'Tomatina' food fight in Shenzhen criticized as wasteful  

深圳世界之窗西红柿大战活动被批浪费食物

“五一”小长假的到来，各大景点为吸引游客，使出了浑身解数，推出了形式多样的特色节庆活动，丰富游客的游玩内容。5月2日，一组《深圳世界之窗展开西红柿大战》的照片在网上引发网友争议，大部分网友表示这是一种浪费行为，不能赞同。[查看全文]

(ECNS) -- An imitation La Tomatina food fight held during the May Day Holiday in a Shenzhen park has raised the ire of many netizens for wasting food.

During the three-day holiday, hundreds of visitors were involved in the tomato fight each day at the Shenzhen Window of the World, pelting one another with 750 kilograms of tomatoes, a report by Xinhua News Agency said.

The activity was designed to let visitors experience foreign culture and help modern people release stress, organizers said.

The wholesale price of tomatoes at a local market is about 4.2 yuan ($1.67) per kilogram, which means the food fight cost 3,150 yuan ($503.2) per day.

The majority of netizens who commented said it was a wasteful activity. One said that "it is not easy for farmers to harvest food, and in China there are still many who save money by eating vegetables."

Other netizens said the event was just a copy of a foreign festival, with no root in Chinese culture and tradition.

Organizers countered by saying that they had only bought overripe tomatoes, most of which might've been thrown away if no one had bought them.

The Spanish holiday La Tomatina is held in the Valencian town of Bunol, 30km from the Mediterranean.