‘Stinky tofu’ sellers at Chinese temple told to cut down the smell
Tourists have complained about the pong from the traditional fermented bean curd snack sold around the site in Nanjing
Vendors selling “stinky tofu” around a well-known temple in eastern China have been ordered to take measures to cut down the smell after complaints from tourists, according to a news website report.
The vendors at the Fuzi Temple in Nanjing in Jiangsu province had been told to fit air extractors and install windows to contain and reduce the pong, Thepaper.cn reported.
Thirty-five stalls and shops sell the snack in a scenic area around the temple and 18 have been ordered to sort out the problem, according to the report.
A manager at the scenic area was quoted as saying the move was to improve hygiene. It will cost each vendor about 20,000 yuan (US$3,000) to take the measures ordered.
Other snack sellers offering barbecued food and deep-fried dough would be covered by the regulations in the future, the manager said.
Another manager said they had received complaints from tourists about poor hygiene and air pollution generated by the tofu stalls.
“This gets especially worse when tourists are stuck between narrow streets and have to put up with the smell. Not everyone likes that smell,” he said.
Residents in Nanjing appear to back the crackdown.
“The historical flavour of the Fuzi Temple has been changed after its streets were turned into stinky tofu streets,” one person wrote on social media.
Another said all smelly food, including durian fruit, should be banned from sale on open stalls.
“I just don’t understand how they manage to keep these foods down,” the commenter wrote.
