Apple demand skyrockets

On Christmas Eve, some foreigners in Beijing are surprised by a new Chinese Christmas custom, the high-cost Christmas apple.

Canadian Philip McMaster received on Tuesday his first Christmas apple, from a Chinese friend.

"I think apples are wonderful gifts for Christmas, because they are healthy food," he said. "Also compared with other gifts made from plastic or other material, apples are eco-friendly," said McMaster.

The Christmas apple tradition started to take hold about six years ago. They are often packed in red paper or plastic wrapping. The packages can feature Santa Claus or Christmas trees, or the words "Merry Christmas."

Julien Page, an Australian who has been in China for nine years, told the Global Times she first spotted the Christmas apples two years ago.

Page said her colleague explained to her that the pronunciation of the word apple in Chinese, pingguo, is similar to the word peace. "Chinese people call Christmas Eve 'Ping An Ye', which means Peaceful Night, so the apple symbolizes peacefulness," said Page.

Page said she would not spend money on Christmas apples because they are too expensive. "Some apples can be as much as 80 yuan ($13) each, that is just too much," she said.

Although the apples are no different from ordinary apples, they are more expensive during Christmas Eve. A staff member from a 7-11 convenience store on Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang district, said his shop sold more than 40 at 6.6 yuan each. All the buyers were Chinese. A Wu-Mart convenience store clerk said the store sold between 10 to 20 Christmas apples, each priced at 30 yuan.

In a nearby Wal-mart, the cheapest apples go for a fraction of the price at 3.9 yuan per kilo. But the staff said they also offer Christmas apple wrapping service. "Wrapping an apple with a plain plastic paper costs five yuan, while wrapping it with decorative wrapping and a bowknot will cost you 15 yuan."

"I don't mind that some people are making extra money from Christmas apples as long as the price is reasonable," said McMaster, a researcher with the World Sustainability Project, but he added that he has noticed Chinese people are making Christmas a festival to give away expensive yet useless gifts.

"Christmas is a religious holiday, but it's a strange thing that Chinese people are making it into a day for consumption. It is a day for love and affection between relatives and friends rather than shopping, I think Chinese people should know about this," he said.

Zhao Qing, who works in a bank, said that though she knew people don't give Christmas apples in the West, she still bought one on Christmas Eve. "It doesn't matter whether Westerners give apple on Christmas, because here in China, we buy them for good hope."