Welcome to the third edition of “Weird Wednesdays in China“, a wacky bi-weekly roundup of strange news in China.
Wait, “Weird Wednesdays in China” on a Thursday? I know, how weird is that!? My bad for not getting this out yesterday, the launch of the China Blog Network and the lead up to the holidays has left me scrambling to get things organized.
This week we’ve got robot waiters, really old soup, damn expensive baijiu, and apartments made from shipping containers.
Robot Hotpot — a lawsuit waiting to happen
Newly opened this month is a restaurant in Jinan, Shandong, that features robots that IP-infringingly resemble Star Wars droids who make up the eatery’s staff.
Over a dozen robots make up the mechanized staff, including robot entertainers, servers, greeters and receptionists. All the robots have a motion sensor that causes it to stop when someone is in its path, allowing customers to reach for dishes they want. I wonder if while they work they whistle “Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I’m half crazy all for the love of you…”
Cold soup — 2,400 years cold
State media has reported that Chinese archaeologists have dug up what they believe is a 2,400-year-old pot of soup. The sealed bronze cooking vessel was unearthed near Xi’an, Shaanxi, and contained liquid and bones.
The pots were found in what is presumed to be the tomb of a member of the “land-owning class or low-ranking military officer.” Liu Daiyun, of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, was quoted as saying, “The discovery will play an important role in studying the eating habits and culture of the Warring States Period (475-221BC).” “The discovery will play an important role in studying the eating habits and culture of the Warring States Period (475-221BC).”
They ate soup, flavoured with bones. Not exactly enough to go back and re-write the history books or anything. Still, if they can market the soup, the 100-year Egg business could be in trouble.
1958 bottle of Maotai baijiu sells at auction for $220,000
Two weeks ago we brought you 300,000 RMB piles of panda crap, and this week we have $220,000 bottle of Maotai — further proving there’s no limit to the odd stuff people are willing to spend a barrel full of money for. The 1958 bottle of baijiu fetched a staggering 1.45 million yuan at auction in Hangzhou.
According to the article on Jing Daily, “Part of this comes down to the rarity of this 1958 bottle. Maotai baijiu is one of the most lucrative products manufactured in the relatively poor province of Guizhou, which was hit particularly hard by the Great Famine of 1958-1961. But, as one would expect, during those tragic years, production of Maotai — which requires at least 12 jin (13.23 pounds) of precious sorghum grain per bottle — was strictly limited, and these vintages are naturally much harder to come across nowadays.”
It sort of has a Shindler’s watch feel to it for me — how many people might have staved off starvation just long to survive with that 13 lbs of grain.
Shipping Containers as Apartments in Chengdu
Some people live out of suitcases, some out of shipping containers. This story comes from our friends at Go Chengdoo, and reports, “the shipping container apartments are rented out for RMB6 per day or RMB180 per month and are built to accommodate up to 10 tenants per unit.” Perfect for people who have spent all their money on $200,000 bottles of baijiu.
“Each container is a standard-issue 3m x 6m in size and weighs in at 2.6 tons. Some are stacked on top of each other to create “two-story” apartments. Each unit features two windows and a door, through which a telephone cord runs. The apartments have also been furnished with bunk beds—five per unit—as well as flourescent lights, and air conditioning units. Upstairs, there is a balcony illuminated by the street lamps [ed. sounds magical]. The bathroom facilities behind the apartment is equipped with a shower, and the first floor has cooking facilities.”
Rumour has it that if you sign a 1 year rental agreement you get a free plastic-weaved tote bag.
good stuff, that baijiu is my favorite, creepy feeling and all.