Life of Guangzhou - Guangzhou Time-honored Brands' Asiad Souvenirs

Ahead of the Asian Games, many old Cantonese restaurants and snack shops are preparing to cash-in on the event. (Guangzhou Daily)

Eating the lawei (Chinese cured meat) is suitable for November when the games are held.(Guangzhou Daily)

Ahead of the Asian Games, many old Cantonese restaurants and snack shops are preparing to cash-in on the event. On Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street, famous names like Lianxiang Lou (莲香楼), Taotao Ju (陶陶居), Guangzhou Restaurant (广州酒家) and Huangshanghuang (皇上皇) are busy launching Asian Games souvenirs.

As the saying goes, "autumn wind, cured taste." Eating the lawei (Chinese cured meat) is suitable for November when the games are held. In a special gift box presented by Huangshanghuang (皇上皇), there are eight different kinds of cured meat including pork, fish, chicken, duck, and traditional sausage. The packages depicts old Cantonese stories, a way to introduce Lingnan culture to the world.

These souvenirs are supposedly modified to suit foreigners' tastes, especially from Asian countries. Unfortunately, prices have also been changed, with common snacks sold to locals for a handful of yuan reaching up to 200RMB for foreigners. It is yet unknown how the Asian Games Organising Committee shall respond to such products which use the Asian Games for profit.

(By Robert Wang, David Keyton)