Mayaya, once-remote, has become a hub for Chinese companies. But critics accuse them of exploitation and illegal exportsThe pork belly hits the oil with a sizzle, and a rich aroma of soy sauce and caramelising sugar fills the kitchen. Zhang Changchun, a middle-aged man from China’s Heilongjiang province, is cooking dinner for his friends on a warm evening in Mayaya, a small town in the Bolivian Amazon.“Bolivia is my happy place,” he says in Mandarin as he adds the dish to a table overflowing with pork trotters, duck wings and braised sábalo fish. In this small restaurant, a group of half a dozen Chinese men gathers most nights to eat, drink and play mahjong. Continue reading...
Chinese cigarettes and Bolivian beer: the Amazonian town transformed by a rampant mining boom
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The Guardian - UKBy By Yanzhi Chen and Benjamin Swift in Mayaya, Bolivia
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Mayaya, once-remote, has become a hub for Chinese companies. But critics accuse them of exploitation and illegal exports The pork belly hits the oil with a sizzle, and a rich aroma of soy sauce and caramelising sugar fills the kitchen. Zhang Changchun, a middle-aged man from China’s Heilongjiang province, is cooking dinner for his friends on a warm evening in Mayaya, a small town in the Bolivian Amazon. “Bolivia is my happy place,” he says in Mandarin as he adds the dish to a table overflowing w
Key Takeaways
- Chinese cigarettes and Bolivian beer: the Amazonian town transformed by a rampant mining boom.
- Mayaya, once-remote, has become a hub for Chinese companies.
- But critics accuse them of exploitation and illegal exports The pork belly hits the oil with a sizzle, and a rich aroma of soy sauce and caramelising sugar fills the kitchen.
Read Complete Original Article
Published originally on The Guardian - UK
