China street food vendors’ charity sale raises S$55,000 for co-hawker battling cancer

CHINA: Long queues formed at street food stalls near the Qishan campus of Fujian Normal University as students, local residents, and tourists rallied around a charity sale to help a hawker with cancer, raising more than RMB300,000 (about S$55,000) in just six days.

According to Mothership, 50-year-old Zhang Jianwu, known as “Uncle Jianbing,” who sells Chinese savoury crepes or pancakes with his wife, Gong Baoyu, at the university’s food street, was diagnosed with late-stage cancer in mid-November and faced medical costs so high that at one point he considered giving up treatment.

However, on Dec 9, his wife turned to an online fundraising site in a bid to cover Mr Zhang’s treatment costs. Word spread among students familiar with the couple’s stall, and support soon extended beyond their regular patrons as university students shared photos of Mr Zhang’s pancakes online. Some who visited the stall also chose to pay extra to help.

Fellow food street vendors later came across the appeal and agreed to hold a charity sale on Dec 10, donating all proceeds towards Mr Zhang’s treatment.

The news spread quickly, drawing students, local residents, and tourists to the food street and creating long queues at several stalls. One tea vendor said she brewed two to three times her usual volume and still sold out by the evening, while other vendors set higher sales targets or offered discounts to boost donations.

As news of the initiative to help Mr Zhang spread, Fuzhou City and Minhou County civil affairs departments offered living support and assistance in coordinating medical resources should he return to the city for treatment. A Gulou township government staff member also confirmed submitting applications for a minimum living allowance and a one-off emergency relief payment of RMB3,000 (around S$550) for Mr Zhang.

In addition, two companies donated RMB10,000 each via the Pucheng County Red Cross Society, which also contributed an additional RMB1,000.

Last week, on Dec 15, Mr Zhang returned to Fuzhou for treatment. Through his wife, he conveyed his gratitude and hopes to recover and return to the food street to make pancakes for the community that supported him. /TISG

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