奇速英语

一斤价格几百元，你实现“香椿自由”了吗？

Now, the young red leaves of the Chinese tree are being talked about as a hot topic among the middle class. The spring vegetable, which tastes a bit like onion and is used in many kinds of dishes, is not cheap. And in some places in the north of the country, like Beijing, its popularity has been driving up prices. It has been selling for 80 yuan to 200 yuan ($12 to $30) for 500g at markets in Beijing in recent weeks. That has led some consumers to take to social media, complaining they can no longer afford to buy the vegetable, which is famous as xiangchun in Chinese.

“You can buy this vegetable to show off your wealth,” one person said. Another said, “There are plenty of xiangchun trees at my grandmother’s house. I feel like I’ve just found the path to riches.”

The first spring leaves of the tree are traditionally used in Chinese cooking, especially in the north where they are fried with eggs, mixed with tofu, or used in stuffing for dumplings. But the price in Beijing makes xiangchun more expensive than pork, which costs an average 8 to 10 yuan for 500g there.

In other cities, xiangchun is cheaper. The leaves are being sold for 40 yuan for 500g in Qingdao, Shandong Province, Xiaogan in Hubei and Xi'an in Shanxi. And in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, the price is much lower, at 18 yuan for 500g.

Social media users complaining about the cost of the vegetable refer to people who can afford to buy it with the term “xiangchun freedom”—the same word used earlier in the year to describe those who could buy expensive imported cherries.