0306 Big Fish on the Yangtze

This Randi Hacker with another Postcard from Asia from the KU Center for East Asian Studies.

Once upon a time, in China’s New Austerity Age, that is, now, a 2,300 ton, 295-foot glow-in-the-dark puffer fish statue with an elevator was built on the lush banks of the Yangtze here in Yangzhong. The first official story was that it was erected to draw tourists to a gardening expo. When that didn’t quite wash with the people, a new official story emerged: that it is a symbol of the wish to protect the ecological resources of the Yangtze which include the puffer fish, a deadly but popular delicacy. The cost of the fish? 70 million renminbi or 11 million dollars of which it is estimated that only $ 1.7 million was spent on actual fish construction meaning that the rest helped government officials live austerely ever after.

From the KU Center for East Asian Studies, this is Randi Hacker. Wish you were here.

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