Last year's winner consumed 15 chilies in just one minute.
On Monday, July 9, Chinese province Hunan kicked off its annual chili festival by organizing a chili-eating competition in which contestants battled to see who could consume 50 Tabasco chilies in the shortest amount of time, The Straits Times reports. Each of the ten contestants was given a plate of 50 chilies to finish while sitting inside a pool full of water filled with three tons of chilies.
The winner of this year's contest was Tang Shuaihui, who finished his plate in just 68 seconds. Shuaihui received a three-gram 24-karat gold coin for his hot performance.
"He finished them at an amazing speed, barely after the emcee had finished speaking," said Sun Minying, an employee at the theme park called Tanhe Ancient City where the event was held.
The Tabasco pepper is categorized as a hot pepper with a heat level of 30,000 to 50,000 on the Scoville scale, a measurement of pepper's spiciness.
Doctors were ready at the contest in case of emergencies.
The chili festival in Hunan will run until the end of August, during which a new chili contest will be held daily.
[Photos via The Straits Times]
