Is this the real China?

Is this the real China?

The first time I went to Bangkok's Chinatown, I was pretty shocked. Does it look like China? No. For me, this is just a place in Thailand which has Chinese signboards and characteristics, such as traditional medicine shops.

Except for these, the roads, buildings and shops are the same as the Thai ones. On top of that, everyone speaks Thai.

If the roads, buildings and shops were the same as the Chinese ones and everyone could speak Mandarin or Cantonese, would Bangkok's Chinatown look like a part of contemporary Beijing or Shanghai? My answer is still no. At least it is not the same as any northern Chinese cities, although it may be similar to ancient ones in the South.

I wanted to find some food which tasted the same as in my home town in the north of China, but I couldn't. The food is mostly southern. But the main reason I was shocked and why I don't find Chinatown very appealing is that almost every restaurant has a big signboard saying "shark fins", and "bird's nest". Those are the dishes we in China's north do not consume that much any more.

There is a public campaign in China, organised by Wild Aid _ a global wildlife rescue organisation _ advocating the protection of wild animals and encouraging people to refuse to buy and eat goods such as shark-fin soup.

Shark-fin soup is part of traditional Chinese cuisine. Because of its high nutritional value, this soup is loved by many, especially people who live in south China. Currently, Hong Kong is the world's largest market for shark fins.

Shark-fin soup is popular in many other Asian countries with large Chinese populations, such as Malaysia.

A survey has found that to meet the demand for this soup, at least 40 million sharks are killed each year. On top of this, countries in Europe and the Americas kill sharks to extract fish oil. This has led to the types and the number of sharks being sharply reduced. If we do not control the shark trade, some species will probably become extinct within the next 10 years.

"No deals, no kills" is the slogan of the public campaign that calls for the end of wild animal consumption. Yao Ming, a former Chinese NBA star, is a big advocate of the campaign and he has for years appealed us to reject trading and eating shark fins.

From last year, Taiwan banned the importation of shark fins. On July 2, last year, the State Council of the People's Republic of China declared that shark-fin soup could no longer be served at official banquets.

The campaign in Hong Kong is broader than that in other provinces in China. Major hotels, such as the Peninsula and Shangri-La chains, have stopped serving shark-fin soup and are offering sustainable seafood instead.

In other news, famous Chinese drug firm Tong Ren Tang Group wants to develop its business interests in the UK, but faces opposition from animals rights campaigners and politicians because the company sells bear bile. Though using bear bile in medicine has a long history in China, many Chinese people object to this method now.

While working in Beijing, I edited a set of reports criticising another Chinese company, Gui Zhen Tang, which used bear bile in its pharmaceutical preparations.

It doesn't matter that shark-fin soup or bear-bile medicines are both Chinese traditions. As our awareness of animal protection increases, traditions are being challenged. Chinese people are gradually abandoning bad traditions, and are keeping the good ones.

However, Bangkok's Chinatown keeps some ancient traditions without updating them with the times, even magnifying the unpleasant sides. If a tourist never travels to China but visits Chinatown in Bangkok instead, they might mistakenly think Chinese people often eat shark-fin soup without care for wildlife protection. China has moved on now. Chinatown, please do the same.


Cui Yuchen is a Chinese journalist based in Bangkok on the FK exchange programme.

Cui Yuchen

Life Reporter

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