隐性饥饿Hidden Hunger
“Hidden hunger” refers to malnutrition caused by a nutrition imbalance or deficiencies of vitamins and minerals as well as excessive intake of other nutrition. Research shows that such malnutrition can lead to birth defects and developmental disabilities, raise the death rate of children and expectant mothers, and severely degrade a nation’s population quality and economic prospects.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in 2016, some 2 billion people on the planet suffered from hidden hunger, 300 million of whom in China. As unveiled by China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission in its 2015 status report on nourishment and chronic diseases of Chinese residents, most Chinese people have irrational dietary patterns which don’t meet intake standards for minerals such as calcium and iron, and vitamins such as A and D. Long-term vitamin shortages and nutrition imbalances result in malnutrition for a large number of people, particularly those plagued by poverty residing in remote mountainous areas, who in turn suffer from various chronic ailments.
Today, nutrient enrichment technology has been widely acknowledged as the most effective means to tackle the hidden hunger. The technology enriches the content of micro-nutrient elements that can be absorbed by human body, found in crops. Since 2004, the International Food Policy Research Institute has managed the Harvest Plus Program globally and Harvest Plus-china in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Today, Chinese scientists have developed over 10 species of such crops.
stores, and the customs and life district. A tourist boat took me through the magical town, and I spotted an architectural marvel: “Bridge within a Bridge.” The serendipitous attraction was born of two ancient bridges that can be seen through each other’s arch. Another example of innovative architecture is the Moon Bridge, which is designed to evoke the full moon. These bridges look especially beautiful under moonlight, when the night sky reflects off the water underneath.
Later, I found myself fascinated by a shadow play performance, a form of traditional Chinese art. Performers tell entertaining stories by projecting characters made of sheep or cattle hide onto a white screen. They control the puppets with bamboo sticks, creating lifelike action in the shadows.
While walking past a plethora of museums and craft shops, I saw a traditional Chinese cobbler working on the roadside. Based on the piles of heeled stilettos, resoled boots and polished loafers, it seemed that he had a lot of work, but the wrinkly cobbler was happy to entertain my uninvited attention.
Like a generous tourist, I put my shoes on his anvil and asked him to polish them. To strike up a conversation, I asked him how business was.
“The days when I was too busy for chitchat are gone. Now I have plenty of time,” he replied.
He told me that he once handled 100 repair jobs a day as he rubbed his wretched old brush against my brown oxfords, turning them into a shiny mirror. “Five yuan,” he said politely. I took out a 10-yuan banknote from my wallet, handed it to him and rushed out. As I left, he stared at the banknote with a familiar smile.
China is anything but ordinary—i found a museum dedicated to beds! The Ancient Bed Museum at Dongzha Street is China’s first devoted to the collection and display of antique beds.
A framed bed with hoof-shaped legs and rails like brushes caught my eye. “Bed of a Thousand Craftsmen” is a beautiful piece of workmanship from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). As its name indicates, it took over a thousand craftsmen three years to make the bed.
At the Museum of Foot Binding in Wuzhen, artifacts and photographs privy to the painful pursuit of the “three-inch lotus,” a euphemism for the bound foot, were on display. In ancient Wuzhen, as well as the rest of China, foot binding was a controversial custom practiced for over 1,000 years.
It houses 825 pairs of shoes designed to bind female feet as well as numerous pictures and other relevant items.
While ancient stone bridges, stone pathways and delicate wood carvings flavor Wuzhen’s legacy, Nallah Maar has been relegated to fossilized remnant of erstwhile prosperity that Srinagar once enjoyed in the pristine past.
It’s heartbreaking to imagine the canal being filled in the 1970s to make way for a road through the old city after the arrival of motor transport.
My greatest takeaway from my stay in Wuzhen was realization that in the ancient water town built around a series of canals over 1,300 years ago, very little has changed. The place has been carefully restored and masterfully renovated.