Calling All Brave Souls for our Chili Pepper Eating Competition

It's that time of year again: when Beijing's spiciest citizens duke it out by stuffing the vegetable kingdom’s most brutal member into their mouths, purely for citywide bragging rights and piles o’ swag.

Come one, come all to witness the spectacle that is The Beijinger’s 2021 Chili Pepper Eating Contest!

This will be our 10th year of the contest, which never fails to be the marquee event at our Hot & Spicy Festival, which takes place on May 15 and 16 at the Instreet Galleria Mall in Sanyuanqiao.

An audience of masochists will gather far and wide to watch this tribe of pepperheads snarf ten rounds of increasingly hot chili peppers, until but one champion remains.

The winner each day walks away with bragging rights as well as a pile of loot from sponsors. Other victims particpants will also take home surprises (aside from frequent visits to the toilet) to mark their gutsy attempt at glory.

However, first things first: we must gather willing souls to compete, and those Chosen Few must first prove their mettle by showing us a little of what they’re capable of.

If you have the iron will – and the iron stomach to match – then join the WeChat group below, where we will ask you to pre-qualify for the competition by sending us details of your chili-chomping chops:

We’ll need you all in by next Monday, May 10, so fire up that WeChat and scan away.

In the mean time, you might want to grab your Early Bird tickets to the fest (RMB 30 in advance comes with a special gift, or you may choose to wait and pay RMB 40 at the door, sans gift).

Or if you’re a real chili-head, order up one of our limited edition Blind Boxes filled with all manner of spicy goodness, from specially-forumated mala erguotou, Spicy Fest hats, mugs, and masks; discount coupons from participating spicy food vendors, and even the hottest jelly beans we think you’ve ever dared to try – the Flaming Five from candy masters Jelly Belly.

That's all there is to it ... what are you waiting for? 

Images: The Beijinger archives