224 Two cities tussle over who makes the tastiest hotpot

Hi, welcome to English Journal 365.

This is Hu Yuxi.

I will read the 224th English journal for you.

It’s about hotpot in China.



Two cities tussle over who makes the tastiest Sichuan hotpot
两座城市的角逐：谁做的四川火锅最好吃？



Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, has an ancient rivalry with Chongqing, a city to its south-east. Residents of Chongqing accuse their Chengdu cousins of being pompous. The people of Chongqing are hotheads, Chengdu dwellers shoot back. Both cities share a love of spice-laden Sichuan cuisine, which in recent decades has conquered Chinese palates. But they are at war over which has the best Sichuan hotpot—a type of DIY-cooking that involves boiling vegetables and slices of meat in a communal broth with chillies and numbing peppercorns.
四川省省会成都有一位宿敌，就是位于它东南方向的城市重庆。重庆市民控诉他们的成都兄弟浮夸自大。成都土著则反击道，重庆人都是急性子。两座城市都对满是香料的四川美食情有独钟，这种美食也在最近几十年征服了中国人的味蕾。但是现在这两座城市争得不可开交，争论焦点是哪里的四川火锅天下第一。四川火锅是一种让食客自己动手烹饪的美食，食客在一盆全桌共用的、满是辣椒和花椒粒的汤中，煮蔬菜和肉片。
A private museum in Chongqing, opened several years ago, makes the case for Chongqing-style hotpot. It describes how it developed from a method used to make cheap offcuts of meat taste delicious. But Chengdu is playing catch-up. In January the city sold a plot of land on condition that the developer build a hotpot museum on part of it.
重庆有一间私人博物馆于几年前开馆，它为重庆风格的火锅做了正面的宣传。它介绍说重庆火锅曾经只是一种将廉价的肉类边角料变得好吃的烹饪方法，并讲述了它是如何一步步发展到今天。不过成都奋起直追。今年一月，这座城市卖掉了一块土地，而购入这块土地的前提条件就是，中标的开发商需要在这片土地的某处建造一座火锅博物馆。
The two cities are among many in China with their own styles of hotpot. Hotpot restaurants in China are more profitable than other kinds, according to iiMedia, a consultancy. Haidilao, a well-known Sichuan-based hotpot chain, raised nearly $1bn when it was listed on the Hong Kong exchange in September.
中国有许多城市拥有自己特有的火锅风格，而这两座城市就是其中之一。根据艾媒咨询（一家咨询公司）的数据，在中国，火锅餐馆比其他任何形式的餐厅都要更赚钱。去年九月，总部位于四川的著名火锅连锁店海底捞，在香港交易所上市时，筹集了将近 10 亿美金。
Not all Chinese warm to hotpot. Some older Sichuanese disown it altogether. They complain that it is causing an escalation of chilli-use in other dishes that drowns out subtle flavours.
但并不是所有的中国人都变得越来越喜欢火锅。一些老派四川人则彻底和火锅划清界限。他们抱怨说火锅的流行让其他菜系也开始加量使用辣椒，结果盖过了菜品原有的微妙的口感。
But Chengdu’s plans for a museum suggest that Sichuan hotpot is not only growing in popularity, but is also becoming iconic. If it can set the West on fire, there will be plenty of glory for both Chengdu and Chongqing to bask in.
但是成都计划开设博物馆的行为表明了，四川火锅不仅仅只是越来越流行，它同时还变得越来越有（文化上的）代表性。如果火锅能够在西方走红，那无论是成都还是重庆，都将与有荣焉，如沐春风。


Well, this is the end of my English speech today.

Do you like Chengdu or Chongqing hotpot?

Thanks for your listening.

Goodbye and good luck.