Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
A restaurant in southern China has sparked debate by marking prices not with traditional numbers but with education levels.
The eatery, whose name has not been released, is in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province. It specialises in Cantonese cuisine, according to the news portal Shangyou News.
Instead of numerical prices, each dish on the menu is labelled with academic levels written in Chinese characters.
This pricing style categorises dishes costing 10 yuan (HK$10.6) as “kindergarten”, while those costing 20 yuan (HK$21.3) are marked as “tertiary school”.
At the top of this pricing system is “academician”. It refers to members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences or the Chinese Academy of Engineering. This honour is considered the highest scientific achievement in mainland China, with dishes priced at 32 yuan (HK$34) for this title.
The restaurant has generated discussion on mainland Chinese social media, with users divided over its pricing approach. Some have even called it educational discrimination.
Answer: the title of “academician”
