ZHONG Shuru

Associate Professor

Head, Department of Hotel Management

Email: zhongshr3@mail.sysu.edu.cn；zhongshuru@gmail.com

Position: Associate Professor, School of Tourism, Sun Yat-sen University

Research Interests: Food tourism; food culture; sustainable food systems; ESG in hospitality 

Profile

Zhong Shuru is an Associate Professor at the School of Tourism, Sun Yat-sen University, and holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Texas A&M University. Her research focuses on food tourism, sustainable food systems, and food culture. She is committed to advocating for sustainable eating and promoting social well-being. She has published over twenty papers in high-quality international and domestic journals and has led projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Guangdong Provincial Philosophy and Social Sciences Foundation. Her work has been widely covered by the media and has generated positive social impact.

Education

  • Ph.D., Anthropology, Texas A&M University, 2012–2018
  • B.A., Anthropology, Sun Yat-sen University, 2008–2012

Professional Experience

  • 06/2024–present: Chair, Department of Hospitality Management, School of Tourism, Sun Yat-sen University
  • 06/2023–present: Associate Professor, School of Tourism, Sun Yat-sen University
  • 09/2021–05/2023: Distinguished Associate Research Fellow, School of Tourism, Sun Yat-sen University
  • 09/2018–08/2021: Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Tourism, Sun Yat-sen University

Books

  1. Zhong, S. Wet Marketsin China. Guangqi Press光启书局, 2026 (upcoming).
  2. Hughes, A., Zhong, S., Crang, M., Zeng, G., Fastoso, F., Gonzalez Jimenez, H., & Doherty, B. Sustainable Food Consumption in China: Changing Foodscapes, Values and Practices (p. 206). Taylor & Francis, 2025.

Journal Articles (* corresponding author)

  1. Zhong, S., Werner, C. (2024). The hidden strength of small business: social networks and wet market vendors in China. Economic Anthropology. https://doi.org/10.1002/sea2.12323
  2. Zhong, S.* (2023). Relational proximity: The search for local food in China. Food, Culture & Society, 1–19 
  3. Zhong, S., Hughes, A., Crang, M., Zeng, G.* , Hocknell, S. (2022). Fragmentary embeddedness: Challenges for alternative food networks in Guangzhou, China. Journal of Rural Studies. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.09.008
  4. Zhong, S., Chen, Y., & Zeng, G.* (2021). Multiple problematisations: The logics governing wet markets in two Chinese cities. Urban Studies, 59(10), 2018–2035 
  5. Zhong, S., Crang, M., & Zeng, G.* (2020). Constructing freshness: The vitality of wet markets in urban China. Agriculture and Human Values, 37(1), 175–185 
  6. Zhong, S.* and Di, H. (2017). Struggles with changing politics: Street vendor livelihoods in contemporary China. In Research in Economic Anthropology, Vol. 37, ed. D. C. Wood, 179–204. Emerald Publishing Limited.
  7. Zhang, Q., and Zhong, S.* The politics of spectrality in earthquake ruins: remaking dark tourism in hauntology. Tourism Geographies. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2024.2358330
  8. Xiaohui, L. & Zhong, S.* (2024). Unsettling wildness: Seafood consumption in New Materialism. Agriculture and Human Values. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-024-10575-2
  9. Jin, Y., Wang, J., Wu, B., Zhong, S.*, Feng, L., & Si, Z. (2024). Land-based cooperation for alternative livelihoods in Laos: Case studies of Chinese agricultural companies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 141615
  10. Zeng, G., Chen, Z., & Zhong, S.* (2024). “We Chinese just want meat!” An analysis of Chinese netizens’ reactions to vegetarian advocacy. Food Quality and Preference, 105128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2024.105128
  11. Wu, J., Zeng, G., & Zhong, S.* (2023). Between the everyday and the extraordinary: encounters in the wet market study tour. Current Issues in Tourism, 1–20 
  12. Wang, H., Zeng, G., & Zhong, S.* (2022). Exploring consumer trust in extrinsic quality cues for pork products in China. Journal of Food Products Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1080/10454446.2022.2053024
  13. Yu, G., & Zhong, S.* (2021). Borrowed production: Spatial processes of urban waterfront tourism in Guangzhou. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2021.1962893
  14. Huang, G. I., Zhong, S., Wong, I. A.*, Lin, Z. C. (2021). Evolutionary selection for travel agencies under adversity through the lens of life history theory. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 38(9), 917–934
  15. Chen, Z., Zeng, G.*, Zhong, S., & Wang, L. (2022). From the exotic to the everyday: The avocado crossing borders via cyberspace. Appetite. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2022.106362
  16. Zhong, S.* (2022). The vitality of wet markets. Cultural Horizons (文化纵横), 12:148–154 
  17. Zhong, S., Wang, L., Xu, Y., Zeng, G.* (2022). Scalar logics of sustainable food systems: Cases from China, Brazil, and South Africa. Acta Geographica Sinica（地理学报）, 59(10):2097–2112 (CSSCI)
  18. Zhong, S., Wang, L., Zeng, G.* (2022). Local foods across geographic boundaries: A case study of dietary consumption among mobile populations in Guangzhou. Human Geography（人文地理）, 37(4):39–45 
  19. Zhong, S., Zhang, X., Zeng, G.* (2021). Research progress and implications on dietary acculturation among transnational migrants. Human Geography（人文地理）, 36(6):1–8 
  20. Zhong, S. (2013). The soaring phoenix: A development anthropology interpretation of the Banshan Hakka region. Hakka Studies Journal（客家研究辑刊）, 43(2):4–11
  21. Zeng, G., Li, Z., Wang, L., Xu, Y., Zhong, S.* (2024). Ethical change and identity co-construction in the dietary time of mobile populations. Human Geography（人文地理）, 38(06):23–33
  22. Zeng, G., Du, L., Wang, J., Zhou, H., Zhong, S. (2024). On several issues regarding the sustainable development of gastronomic tourism destinations. Tourism Forum（旅游论坛）, 17(6):1–9
  23. Zeng, G., Lin, J.*, Zhong, S. (2022). Diverse strategies and identity negotiation in cross-local dietary adaptation among mobile populations: A Guangzhou case. Progress in Geography（地理科学进展）, 41(04):660–669 
  24. Zeng, G., Xu, Y.*, Wang, L., & Zhong, S. (2021). From localization and deterritorialization to relocalization: Transformations in human–land relations during China’s urbanization. Progress in Geography（地理科学进展）, 40(1), 28–39 

Research Projects

  • 2024–2025: Guangdong Provincial Philosophy and Social Sciences Foundation, Sustainable Transformation of Urban Wet Markets, PI
  • 2020–2022: National Natural Science Foundation of China (Young Scientists Fund), Cultural–geographical mechanisms of dietary acculturation among transnational migrants: Cases from Guangzhou (No. 41901164), RMB 250,000, PI
  • 2019–2021: Central Universities Fundamental Research Funds (Young Faculty Training Project), Dietary acculturation, identity negotiation, and local responses of transnational migrants in Guangzhou from a new cultural geography perspective (No. 19wkpy73), RMB 86,000, PI
  • 2018–2021: UK Economic and Social Research Council international collaboration project, Sustainable consumption, middle class, and food consumption ethics, £584,900, Participant. https://research.ncl.ac.uk/scarfethics/
  • 2021–2024: National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program), Dietary ethics, consumption practices, and identity negotiation among mobile populations in Guangzhou from a new cultural geography perspective, Participant

Media Interviews/Articles (selected)

  1. Let’s go to the wet market! Talk at Yixi:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/_wYPxeOcga-davQi7F3FIw
  2. Go visit a wet market and rediscover nearby nature. Talk at Sanlian Life Weekly:https://www.lifeweek.com.cn/h5/article/detail.do?artId=216082
  3. You won’t find two identical wet markets in the world. Interview with Southern Weekly:https://www.infzm.com/contents/229668
  4. Farmer’s markets sow seeds for tourism boom. Interview with China Daily:https://epaper.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202308/03/WS64cad6fca310a478839f7634.html
  5. How can a smallholder supply chain deliver deliciousness to the table? Interview with Southern Metropolis Daily:https://m.mp.oeeee.com/a/BAAFRD000020220806710257.html
  6. Find your ecological niche in the world of wet markets. Interview with Yizhu Yishi:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/yZ0_ReHTm_4ePIhIv3H12g
  7. A female Ph.D. who spent six years visiting wet markets across China: Crowded and noisy, yet vividly alive. Interview with YiTiao:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/-1qZ3XB1MwoygaBdZ9rlfQ
  8. Wet market city walk. Interview with New Weekly:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/tzfKyF063FQZ_-3KkiDG7A
  9. Visit a wet market to confirm that life is always fresh. Interview with Tencent News:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/p1CXLRYwGYZqsX1jZFpH-Q
  10. Wet markets as the everyday and the exceptional. Article in Xinrui Weekly:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/CO3CobtovPJfhNgZTyFjLA
  11. The docks-and-harbors world of “seafood women.” Article in The Paper Republic (Jieshengzhi):https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/BMzkDAOX8se9zuLrlpwzEQ
  12. Why we need wet markets, and whether they have a future. Article in Shitong Society:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/5AfAqH6XCfDgnm5uPcCK5Q
  13. How chains are challenging traditional Chinese cooking. Article in Sixth Tone:https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1010132
  14. China’s pursuit of freshness. Article in T China:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/qXdhNe1GwOXbqt7FrnMU-g

Conferences / Invited Talks

  • 2024: Key roles of wet markets in China’s sustainable food systems. Diets and Local Food Systems in Asia, National University of Singapore, September 12–13
  • 2024: Organized “Symposium on the Construction and Development of the School of Tourism,” Zhuhai, September 25–26
  • 2023: Organized “2nd Annual Conference on Hotel Management Research in China and the 6th Conference on the Production of Food Culture,” Zhuhai, July 30–31
  • 2023: Sustainable diets in the Pearl River Delta. Shitong Society, Beijing, July 19
  • 2023: Low-carbon trips to wet markets. Co-hosted by Southern Weekly, China Energy Network, and Qianhe Foundation
  • 2022: Sociology of wet markets. Invited talks at Shenzhen University, China Agricultural University, Xiamen University, Shanghai Normal University, etc.
  • 2021: Food tourism. Rikkyo University (Japan), May 24
  • 2021: Food safety, consumer trust, and alternative food networks in Guangzhou. RGS-IBG Annual Conference, London, August 31
  • 2021: Local dietary consumption of mobile populations in Guangzhou. Youth Scholar Salon in Cultural Geography, Yinchuan, May 31
  • 2021: Local foods across geographic boundaries. 7th Youth Anthropology Forum, Lanzhou, May 29
  • 2021: Trust building in Guangzhou’s alternative food networks. Workshop on “Ecology and Humanities in the New Era—Anthropological Ecological Research,” Hangzhou, March 21
  • 2020: Sustainable transformation of Guangzhou’s food networks. 5th Academic Conference on Food Culture Production, Guangzhou, December 5
  • 2019: The visible hand: Governance logics in the transformation of wet markets. Annual Meeting of the Cultural Geography Committee, Guangzhou, China, December 8
  • 2019: Embeddedness and disembeddedness: How food networks respond to consumers’ healthy eating discourse. China Geography Conference, Beijing, China, November 4
  • 2019: Making freshness: The vitality of urban wet markets. International Conference on Food Culture Production: Food Consumption in Social Change, Guangzhou, China, July 7
  • 2018: The sustainability of traditional wet markets: A perspective from food consumption culture. 3rd Conference on Food Culture Production: Local Food Culture and Sustainable Food Systems, Guangzhou, China, October 21
  • 2018: The Resilience of Traditional Food Markets in a Chinese City: An Analysis Based on Food Consumption Culture. Urban Affairs Association 48th Annual Conference, Toronto, Canada, April 7

Awards

  • 2024: Outstanding Head Teacher, Sun Yat-sen University
  • 2019: Selected for the “Guangdong Overseas Postdoctoral Talent Introduction Program,” Guangdong Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security
  • 2017: Dissertation Fellowship, Texas A&M University
  • 2016: Graduate Research Fellowship, Melbern Glasscock Center for Humanities Research
  • 2012: Outstanding Graduate, Sun Yat-sen University