A dish that is a holdover from the country’s military past has proven unexpectedly popular with Chinese tourists, according to a local tourist official.
The National Center for Traditional Arts, which is based in Yilan County, said it had received numerous complaints from Chinese tourists over the past week since it removed a local dish common among Taiwanese military families from its menu.
Nancy Lee, the center’s public relations officer, said many Chinese tourists expressed disappointment when they found that the dish — Meal for Difficult Situations (克難飯) — was no longer being served. The simple dish of fried rice mixed with sausage, egg and soy sauce was a favorite of those who fled to Taiwan from China following the defeat of the Nationalist forces in 1949.
The dish has become increasingly famous among Chinese tourists, including some free independent travelers (FITs), who have been allowed to enter Taiwan since June 28, Lee said.
The center had been selling about 300 of the dishes per week, mostly to Chinese tourists, she added.
What surprised her even more was the reason why so many Chinese are attracted to the dish.
“They are crazy about the mini-Taiwanese flag we put in it,” Lee said. “It seems that Chinese tourists are especially interested in things that carry Taiwanese images, even though they might sometimes be politically sensitive.”
Shen Chun-chi Foundation secretary-general Kevin Chen, concurs with Lee’s observation.
“I have seen an increasing amount of critical thinking among Chinese tourists in recent years, and they seem more open to political alternatives,” he said.
Chinese have become more appreciative of traditional Chinese culture, largely destroyed in China during the Cultural Revolution, but still alive and well in Taiwan, he said.
“They really like our lifestyles, no matter whether it is reflected in Taiwanese flags or traditional Chinese characters,” Chen said. “I expect to see more cultural icons ... being discovered by Chinese tourists once the FIT program picks up steam.”
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