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... 42

Up in smoke
Dec 14, 2018 (WiC 435)

In our last issue we detailed how China’s tobacco monopoly had announced it was set to hit its target of selling 2.34 trillion cigarettes this year. Indeed, while other countries are seeing declines in smoking numbers, China Tobacco celebrated ...

Wake-up Call
Nov 30, 2018 (WiC 434)

This column has tested the bounds of the idiotic on many occasions, but the efforts of a father to get his son out of bed takes things to a whole new level. According to ThePaper.cn, Mao Long and his son operated an excavator in Shanghai. Mao had ...

Booze buying
Nov 23, 2018 (WiC 433)

As we reported last week, Alibaba’s Singles’ Day once again set sales records ($30.8 billion was spent during the online shopping bonanza). Millions participated and spent big on the discounted deals the day is famous for. However, the ...

Howls of protest
Nov 16, 2018 (WiC 432)

The Chinese zodiac says we are in the Year of the Dog. But no one seems to have reminded government officials in the city of Wenshan in Yunnan. In late October they released new rules for dog owners that some netizens have dubbed “the most ...

Lectures in love
Nov 9, 2018 (WiC 431)

Breaking up is hard to do, but for a student at Hangzhou University it has proven particularly tough. Rather than recognise it is over, he posted a video online and made a PowerPoint presentation to try and persuade his girlfriend to come back. ...

Skin in the game
Nov 2, 2018 (WiC 430)

This summer the Chinese media launched a fierce debate on what it terms the niangpao or ‘sissy boy’ culture. The popularity of a series of androgynous-looking male pop stars and actors saw state media outlets like Xinhua openly worry ...

A life sentence
Oct 26, 2018 (WiC 429)

It’s safe to say that a marriage isn’t working when the husband tries to get himself jailed so he can spend a few days away from his wife. Such was the revelation in a case this month in the city of Zhoushan. The husband, surnamed Liu, had ...

Catwoman
Oct 19, 2018 (WiC 428)

During the Maoist era China was so poor that having a pet was almost unheard of. In more recent decades as the country has got a lot richer ownership of dogs, cats and other pets has grown dramatically. But making headlines recently in Fujian was ...

Sending a message
Oct 5, 2018 (WiC 427)

Tencent’s social media app WeChat is now such a feature of everyday life that the police in Zhenjiang have decided to incorporate it into how they punish people for traffic violations. Rulebreakers can now pay their traffic fines with ...

Pax Tyrannica
Sep 28, 2018 (WiC 426)

They are known as the “tyrants” of high-speed rail – passengers who take train seats they haven’t booked and then go to extreme lengths to hold on to them. The latest case to go viral is that of a Ms Zhou, a 32 year-old travelling from ...

Older »

1 2 3 4 5... 42

Week in China

Planet China

The strangest stories from the Middle Kingdom...

Up in smoke Dec 14, 2018 (WiC 435) In our last issue we detailed how China’s tobacco monopoly had announced it was set to hit its target of selling 2.34 trillion cigarettes this year. Indeed, while other countries are seeing declines in smoking numbers, China Tobacco celebrated ...

Wake-up Call Nov 30, 2018 (WiC 434) This column has tested the bounds of the idiotic on many occasions, but the efforts of a father to get his son out of bed takes things to a whole new level. According to ThePaper.cn, Mao Long and his son operated an excavator in Shanghai. Mao had ...

Booze buying Nov 23, 2018 (WiC 433) As we reported last week, Alibaba’s Singles’ Day once again set sales records ($30.8 billion was spent during the online shopping bonanza). Millions participated and spent big on the discounted deals the day is famous for. However, the ...

Howls of protest Nov 16, 2018 (WiC 432) The Chinese zodiac says we are in the Year of the Dog. But no one seems to have reminded government officials in the city of Wenshan in Yunnan. In late October they released new rules for dog owners that some netizens have dubbed “the most ...

Lectures in love Nov 9, 2018 (WiC 431) Breaking up is hard to do, but for a student at Hangzhou University it has proven particularly tough. Rather than recognise it is over, he posted a video online and made a PowerPoint presentation to try and persuade his girlfriend to come back. ...

Skin in the game Nov 2, 2018 (WiC 430) This summer the Chinese media launched a fierce debate on what it terms the niangpao or ‘sissy boy’ culture. The popularity of a series of androgynous-looking male pop stars and actors saw state media outlets like Xinhua openly worry ...

A life sentence Oct 26, 2018 (WiC 429) It’s safe to say that a marriage isn’t working when the husband tries to get himself jailed so he can spend a few days away from his wife. Such was the revelation in a case this month in the city of Zhoushan. The husband, surnamed Liu, had ...

Catwoman Oct 19, 2018 (WiC 428) During the Maoist era China was so poor that having a pet was almost unheard of. In more recent decades as the country has got a lot richer ownership of dogs, cats and other pets has grown dramatically. But making headlines recently in Fujian was ...

Sending a message Oct 5, 2018 (WiC 427) Tencent’s social media app WeChat is now such a feature of everyday life that the police in Zhenjiang have decided to incorporate it into how they punish people for traffic violations. Rulebreakers can now pay their traffic fines with ...

Pax Tyrannica Sep 28, 2018 (WiC 426) They are known as the “tyrants” of high-speed rail – passengers who take train seats they haven’t booked and then go to extreme lengths to hold on to them. The latest case to go viral is that of a Ms Zhou, a 32 year-old travelling from ...