Although Mid-Autumn Festival has a few days to go, Shanghainese cannot help to line up(排队 páiduì) for purchasing mooncakes one month earlier. In the morning on weekdays, middle-aged aunties and uncles are already in lines for hours waiting for the fresh baked mooncake. Queuing seems to become one of people’s survival skills in Shanghai. If you want to experience something new and famous, you have to observe this convention…
Is it worthwhile?
Two hours for a cup of milk tea; one hour for a loaf of bread; Sweet green rice ball in spring while mooncake in autumn…Queuing has become a kind of pre-eating ceremony. “I feel that the food got after waiting in line is really better.” Such comments are not rare in posts of social media. The baked mooncakes are supplied almost every day in a year. Why do people still go in line waiting a fresh baked one for three hours or more?
If you think it just because Shanghainese people are influenced by Internet Sensation, you are wrong. Among them of course, some people like join the fun of what most people do. However, before the era of online marketing, people have been addicted to food queuing. What is overlooked is that old Shanghainese are particular about “eating”.
What exactly are they looking for? There is a food map of Shanghai in the heart of every local:
Xiānròu yuèbǐng yào chī Guāngmíngcūn de。鲜肉月饼要吃光明邨的。Fresh baked meat mooncake should be eaten from Guangmingcun.
Xiānnǎi dàngāo yào chī Hóngbǎoshí de。鲜奶蛋糕要吃红宝石的。Fresh cream cake should be eaten from Hongbaoshi.
Báizhǎnjī yào chī Xiǎoshàoxīng de。白斩鸡要吃小绍兴的。Boiled chicken should be eaten from Xiaoshaoxing.Shanghainese’s passion on eating is reflected on the obsession with time honored brands(老字号 lǎozìhào). That is what we say the brands having long history and famous. Especially the old generation has a deep sense of brand identity(品牌认同感 pǐnpái rèntónggǎn).
The history of queuing Queue is a modern product of human civilization. The form of “one by one” symbolizes rules and equality. Everyone has to follow the rule of “first come, first served”(先到先得 xiān dào xiān dé). Shanghainese’s complex for lining up or abiding by rules has a long history. Since Shanghai’s opening as a commercial port in 1843, concessions of Britain, United States and France have been established, where foreigners were responsible for construction. Among the first who came to do business in Shanghai loved queuing up: the British. It is said even when they were alone, they would wait in a neat line. The concessions became a window for locals to learn western culture at that time, which laid the foundation for the city with the highest degree of modernization in China.
It’s fair and square. Queuing is not a special offer, not pulling up strings, not a private deal. Being able to stand in a line is an option. As long as you are willing to pay time and energy, you can eat, see, hear and buy. “No pain, no gains” is a philosophy of life that has been long accepted by Shanghainese. The success achieved through personal striving will receive a more positive evaluation.
Shanghai people fond of queuing in the final analysis is that they like civilization and fairness. “I can’t make it today. If I come earlier next time, I’ll probably be able to buy it.” If everything can be solved waiting in a line, who will not try it?
