Trending in Beijing: The Rice and Fall of Baijiu Stocks

The great baijiu hangover

While US amateur investors were caught up with meme stonks, no few Chinese investors continued throwing cash into baijiu bottles – but when you mess with rice liquor, you’re going to feel it the next morning.

The year 2019 saw a precipitous rise of baijiu stocks across the board, including the famous Moutai brand, with the industry stock index growing by 92 percent, followed by a growth of 120 percent in 2020. The liquor was made from rice, but the stocks seemed to be born of magic beans.

The industry finally saw signs of faltering in late January of this year as some experts speculated the prices may be overvalued. But when Moutai’s chief engineer was nominated for an award coveted among Chinese academics, many investors began to wonder if the baijiu, and the index, could pass the smell test any longer. This week, baijiu stocks began to topple by an average of about eight percent.

As we’ve come to expect from internet investors though, some netizens refused to back down. Wrote one commenter, “Prices surged so much before the holiday, they were bound to fall a bit. But they will rise again in the end!”

Others were less optimistic. “Don’t trick people into investing into baijiu!” wrote one user. “People are going to get hurt!”

What the fastest train in the world might look like

Netizens recently got a peek at how the country’s much-anticipated mag-lev rail will actually work with the release of a video animation previewing the technology.

If Guangdong’s plan to implement these super-speed rail routes between every major metropolis in China goes through as planned, then travelers could be whooshing along at 600 kilometers per hour on their way from Shenzhen to Beijing, resulting in a trip of just three and half hours – or about half the time the same trip would take using the current high-speed rail.

Of course, with this being just an animation, netizens are understandably skeptical. As one commenter put it, “It looks so amazing that it makes me believe there’s no way it can actually be as great as this.”

Others called into question the continued investments in passenger trains. “We don’t need this,” wrote one user. “It would be better to invest that money into upgrading our airports and freight railways. China is still relying on highways for freight, and this is affecting efficiency.

Don’t eat that fruit!

A confused Amazon vendor fell victim to ridicule as netizens discovered that a traditional Chinese spittoon was being marketed as “fruit basket” and informed buyers that it would be appropriate to use as decoration for their dining room tables. In reality, the receptacle is meant for spitting or urinating.

“That’s going to be some aromatic fruit,” quipped several users.

A more serious commenter observed, “This receptacle can really be used however one likes, but the vendor should be upfront about its intended use. I put flowers in a jar meant for chopsticks and that’s fine.”

Delivery for... me?

A kuaidi delivery driver was in for a pleasant surprise as he arrived at a Beijing address this week only to discover that he himself was the intended recipient of the package.

The family opened the door to greet the driver, who advised him to open the envelope for himself. Upon doing so, he saw that the family’s child had drawn a picture of him.

“It really looks like me,” said the driver. “It’s a great drawing.”

Lamented one user, “It’s always a different delivery person when I open my door.”

READ: Trending in Beijing: Doggy Ice Cart and a Message from Neck Imparts

Images: Reuters, Weibo