Shenzhen Woman Posts Photos of Pangolin Soup, Netizens Outraged

By Bailey Hu

Netizens are calling her the "pangolin princess" – a young woman in Shenzhen who, over the last few days, has been the subject of outrage for showing off meals that incorporate the endangered animal on Weibo.

The most notorious of her online posts dates from September 2011, when she photographed a soup that had been made with "eight types of animals simmered for five hours." According to the caption, it included pangolin and swan, which are both protected under Chinese wildlife laws, as well as snake.

Although she was somewhat reluctant, she "forced herself to drink down two bowls." The eight-animal stew was apparently so "nourishing" that her nose bled afterwards.

The exploits of the pangolin princess, whose last name is Lin, don't stop there. On the same night she shared the stew featured above, she also posted photos of another horrifying dish.

"It's my first time eating pangolin blood fried rice, very special..."

“Very special" indeed. Besides food shots, Lin's Weibo contained pictures of various caged animals, presumably intended for eating.

The captions read "Have you seen such a cute pangolin before?" and "The owls' eyes are really big and yellow."

All photos of exotic animals and meals on Lin's Weibo account, '绽放的多多,' have since been taken down. From details listed on her profile, netizens discovered that the pangolin princess is located in Shenzhen, where she works for a design engineering company.

Pangolin scales and meat are highly valued in China for both their alleged health benefits and their taste, respectively. The moniker 'pangolin princess' refers to a similar incident earlier this month when a male Weibo user's photos of a pangolin dish from 2015 resurfaced online, earning him the nickname of 'pangolin prince.'

On February 12, the Shenzhen Urban Management Bureau announced that they were looking into the case. A follow-up statement on the 14th said that authorities had taken Ms. Lin in for questioning.

For more news, click 'Read more' below.