Growing up in a small immigrant industrial town in Northwest China without a local dialect, my experiences studying in Shanghai and the UK heightened my awareness of the cultural significance of “food” and “dialect” as attributes of identity. This inspired a series of personal explorations on these topics.

From the perspective of food language and Shanghai culture, my series "Food Words of Shanghainese" explores the relationship between contemporary popular culture, food, dialect, and identity. It uses food puns and wordplay rooted in Shanghai dialect as entry points.

Notably, Shanghainese incorporates many loanwords, especially in a category called “Yangjingbang”, which mainly comes from English. Additionally, some words have extended their original meanings to encompass related or metaphorical concepts—food nouns being a prominent example. These linguistic nuances reveal how language and culture intertwine, shaping local identity and expression.