Chinese City Defends Dog Meat Festival, Despite Scorn
It was the night before the summer solstice, and the tables at a streetside food stall here were set for the annual feast: steamed pumpkin, sautéed morning glory, smashed cucumbers and cold-skin rice flour noodles. At the center of each table were the two traditional dishes most essential to the celebration here: fresh lychees and heaping bowls of stewed dog, pungent with ginger, garlic, dried orange peels, bay leaves and fennel.
It is this last dish for which Yulin has become notorious, thanks to an annual dog meat festival that ended Monday, and the locals have heard enough, thank you.
“Why do people always pick on Yulin?” asked Tang Chengfei, 24, a recent university graduate who was sitting at one of the tables. “Haven’t you seen how the Japanese eat live bullfrog sashimi?”
Indeed, it is the perceived hypocrisy of the critics that seems to most annoy residents of this bustling city of seven million in the southern region of Guangxi, which borders Vietnam.
“I understand the other point of view,” Mr. Tang said. “Many people feel a special bond with dogs. But we grew up around dog meat. For us, it’s normal.” ...
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