Dog Meat in Northern China

A few years ago I spent some time teaching English in a small town called Songyuan. Songyuan is, in comparison to other Chinese cities relatively small. With only 2.8 million inhabitants it is significantly smaller than the two neighbouring cities harbin and changchun.

During my time there I went exploring the many streets and alleyways after work. Every day I would lose myself exploring every facet of the city. Even though, most of the time I came across wonderful scenarios like the preparations for the dragonboat festival, I never managed to getting used to seeing dog meat butchers in nearly every street. This particular butcher shop, caught my eye, since it was very close to where I lived. They would grill dogs on a spit every wednesday afternoon. So I decided I wanted to catch a rare glimpse into what is happening behind the scenes. They did not want to show me the whole steps that where necessary to prepare the dog meat, since the butcher said that the recipe was a secret.

The complete dog is placed in warm water to remove the flesh from the bones.

The butcher closing the door. On the table is a selection of meet and a scale.

A platter for a special event. Such a platter costs around 150$. A high price tag for Songyuan residents and thus such specialities are reserved for special occasions.

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