I spent the week in Beijing, where the weather was turning cold for the first time this year and it was impossible not to notice all the leeks and cabbages. They were strapped to motorbikes in bulk and resting in large piles on doorsteps. In all of the many tourist recommendations I had received, no one prepared me for this bounty of vegetables as part of the cityscape!
Thanks to a quick, VPN-enabled google, I learned that storing cabbage became a tradition for Chinese northerners after the privation of the winters of the 1950s and 60s. For those who lived through those years, a large stockpile of cabbage became a necessary assurance that you would make it through the cold months. In the fall of
1989, when Beijing was less than half the size it is today and still reeling from student-led demonstrations for democracy just months prior, the government miscalculated the cabbage yield and dumped way too many heads on the capital, then forced citizens to buy up the excess lest it rot in the streets. Many residents, it was reported at the time, "took pleasure in the government's anguish over the cabbage crisis." In
1996, the annual cabbage-buying frenzy was described as a fading ritual that "persists against the onslaught of modern supermarkets and glitzy shopping centers." But by then it was mostly the elderly stockpiling their winter veggies. By
2003, young people were on record saying that cabbage is "just like any other vegetable." And by 2014, hipsters were
walking cabbages on leashes in an act of delightfully absurd performance art.
I love this about travel: The way a seemingly minor observation can open up into so many interesting details. My search history from the trip also contains "Mao embalming" and "Tujia cuisine" and "China luxury goods market" and "scooter windproofing" and "Xinjiang region." But the cabbages and leeks! They photograph so easily. So that's the search I chose to share with you.
On the podcast last week, I interviewed the incredible
artist Shirin Neshat about art that transcends borders. This week, we're talking about
true crime with author Rachel Monroe. And on a meta level, read some quotes from the world's best producer, Gina Delvac, about how
our podcast has made us nobodies with fans. Let me tell you: It is strange and unexpected, not unlike spotting a giant pile of cabbages on your short-term neighbor's doorstep.
