Browsing a Wet Market with an Anthropologist | Event Preview

This Saturday (22 August), anthropologist and Foodthink’s old friend Professor Zhong Shuru will be bringing her new book China’s Wet Markets to Beijing! In the morning, we’ll head to a “special market” together to browse and chat; in the evening, we’ll start from “buying vegetables in Beijing” and discuss the past, present, and human stories of China’s wet markets, as well as their possible future.

Join us online or in person to discover the wisdom of “bidding farewell to the boring table.”

10:00–11:00 am

Browsing a Special Wet Market with an Anthropologist: China’s Wet Markets Livestream Sharing Event

Venue: South Gate, Shangri-La Hotel, Zizhu Bridge, Beijing · Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market

Livestream + In-Person Signing

*The in-person event includes a book signing; no registration required

*For the online livestream, simply book a viewing

7:00–9:00 pm

Bidding Farewell to the Boring Table: China’s Wet Markets New Book Sharing Event

Venue: Jiantou Bookstore (Guomao branch)

In-Person Event + Livestream

*The in-person event includes a book signing; please scan the QR code on the poster to register

*For the online livestream, simply book a viewing

– About the Author –

Associate Professor at the School of Tourism, Sun Yat-sen University, and PhD in Anthropology from Texas A&M University, USA.

A long-time researcher of wet market culture, sustainable food systems, and gastronomy tourism, she continues to explore—both in research and practice—how food can serve as a medium to reconnect people with food, nature, society, and place.

If you’re curious about Professor Zhong’s research, she has actually long been a “regular” at Foodthink.

From “working” on a remote island fish stall to discussing how wet markets connect to sustainable living, Professor Zhong has been a guest here many times, sharing her insights on the world of wet markets.

Before the event, why not revisit these highlights first:

🎧 Listen · Roundtable Podcast

🎬 Watch · Event Replay

*The above video was edited from a sustainable food sharing event in the Pearl River Delta on 19 July 2023,

For the full event video, please visit Foodthink’s Video Account to watch the livestream replay.

📖 Read · Field Notes

– New Book Recommendations –

China’s Wet Markets

Author: Zhong Shuru; Guangqi Publishing House | Published July 2026

Why do Chinese people love browsing the wet market? Do young people still go?

How have China’s wet markets stood firm amid the wave of the “supermarket revolution”?

What social structures and everyday wisdom do wet markets connect?

Where, truly, does the wet market’s resilience and vitality come from?

Across ten years, over fifty cities, and more than two hundred wet markets, the author conducted panoramic observation and fieldwork on urban wet markets throughout the country. The book explores the history of wet markets, vendor communities, the supply chains that underpin them, food consumption culture, urban public management, and other topics, uncovering the resilience and vitality of China’s wet markets.

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Published by Foodthink