Goubuli, also sometimes transcribed as Go Believe (), is a brand of stuffed

baozi Baozi (), Pao-tsih or bao, is a type of yeast-leavened filled bun in various Chinese cuisines. There are many variations in fillings (meat or vegetarian) and preparations, though the buns are most often steamed. They are a variation of '' m ...

from

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...

, China. Founded in 1858, it is one of China's longest established brands. Each Goubuli bun has eighteen wrinkles.

Etymology

There are many explanations for the name Goubuli. The oft-quoted one relates to a poor village boy nicknamed Gouzhai. At 14, he became an apprentice at a food store. Thereafter, he set up his own shop specialising in selling

steamed Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. This is often done with a food steamer, a kitchen appliance made specifically to cook food with steam, but food can also be steamed in a wok. In the American southwest, steam pits used for cooking hav ...

, stuffed baozi. His supposedly very delicious baozi soon gained immense popularity in a short period of time. As a result, Gouzhai became too preoccupied with his business to converse with his customers; so they started to complain, "Gouzhai does not talk to people" (which loosely translates as ). In another similar story, there was a boy named Gao Guiyou who had a terrible attitude and could ignore people for days if he was angered. Thus, he was named by his mother Goubuli (his nickname "Gou" with "Buli" meaning "ignores"). At 14, Gou was sent by his father to Tianjin where he gained apprenticeship at a food shop and, after mastering his skills, set up his own shop named "Goubuli". Goubuli buns soon become popular with the Tianjin locals.

English translation

In 2008, in anticipation of the 2008 Summer Olympics which were to be held in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Goubuli decided to adopt an English name, "Go Believe", in hope of better

name recognition In politics, name recognition is the ability a voter has to identify a candidate's name due to a certain amount of previous exposure through various campaigning methods. It can be described as the awareness voters have about specific candidates r ...

by foreign guests. However, this was met with heavy criticism by Chinese netizens. , the Goubuli brand is owned by the Chinese

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field an ...

company

Tong Ren Tang Tong Ren Tang (TRT; ) is a Chinese pharmaceutical company founded in 1669, which is now the largest producer of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The company headquarters are in Beijing and is engaged in both manufacture and retail sales, o ...

Recognition

Goubuli buns were among the 396 food items awarded the "Famous Chinese Snack" title by the China Cuisine Association in 1997.

Gallery

File:Tianjin lunch of Goubuli.jpg, A traditional Tianjin lunch of Goubuli Baozi File:Goubulibunscooking.JPG, Goubuli buns being cooked File:GoubulibunatDazhalan.JPG, Goubuli bun, ready to eat File:Goubuli in Shanghai 2.jpg, Goubuli buns

References

External links