The Price of Eggs in China
That price is for one 斤 (jīn), which is 500 grams (the vendor says that’s 8 eggs).
So that’s 5.8 RMB per kg, or 2.7 RMB per pound.
2.7 RMB, at the current exchange rate, is US$0.38 (per pound).
Even if you’re not buying the cheapest eggs, you can typically buy eggs in Shanghai for less than 1 RMB (US$0.14) per egg.
2020-06-19 Edit: Sorry, people, my original eggs prices were off. Thanks to readers for calling it to my attention.
The real reason I took this photo, though, is as a reminder to learners that your written Chinese characters don’t have to be amazing works of beauty to get the job done.
Since I hardly write by hand these days, my own Chinese handwriting is pretty ugly too, but I don’t sweat it.
I gain a lot of satisfaction from handwriting in both Chinese and English. There is something magical about the pen. I believe the act of handwriting helps you embed a language deeply. It’s a skill that requires nurturing. But just like anyone else who has Chinese as a foreign language, I struggle with handwriting in Chinese. My characters are too large. By Chinese standards they are sloppy. Even after many years I fail to write in a controlled hand such as John’s daughter demonstrates in the biang video.
I don’t get how price per pound (0.454 kg) is higher than price per kg and price per jin (0.5 kg).
Yikes, you are right! That was some sloppy math. I originally multiplied by 2.2 instead of dividing by 2.2. Updated.