the celebrations.

“This wonderful, perfectly balanced image is full of light, shadow, mystery and poignancy,” says Caroline Kenyon, founder of the competition.

“It is clear a celebratory feast is being prepared. The food is exquisitely made, its circular shapes contrasting with the angularity of the fretwork screens, through which the light pours.

“Meanwhile, the woman who has made the food, weary, carries in yet another tray. Her role is to labour and to serve, while the guests party and enjoy.”

The competition, now in its 13th year, is open to professionals and amateurs alike, who can enter work that tells stories about food under more than 25 categories.


Hanging Up Persimmons by Zhonghua Yang won the Moments of Joy category in the 2023 Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year contest. Photo: Zhonghua Yang/Pink Lady

This is not Yang’s first victory in the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year competition – in 2023’s edition, he won in three categories.

Anchang Sugar Dance Artist, which shows a man from Zhejiang working masterfully with sugar, won the Philip Harben Award for Food in Action and in the China category. Hanging Up Persimmons, taken in Shanxi province in autumn, won the vote in the Moments of Joy category.

Like Red Bean Paste Balls, both images have a rawness and immediacy to them. His photos offer snapshots of intimate interactions with food in different parts of China.


Anchang Sugar Dance Artist by Zhonghua Yang won the Philip Harben Award for Food in Action and the China category in the competition’s 2023 edition. Photo: Zhonghua Yang/Pink Lady

Yang’s triumphs in the competition shine a global spotlight on Chinese food and its important place in Chinese culture.

Yang is a member of the Chinese Photographers Association, the director of the Ningbo Photographers Association, and honorary chairman of the Xiangshan Photographers Association.

Among the other winning images this year are Let Them Eat Cake! by Scottish photographer Lynne Kennedy, which depicts an unconventional wedding celebration on the island of Skye in Scotland and took first place in the Champagne Taittinger Wedding Food Photographer category.


Let Them Eat Cake! by Lynne Kennedy, which shows a wedding party on the island of Skye eating mini wedding cakes from containers, won the Champagne Taittinger Wedding Food Photographer award. Photo: Lynne Kennedy/Pink Lady

B.L.T Contemplation, which won the Claire Aho Award for Women Photographers, shows a woman looking yearningly out of her window while eating a sandwich.

The awards were first held in 2011 and celebrate food and diversity around the world through photography.

“Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year continues to tell important food stories from across the globe through the very best photography,” said Phil Turnbull, chief executive of APAL, owner of the Pink Lady apple brand and headline sponsor of the competition.

“Each year, the remarkable photographs serve as a reminder of the fundamental role of food in every culture and every people around the world.”

This year’s competition attracted thousands of entries from more than 65 countries. The finalists’ entries will be on display in the Mall Galleries in London until June 9.

Joanne Yau
Joanne joined SCMP in June 2024. She is currently an English and Film Studies student at the University of St Andrews. She has long been interested in art and cultural global trends, and has experience working in PR agencies, film festivals, student film productions and campus publications.
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Whoops! My Bad. I missed posting the Year of the Dragon T-shirt sweeps here

You can see our 2024 Year of the Dragon T-shirts here. If you missed out entering, stay tuned. We’ll be holding a sweepstakes for the Hoodies soon.

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Our latest sweepstakes - Enter to WIN

Enter to win a 2024 Year of the Dragon Hoodie
Contest ends 12/5/2024.

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2025 Year of the Snake

UNESCO heritage recognition boosts Chinese New Year’s global profile
Updated: December 5, 2024 21:55 Xinhua
BEIJING, Dec. 5 – Two months ahead of the coming Chinese Year of the Snake, the east Chinese city of Yiwu – often referred to as “the world’s supermarket” – is flooded with an abundant array of festival commodities in bright shades of red.

In the Yiwu International Trade Market, store owner Chen Meiyun told Xinhua that red couplets and posters with auspicious words, as well as craft gifts related to the Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival, are currently the most popular products in the store.

“Foreign orders are generally placed as early as June and July. The delivery time for the festival commodities is November and December, which are our busiest months,” said Chen.

She said that all exporters of the festival commodities in Yiwu were encouraged by the Chinese New Year’s successful inclusion on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) list of intangible cultural heritage.

The Year of the Snake will start on Jan. 29, 2025, according to the Chinese lunar calendar. The Chinese zodiac consists of 12 animals including the ox, tiger and rabbit, which record the years and reflect people’s attributes.

Chen believes the exporters will benefit from the Spring Festival’s world-heritage recognition, as it will further boost the growing international awareness of the Chinese culture.

“Rituals, customs and auspicious prayers surrounding the Chinese New Year all convey positive energy, which earns it a growing global influence,” Chen said.

Huo Qingshun, 74, has been drafting a new picture design for the Year of the Snake, to be used in woodblock printing. The inheritor of the centuries-old craft, known as Yangliuqing woodblock printing, said he was thrilled by the recognition of the festival’s importance.

Yangliuqing woodblock images, which flourish in north China’s Tianjin Municipality, are one of the most popular forms of New Year decorations in China.

Huo said that many foreign visitors to his workshop have taken an interest in the craft, enjoying the pictures of traditional Chinese folklore in the paintings. With the aid of some translation, they can appreciate the Chinese virtues of filial piety, harmony, benevolence and other good wishes that are conveyed in the images.

The Chinese Lunar New Year involves a variety of social practices to usher in the new year, pray for good fortune, celebrate family reunions and promote community harmony.

CULTURAL INCLUSION

According to UNESCO’s documentation, the traditional knowledge and customs associated with the Spring Festival are passed down informally within families and communities, as well as formally through the education system. Craftsmanship and artistic skills related to the festival are transmitted through apprenticeships, promoting family values, social cohesion and peace, while providing a sense of cultural identity.

Wayne Ngonidzashe Musiyiwa, a Zimbabwean student at the Hunan Institute of Engineering in central China’s Hunan Province, said he has spent every Spring Festival for the past five years in China. What impressed him most is the emphasis the Chinese people place on family reunions during the festival, a practice that brings warmth to people’s hearts.

“Spending the festival together with my Chinese classmates and teachers, I learned that the festival is the most important traditional festival for Chinese people. I think it is a window to learn about Chinese culture,” he said, adding that his interest in China started with watching Spring Festival performances on social media in Zimbabwe.

Southwest China’s Guizhou, where Musiyiwa studied the Chinese language for three years, is known for its ethnic diversity. Preserving their own ethnic customs, many ethnic groups celebrate the Spring Festival in their own ways.

Lan Qifeng is an inheritor of the Miao batik craft from Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou. During the Spring Festival, said Lan, the locals wear traditional Miao costumes as they take part in performances of singing and dancing. The music is played on a woodwind instrument called a “lusheng” and the rhythm is kept with copper drums, while people sit at long tables to enjoy the festival banquets.

WORLDWIDE INFLUENCE

The UN General Assembly, in a resolution passed in December 2023, officially listed the Spring Festival as a UN floating holiday in its calendar of conferences and meetings, starting from 2024, acknowledging the significance of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Luo Pengwei of the China Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences told Xinhua in an interview on Thursday that the Spring Festival has become a global phenomenon. Wherever there are Chinese people, there are Spring Festival celebrations, acting as a cultural bond and symbol of the Chinese people around the world, and reflecting the inheritance of Chinese culture.

“In foreign countries, the first thing they know about China is the Spring Festival. Some countries and regions have designated the Spring Festival as a local public holiday, which reflects the profound cultural charisma of the Chinese culture,” said Luo.

Chen Yifang, president of Hua Xing Arts Group Rome, has been involved in preparations for the “2025 Spring Festival Fair Rome” celebrations.

The Italian capital hosts grand Spring Festival parades every year. Chen said that with the Chinese festival’s UNESCO heritage status, the scale of the event in the Year of the Snake will be even bigger than before, attracting more international participants.

She said the fair will last from Feb. 7 to 9, 2025, with a wide variety of cultural performance showcasing the diversity of Chinese culture.

Last year, Chen organized a Hanfu (Chinese traditional robes) parade, which turned out to be a highlight of the Chinese New Year celebration in Rome, with around 100 participants. She said that volunteers are being recruited for the upcoming event.

Spring Festival is celebrated in various ways by about one-fifth of humanity, according to Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian.

“We very much hope that the festival’s cultural message will contribute to a world of fewer conflicts, harmony among civilizations, and amity among peoples of the world. Hope the Spring Festival will be a moment of joyfulness shared by all,” Lin said.

2025 Year of the Snake
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Our winners are announced

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