Planet China « Week In China

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Planet China

The strangest stories from the Middle Kingdom...

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1 2 3 4 5... 40

Grandpa goes rogue
Jun 22, 2018 (WiC 414)

An incident at a kindergarten in Guiyang has rapidly become China’s most famous accidental kidnapping. Involving a six year-old boy, an errant grandfather and some far-from-foolproof school security procedures, it saw the wrong child picked up ...

Rent control
Jun 15, 2018 (WiC 413)

The term ‘absentee landlord’ gained a new meaning in Hangzhou late last month when the owner of a flat discovered the cost of leaving his property vacant. According to ThePaper.cn, the owner (surnamed Zhang) discovered that the locks had been ...

Call the delivery man
Jun 8, 2018 (WiC 412)

Called Lieferheld in German and featuring a muscular mascot in Superman-style outfit, Delivery Hero is the global leader in food delivery with nearly 300 million orders processed last year. The Berlin-based firm was forced to pull out of China ...

Love put to the test
Jun 1, 2018 (WiC 411)

Getting divorced is never easy, but in a small county in Jiangsu province it just got substantially harder. That’s because late last month it said estranged couples had to pass an exam before they could sever their marital vows. Donghai ...

Face in the crowd
May 25, 2018 (WiC 410)

Hong Kong singer Jackie Cheung has long been known by his fans as ‘the God of Singing’. Now China’s media has given him a new monicker: the Nemesis of Fugitives. As we first pointed out in WiC405, a wanted man was caught by police in early ...

The honest baker
May 11, 2018 (WiC 408)

In the world of stockbroking risk managers fear so-called ‘fat finger’ error, when traders put in a far larger orders than intended. This month Samsung Securities was left red-faced after it mistakenly issued 2.8 billion shares to 16 ...

Call of Nature
May 4, 2018 (WiC 407)

Incidents related to China’s public toilets rank among the most frequently covered topics in this column. But we have never written about a child urinating from a moving vehicle. A video that has gone viral in the past fortnight shows just ...

Open Casket
Apr 27, 2018 (WiC 406)

China is a place replete with traditions and to the outside observer some of them can seem a little odd. One of these made the news this week involving residents of Shangrao in Jiangxi province. The Global Times points out that senior citizens ...

Eyes on the road, please.
Apr 20, 2018 (WiC 405)

Multi-tasking is generally considered a skill, but it’s not so desirable when applied to bus drivers. According to ThePaper.cn, a driver in Dalian was suspended this month after footage online showed him reading a book and cleaning his shoes ...

No Butts
Apr 13, 2018 (WiC 404)

Everyone wants clean streets, but has the government of Shaanxi’s capital Xi’an taken things a bit too far? That was the question both media and netizens were asking this month after Legal Daily reported on punishments being doled out to the ...

Older »

1 2 3 4 5... 40

Week in China

Planet China

The strangest stories from the Middle Kingdom...

Grandpa goes rogue Jun 22, 2018 (WiC 414) An incident at a kindergarten in Guiyang has rapidly become China’s most famous accidental kidnapping. Involving a six year-old boy, an errant grandfather and some far-from-foolproof school security procedures, it saw the wrong child picked up ...

Rent control Jun 15, 2018 (WiC 413) The term ‘absentee landlord’ gained a new meaning in Hangzhou late last month when the owner of a flat discovered the cost of leaving his property vacant. According to ThePaper.cn, the owner (surnamed Zhang) discovered that the locks had been ...

Call the delivery man Jun 8, 2018 (WiC 412) Called Lieferheld in German and featuring a muscular mascot in Superman-style outfit, Delivery Hero is the global leader in food delivery with nearly 300 million orders processed last year. The Berlin-based firm was forced to pull out of China ...

Love put to the test Jun 1, 2018 (WiC 411) Getting divorced is never easy, but in a small county in Jiangsu province it just got substantially harder. That’s because late last month it said estranged couples had to pass an exam before they could sever their marital vows. Donghai ...

Face in the crowd May 25, 2018 (WiC 410) Hong Kong singer Jackie Cheung has long been known by his fans as ‘the God of Singing’. Now China’s media has given him a new monicker: the Nemesis of Fugitives. As we first pointed out in WiC405, a wanted man was caught by police in early ...

The honest baker May 11, 2018 (WiC 408) In the world of stockbroking risk managers fear so-called ‘fat finger’ error, when traders put in a far larger orders than intended. This month Samsung Securities was left red-faced after it mistakenly issued 2.8 billion shares to 16 ...

Call of Nature May 4, 2018 (WiC 407) Incidents related to China’s public toilets rank among the most frequently covered topics in this column. But we have never written about a child urinating from a moving vehicle. A video that has gone viral in the past fortnight shows just ...

Open Casket Apr 27, 2018 (WiC 406) China is a place replete with traditions and to the outside observer some of them can seem a little odd. One of these made the news this week involving residents of Shangrao in Jiangxi province. The Global Times points out that senior citizens ...

Eyes on the road, please. Apr 20, 2018 (WiC 405) Multi-tasking is generally considered a skill, but it’s not so desirable when applied to bus drivers. According to ThePaper.cn, a driver in Dalian was suspended this month after footage online showed him reading a book and cleaning his shoes ...

No Butts Apr 13, 2018 (WiC 404) Everyone wants clean streets, but has the government of Shaanxi’s capital Xi’an taken things a bit too far? That was the question both media and netizens were asking this month after Legal Daily reported on punishments being doled out to the ...