Shiwen Li

  In making sense of food systems, Parasecoli pointed out that “the notion that buying local is inherently better than accessing far-reaching networks has been gaining ground.” This phenomenon   is called locavorism, which is  “the preference for or the exclusive consumption of food produced geographically close to customers. This reminds me of the kind of locavorism towards milk that has been very obvious in recent years in China. Local milk brands are now competing with milk brands whose products are sold nationwide, and it seems that more and more customers now have the preference for local milk brands for several reasons.

  First of all, customers from one particular area tend to think that milk from local brand is fresher. Compared with many nationwide milk brands whose products typically have a much later expiration date, milk from local milk brands is better consumed within a week or ten days. Also, when shopping at a supermarket, consumers can always get the milk with the latest date of manufacture from local milk brands, since the products can be transported to all kinds of stores every morning from the origin within a comparatively short time. Although freshness may not necessarily be true for all cases, it is still a very important factor that influence consumers when choosing what milk brand to buy.

  Second, the locavorism also indicates a kind of emotional attachment from local consumers. The residents or consumers of  a particular region are likely to worry that brands from outside this region could possibly do harm to local brands, so they would choose local brands out of the emotional attachment they have with local ones and the willingness to protect local ones. For example, when asked about the reason for choosing local milk brand, a lot of people would answer that they have been drinking the milk from this brand when they were just a kid, the milk has become a kind of memory of their childhood, so they have this emotional attachment to the product.  The taste of the milk becomes the taste of childhood and the taste of hometown over years. Also, drinking milk from local brand can provide a sense of belonging of the place to a certain group of consumers.  Besides, a brand that remains the choice of customers for many years to some extents proves itself an assuring and safe brand.

(Guangming is local milk brand in Shanghai)

( some reviews from consumers who bought the milk online on Taobao)

  However, nationwide milk brands are usually  more powerful in terms of capital, so they spend a lot in advertising and marketing their products. It is very common for these big brands to use celebrities to advertise for their products in order to attract more consumers, but it is relatively seldom to see a local milk brand to invest that much in advertisements, although what attracts their consumers are never about “advertising” at all actually.

  Still, if a local milk brand could use right marketing strategies to let more people outside the region know about the brand and fall in love with the products, it is very likely that local consumers would be more proud of the brand and perhaps increase their loyalty towards the brand.

 

  I think many Chinese people would remember when they were children, there were once a world map and a map of China hanging on the wall of their home or the wall of their primary school classroom. At that time,  science and technology were not as developed and advanced as they are now. Maps on the wall seemed to serve decorative functions but actually they were the first windows for a kid to form a comparatively objective perception about how  the country looks like and how the world looks like, to know where he or she was under the geographical context of the whole country or the whole world, or just to have an idea about where a particular place is . That is to say, at that time, maps were more of a kind of tool to people.

(this is how a map of China on the wall might look like)

  For me, maps were also a kind of medium of  knowing more about the world I have been living in and were also what triggered my interest in exploring more places in the world when I was still a child. I remember when I was little, my dad was studying abroad in the U.S and my mom went there to visit and stay with him for months while I was in China with my grandparents. I asked them where my parents were, they  pointed to the U.S on the map and told me that it is a country very far away from my country. I compared the distance between China and the U.S and  the distances between China and some other countries and finally knew that America is indeed very far away from China. As I grew up and became a student, especially when I was in junior high school and senior high school, my understandings about countries in the world were continually developing  and enriching as I started to learn geography. A map became the thing that I had to memorize to get good grades, but apart from that need to get familiar with a map, a map is still the thing that connects me to a lot of places that I have never been to but still know where it is in this world.

  But now, I find that the meaning of a map to me has changed to one that is completely different from what it was before. In my daily life, when I think of a map, an outline of the whole world does not appear in my mind anymore. Instead, the word map now means the tool that I use to know how to get to a destination in a city, how to take public transportation, how to choose the fastest route to drive to some places. A map is no longer a piece of paper. It becomes an app on my phone that can solve almost any problems I have about my destinations in a city, but I seem to stop using it as a tool to know the world. This is kind of  weird since as I grow up and as technology develops, my knowledge about the world is supposed to also be growing thanks to the much more advanced science applied in various kinds of maps or mapping projects. It is like my world is becoming smaller and limited to the environment just around me. My connection with the bigger world is paused as paper maps gradually step out of my life and the convenience that those map-featured apps bring gradually gains its importance in my life. And now I start to wonder, is it just about the fact that what the word means to me has changed or I just lost my desire and curiosity to know more about this world?

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  In the first chapter Spaces of Everyday Diversity, the concept of ABCs, namely art galleries, boutiques, and cafes is brought up by the authors to refer to a kind of transnational sign of gentrification. While reading it, it reminds me of my experience of exploring Beijing Hutongs, where I think the term ABCs is very well applied. 

  Beijing is famous for its Hutong, a kind of architecture that has very long history and is well preserved to the present days. It represents a city look that is unique to Beijing and is culturally meaningful. Until now, it is still the living spaces for many citizens in Beijing. I’ve lived in Beijing for more than 4 years and from my experience, I think Hutongs are definitely not merely places for people to reside, but places that can serve tourism and commerce functions, and places where people can spend a whole day walking along and then having a rest anytime they want.

  In Beijing, different Hutongs attract different groups of people. For instance, the one that is the favorite of tourists is called Nanluoguxiang. In the four years of time when I lived in Beijing, whenever I went there, that place is always full of people coming from all over China. In recent years, it has become a must-go site when someone travels in Beijing. However, this place is just too commercialized partly due to its booming tourism. It is filled with mediocre food stalls and restaurants, boring souvenir shops, clothes shops where tourists are willing to buy some little stuffs for prices that are not low actually. There is no doubt that this place contains huge commercial values and provides those shops with a great opportunity to make money from tourists, but the crowds and shops that lack personality and characters just makes it an ordinary pedestrian area that is frequented by tourists in any other city.

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  Compared to the never-ending noise in Nanluoguxiang, Wudaoying, another Hutong in Beijing seems to be a bit quieter and more comfortable, and much less crowded. This place is a famous site for “Wenyiqingnian”, which refers to young people who love culture and arts. This place has a lot of great coffee shops that serve much better coffee than that someone buy in Starbucks. At Wudaoying, restaurants specialized in cuisines from all over the world can be found, and boutique shops are also another kind of attraction of the place. Although there are also tourists at Wudaoying, it is more liked by local people who spend their weekends and holidays there to hang out with friends, have brunch and enjoy a cup of nice coffee.

  It is true that places like coffee shops, boutique shops, and fancy restaurants can also be found anywhere else in a city, but when they are all gathered in a place where historical atmosphere is as strong as it is in a Beijing Hutong, I think this gives a very different feeling that one can enjoy modern pleasures in a comparatively old surrounding and environment represented by architectures. This is the unique charm that ABCs have in Beijing Hutong.