Hilarious Photos Show How the Chinese Shop for Veggies

It would take far more than one article to detail the vast sea of differences between northern and southern China, in principle because of the country’s overall size, the cultural heritage of each province and the food traditions of each community within those provinces.

However, it just so happens that I came across a trending search on Weibo today on how Northerners and Southerners buy their vegetables. Then it got me thinking… is that actually a thing?

I didn’t make much of it at first. I thought ‘Well, you can either go get your veggies at the local market or a supermarket nearby. What’s the difference?’

But once I’d seen the photos shared by netizens and read about this topic in greater detail, I realized that the difference between both regions is huge!

To give you an overview: Northerners buy their groceries in bulk, while Southerners get them individually… one by one for each type of vegetable. And that raised a big question among both camps about the other group: why are they buying their food that way?

As it turns out, that has a lot to do with the climate. 

Southern China can get very hot and humid throughout most of the year, and as a consequence, vegetables go bad after only a couple of days after buying them. That explains why many Southerners would prefer going to the market to get the amount of fresh produce they need for only a few days at a time.

On the other hand, Northerners like to stock up on food as winters are much colder than in the south. With temperatures plummeting below 0 degree Celsius, they’d rather have a well-prepared meal and can preserve vegetables more easily.

In fact, it gets so cold up there that it’s not uncommon to see a few (or many) vegetables hanging outside in backyards or balconies. No need for a fridge, really!

Let’s take a look. This collection is hilarious.

N vs S

North

South

See southerners going to the grocery store:

so tiny!

Which of the two purchasing tactics would you rather go with (if you don’t already)?

There is lots more to discuss the differences between North and South. Until then, stay tuned for more information coming soon!

Editor: Crystal Huang

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