"Tofu-dreg project" () is a phrase used in the

Chinese-speaking world Sinophone, which means " Chinese-speaking", typically refers to an individual who speaks at least one variety of Chinese (that is, one of the Sinitic languages). Academic writers often use the term Sinophone in two definitions: either specifical ...

to describe a very poorly constructed building, sometimes called just "Tofu buildings". The phrase was coined by

Zhu Rongji Zhu Rongji ( zh, s=朱镕基; IPA: ; born 23 October 1928) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the 5th premier of China from 1998 to 2003. He also served as member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP ...

, the former

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, on a 1998 visit to

Jiujiang City Jiujiang, formerly transliterated Kiukiang and Kew-Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level ...

Jiangxi Province ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

to describe poorly built

levees A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural or artificial, alongside the banks of a river, often intended to protect against fl ...

in the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

. The phrase is notably used referring to buildings that collapsed in the

2008 Sichuan earthquake An earthquake occurred in the province of Sichuan, China at 14:28:01 China Standard Time on May 12, 2008. Measuring at 8.0 (7.9–8.3 ), the earthquake's epicenter was located boxing the compass, west-northwest of Chengdu, the provincial ...

disaster, and the Bangkok Audit Office skyscraper collapse initiated by aftershocks from the March 2025 Myanmar earthquake over 1000km away, which was constructed with poor construction techniques and materials. In China, the term tofu dregs (the pieces left over after making tofu) is widely used as a

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

for shoddy work, hence the implication that a "tofu-dreg project" is a poorly executed project. According to Chinese architect Li Hu, tofu-dreg projects in China are vastly outnumbered by buildings without construction flaws. Li said that in most cases, ill-constructed buildings do not collapse but merely have a reduced lifespan or leakages.

2008 Sichuan earthquake

During the

, many schoolhouses collapsed; resulting in the death of students. These buildings have been used to exemplify tofu-dreg projects. The collapses were linked to

allegations of corruption in the construction of Chinese schools After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, May 12, 2008 earthquake in the Chinese province of Sichuan, there were a series of allegations of corruption against officials involved in the construction of schools in regions affected by the quake. It gained ...

. On May 15, 2008,

Geoffrey York Geoffrey York is a Canadian journalist who works as the Africa correspondent for ''The Globe and Mail'', based in Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, ...

of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' reported that the shoddily constructed buildings are commonly called "tofu buildings" because builders cut corners by replacing steel rods with thin iron wires for concrete reinforcement; using inferior grade cement, if any at all; and using fewer bricks than they should. One local was quoted in the article as saying that "the supervising agencies did not check to see if it met the national standards." The state-controlled media has largely ignored the tofu-dregs schoolhouses, under directives from the propaganda bureau's instructions. Parents, volunteers, and journalists who have questioned authorities have been intimidated or arrested. To quash the issue, riot police officers have broken up protests by parents, cordons have been set up around the schools in question, and reportage simply stopped.

References

{{reflist Building and structure collapses in China Special idioms of modern Chinese language Civil engineering Engineering failures Metaphors referring to food and drink