Animals have had a hard time of it recently. Hainan welcomes tourists, but not their dogs. Meanwhile, the cat’s out of the bag and into the soup. If that thought doesn't turn your stomach, the toxic milk, oil or peanuts will. As for this week's good news? Line 1 improvements are coming to a subway station near you.

What did you eat on the way to work this morning? Was it an egg, mystery meat and lettuce sandwich from one of these taxi-coloured wagons? Don't lie. They're everywhere now. The rise of Beijing’s mobile breakfast booths has been meteoric. Well, as state-sanctioned snack wagon expansion projects go. Dongcheng, Chaoyang, Xuanwu ... no district is safe.

If you thought this post on subway escalators was the last of it, think again. China’s subways are making news left and right and not just for their escalators but for bad drivers and ever worse passengers. Feeling safer above ground? Just watch out for the fake food and fires.

Snacks with additives dominate the capital’s markets. Just check the packaging and you’ll discover that even so-called “healthy” wholegrain or cereal biscuits – no matter local brands or imports – are usually stuffed with preservatives, stabilizers, sweeteners and flavor enhancers. That’s why a huge sweet tooth like me usually harvests nothing from supermarkets.

Food scandals are so common in China that they no longer offer shock or surprise to anyone that’s been here for any length of time. To wake everyone up from that dull slumber Chinese farmers have truly outdone themselves this time – exploding watermelons. Add to that drugged fish and counterfeit duck to round out the latest list to watch what you eat.

Country Fair organizers Emi Uemura and Caroline Merrifield tell us how we can get acquainted with our local organic farmers.

How does Country Fair work?
Country Fair developed out of a need to connect Beijing’s organic farmers with the city’s consumers. The event – modeled after farmers’ markets like those in Canada or the US – works as a platform for consumers to engage directly with the people who feed them, and for farmers to practice direct marketing. Our hope has been that the Country Fair events will increase consumers’ understanding of our urban food system, supporting the efforts of Beijing’s small-scale organic producers. 

Beijing’s health authorities, not content with banning smoking, are now attempting to change the city's eating habits, to the delight of local nutritionists.

Last week we wrote about concerns over harmful chemicals allegedly used in many hotpot restaurants around China, including claims that “Eighty percent of hotpots served at (restaurants) contain such chemical additives.” This week the China Hotpot Commission convened a convention to refute the negative press and offer assurances about the safety of eating hotpot.

Forbes: TIME Confirms Mark Zuckerberg’s Upcoming China Trip

“In Time magazine’s person of the year profile on Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, a paragraph in the middle of the story confirms that Zuckerberg is indeed headed to China over the holidays.” [We would give you the link to the TIME article but ironically it appears to be blocked...]

During our visit to Liuminying Ecological Farm (留民营生态农庄), the most memorable scenes were rows of opaque greenhouses, dozens of Lego-like operating rooms with cheerful red roofs and yellow walls, blue skies and bright sunshine. Located in Daxing District, it is the first village applying ecology agriculture in China.