Goose Leg Auntie Probed: How a Beloved Beijing Vendor Sold Duck Legs for Years

Beijing’s Haidian District Market Supervision Bureau has launched an investigation into Chen Xiufeng, the street vendor known as “Goose Leg Auntie” (鹅腿阿姨), for allegedly misleading consumers by selling duck legs under the guise of goose for years. The case, which erupted on June 9 when customers discovered the deception, has ignited a fierce public debate about consumer trust, food labeling, and the unregulated world of social media-based food vendors in China.

The Rise of an Unlikely Icon

Chen Xiufeng’s story was once the stuff of heartwarming urban legend. A migrant worker from Jiangsu province, she arrived in Beijing in 2000 and began selling fruit near Peking University’s southwest gate, where students affectionately called her “Fruit Auntie.” Around 2016, she pivoted to selling roasted goose legs via a pre-order system on WeChat, adopting the name “Goose Leg Auntie.”

Her breakthrough came in the winter of 2023, when she went viral on social media. Students from Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Renmin University of China competed to buy her products, forming nearly 20 WeChat group chats with tens of thousands of customers. Order volumes reportedly exceeded 10,000 participants in group-buying sessions. In 2024, Peking University’s Innovation Society invited her to speak at the Centennial Memorial Hall, and the university published an official article celebrating her story — a piece it has since deleted.

The Deception Unravels

On June 9, 2026, Chen posted a notice in her group chats revealing that she had been reported to authorities. The bombshell: the “goose legs” she had been selling were actually duck legs. According to her husband, Mr. Liang, the couple sold genuine goose legs for only about two months in 2018 before supply chain issues forced them to switch to duck. But they never changed the name.

“When we first started selling barbecue, we really did use goose legs,” Liang told Jiupai News, as reported by China News Service. “But after about two months, the cold storage supply was cut off and we couldn’t get stock, so we had to sell duck legs. But by then the students had gotten used to calling her ‘Goose Leg Auntie,’ so we didn’t change the name.”

Chen herself offered a candid explanation: “I first sold fruit on the Peking University campus, and everyone called me ‘Fruit Auntie.’ Later I switched to selling roasted legs, and became ‘Goose Leg Auntie.’ But selling duck legs and being called ‘Duck Leg Auntie’ — that didn’t sound good to me, so I said let’s keep calling me ‘Goose Leg Auntie,’” she told The Paper.

Consumer Backlash and Regulatory Response

The revelation triggered an immediate backlash. The hashtag “#GooseLegAuntieSellsDuckLegs#” trended at number one on Weibo. Multiple consumers reported receiving meat with green discoloration, raising concerns about spoiled or low-quality frozen duck. One student surnamed Liang, who had purchased over 50 times, told reporters: “The 16-yuan ‘goose leg’ carried so many beautiful campus memories for me, but now I just feel that my trust has been betrayed.”

The Haidian District Market Supervision Bureau issued an official statement on June 11 confirming the investigation, stating it was “further verifying its suspected misleading of consumers and other behaviors” and would handle the case according to law. The China Consumer Association also confirmed it had taken notice and was collecting information. Meanwhile, Peking University deleted its promotional article about Chen, and regulators visited her rented kitchen in Changping District.

A Legal Gray Area

Legal experts are divided on whether Chen’s actions constitute fraud or merely misleading conduct. Lawyer Deng Gang of Guangdong Fengsheng Law Firm argued that promotional language in group-buying chats repeatedly using the word “goose leg” — such as “goose leg接力” (goose leg接力) — has the nature of product names and could constitute false advertising.

However, Chen’s defenders note that the 16 RMB (approximately $2.20 USD) price point was far too low for genuine goose meat, suggesting knowledgeable consumers should have recognized the discrepancy. Chen has registered multiple “Goose Leg Auntie” trademarks across various categories between 2023 and 2025, yet she operated without a registered company — a common practice in China’s sprawling WeChat-based food vendor ecosystem.

Broader Implications

The “Goose Leg Auntie” case exposes significant gaps in the oversight of social media-based food vendors in China. WeChat group-buying has enabled small vendors to build substantial businesses without formal registration, food safety certification, or regulatory oversight. The case also highlights a fundamental tension in China’s social commerce ecosystem: the blurring of personal relationships and commercial transactions. Students described their purchases in terms of emotional support and community bonding, making the sense of betrayal particularly acute.

What’s Next

The investigation is ongoing, with multiple government agencies now involved. Key questions remain: Will Chen face administrative penalties or criminal prosecution? Will affected consumers receive compensation? And perhaps most significantly, will this case prompt China to introduce new regulations for the rapidly growing phenomenon of WeChat-based food vendors? The outcome could have far-reaching implications for how China balances the warmth of grassroots entrepreneurship with the rigors of consumer protection.