EURASIA CONSULT
P.O. Box 3158
Tel.: +31.15.2159604
2601 DD Delft
Fax: +31.15.2143215
The Netherlands
info@eurasiaconsult.nl
www.eurasiaconsult.nl
Leisure foods
Leisure Food (xiuxian shipin) is a typically Chinese category. Many Chinese
supermarkets, including the Chinese subsidiaries of multinationals, e.g. Carrefour, have a
special section for these products and several of the news sources for the Chinese food
industry discern this category as well.
Leisure foods are popular with Chinese travelers, business travelers as well as
holidaymakers. They are sold in shops in railroad stations, interregional bus stations,
airports, etc., and near sites such as the Great Wall or the Terra Cotta Army. This is the
reason why Leisure Foods do not only include candies or cookies, but also small packs of
processed meat. The total turnover of leisure food in China in 2007 was approximately
RMB 30 billion. In this special section, we are introducing the subcategories of leisure
foods, as used in the Chinese website for these products (http://www.xiuxianshipin.com/).
‘Leisure Food’ in Chinese characters
Preserved fruit (lianguo)
This product type is often confused with candied fruit. Preserved fruits are fresh fruit
soaked in a licorice and salt bath, which gives them their unique sweet and salty taste.
The Chinese often eat preserved fruit after meals, as it is believed to help digestion and
freshen the breath.
Preserved fruit
Candied fruit (mijian, guopu)
Candied fruits are soaked in a sugar solution, which gives them a sweet taste. Candied
fruits are consumed as candy and have no medicinal association like that of preserved
fruit.
Candied fruit
Fruit jelly (guodong)
While the previous two categories belong to the traditional Chinese foods, fruit jelly is a
more recent product, with konjac and fruit juice as the main raw materials. Fruit jelly is
extremely popular with children in Asia.
Fruit jelly
Loose/b