Bowls for spit marketed as fruit baskets by Chinese sellers on Amazon for up to 20 times the local price
- Also traditionally used as chamber pots, the bowls, known as ‘tan yu’ in China, have been seen online marketed as ‘Chinese traditional antiques’
- An investigation found the Amazon sellers were mostly based in mainland China, according to addresses attached to sellers’ profiles
A traditional enamel “fruit basket” sold on e-commerce giant Amazon for up to 20 times the price paid by people in China has sparked hilarity online after its real use was revealed - as a traditional spittoon or chamber pot.
The “fruit basket” for sale – as it is described – went viral after a social media user posted a photo of the “Chinese traditional antique” online with a sale price of US$62.
Advertised as a decorative bowl to hold vegetables and fruit, the item was also found in other online shops with suggested uses being an ice bucket or for decorating the kitchen.
But it wasn’t just the high price tag attached to the item, traditionally known as a tan yu in China, that had internet users surprised, but also that the humble pot would be of any interest to foreigners. “I wonder what foreigners’ reaction would be after knowing what tan yu is used for in China,” one person wrote on the WeChat social media app.