"Unsanitary"... Mukbang of a 'Large Hotpot' That Can Serve 1000 People Simultaneously

Chinese Food Hygiene Again Under Scrutiny
1000 People Share Hot Pot at Event Venue
'Unsanitary' Netizens Criticize Repeatedly

In China, which has been struggling with various food hygiene issues such as rat hot pot and urine beer, a new controversy has arisen after footage surfaced showing 1,000 people eating hot pot at once.

Tourists participating in the hot pot festival held at Xiantang Industrial Factory. They are picking up ingredients from the hot pot with long chopsticks.
[Photo by X (X·formerly Twitter archive)]

On the 22nd (local time), local Chinese media reported that on the 21st, 1,000 tourists gathered at the Xiantang Industrial Factory in Meishan City, Sichuan Province, to share hot pot from a giant hot pot measuring 13.8 meters in diameter and weighing 10 tons. The pot cost 100,000 yuan (approximately 19 million KRW), took 8 days to make, and used about 2 tons of ingredients including broth and vegetables for the hot pot.

The event was planned as a regional promotion to announce Sichuan Province as the center of hot pot culture. The organizers allowed citizens and tourists to taste the hot pot for free. More than 1,000 tourists attended the festival that day, all enjoying the prepared hot pot deliciously.

Tourists participating in the hot pot festival held at Xiantang Industrial Factory. They are picking up ingredients from the hot pot with long chopsticks and eating them.
[Photo by X (formerly Twitter archive)]

Videos from the event show several people picking food from the same pot with chopsticks. They stir the red broth with chopsticks to get the ingredients they want and also scoop the soup with spoons. Although everyone used individual plates, since chopsticks were used, saliva mixing into the broth seemed inevitable.

Sharing stews or soups can spread various infectious diseases, including Helicobacter pylori, a major cause of stomach cancer. Netizens who saw the footage reacted negatively, saying things like, "Now I understand why COVID-19 spread," "Hot pot mixed with saliva from 1,000 people," "It looks disgusting," and "It’s like fishing for vegetables by the river." On the other hand, some netizens responded with comments such as, "We should respect culture," "It looks delicious," and "I want to participate in that event."

Food hygiene problems repeatedly occurring in China are considered a chronic issue. On the 20th of last month, a controversy arose when a mother and daughter who dined at a restaurant in Hangzhou reported their tongues turning black. The cause was negligence in managing the hot pot cooking pot. In December last year, a rat was found in the cafeteria food of a vocational school, leading the school to officially apologize and authorities to launch an investigation. In October of the same year, a video showing a man urinating in the raw material storage area of the Shandong Plant 3 of the famous Chinese brand 'Qingdao' beer went viral and sparked public outrage.