This is Randi Hacker with another Postcard from Asia from the KU Center for East Asian Studies.

From fortification to fatification: A chocolate replica of the Great Wall was recently made here in China. It was created for the World Chocolate Wonderland whose sole purpose is to get the Chinese to eat more chocolate. On the one hand, news reports indicate that the Chinese are concerned about the sorry state of fitness among today’s overweight youth who, they fear, could not beat the Japanese in one-on-one combat if another war ever broke out between the two countries. On the other hand, they’ve built a replica of the Great Wall out of chocolate to boost the confection’s popularity among the billion-plus potential Chinese chocoholics. Does a consumer-based economy undermine critical thinking skills? You decide.

From the Center for East Asian Studies, this is Randi Hacker. Wish you were here.