Dog gone from the menu in Beijing
31st July 2008
With the Beijing Olympics’ opening ceremony just around the corner, the Chinese authorities are stepping up efforts to ensure that everything goes to (their) plan.
Olympics-endorsed restaurants in and around the Games sites in Beijing have been ordered to remove dog from their menus. However, adventurous gourmands can still sample a variety of other intriguing dishes around the city.
For instance, the five branches of the Guolizhuang penis restaurant offer a variety of priapic dishes. These include seal penis (3288 yuan/£245), lobster with donkey penis, testicles with chilli dip and a set menu including penis hotpot from 200 yuan (£15).
The authorities have also ordered some local restaurants to close for the duration of the Games in a bid to avoid offending foreign stomachs and sensibilities.
For more on the delicacies on sale in Beijing’s Donghuamen Night Market, see the latest issue of
Wanderlust magazine, on sale now.
Meanwhile, reports from the US say that internet browsing in Beijing during the Games will be monitored by the Chinese authorities.
Hotels have reportedly been ordered to install spyware on their computers to enable authorities to monitor activity. Access to websites that report on Tibet and the Falung Gong group will be blocked.
Other websites, including Amnesty International’s – which recently published a report criticising China’s human rights record – have already been blocked.
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