Sorry, you have not enabled Javascript for your internet browser, so some of our website's pages may not render as fully as intended.
Please Click here for easy instructions on how to enable Javascript on your browser or consult your IT support staff for help.

Planet China

The strangest stories from the Middle Kingdom...

Older »

1 2 3 4 5... 46

Hogging the headlines
Dec 6, 2019 (WiC 477)

A survey by Wealth-X found that 80% of the ultra-wealthy donate to educational causes when dishing out their philanthropy. Of course, over the years many successful businesspeople have donated to their former school. However, in China this week ...

What a way to fail
Nov 29, 2019 (WiC 476)

Celebrating prematurely has been the undoing of many people throughout history. Just ask George W Bush about his 2003 “Mission Accomplished” banner – a phrase that the Boston Globe said “haunted” his presidency when Iraq subsequently ...

Train wreck
Nov 22, 2019 (WiC 475)

On December 1 the city of Nanyang in Henan will be connected to China’s high-speed train network. The local government got so excited by this prospect that it decided to hold a music festival to celebrate. However, what ended up getting media ...

Confusion, then chickens
Nov 15, 2019 (WiC 474)

Minor mistakes with medical records can have major consequences. For a luckless woman living in Nanjing, a faulty report nearly brought an end to her marriage. Surnamed Li, the 30 year-old had been married for six years when a report from a ...

Stupid skipper
Nov 8, 2019 (WiC 473)

China is so short of pilots that it has poached nearly 500 of them from South Korea (see this week's "Aviation" section). But that hasn’t stopped one of the country’s airlines from banning a local pilot for life and suspending his co-pilots ...

Relying on horsepower
Nov 1, 2019 (WiC 472)

When internet celebrity Luo Yonghao was upset at the poor performance of his Siemens fridge, he hit on a unique solution. He laid down a few of the brand’s fridges outside Siemens China headquarters and smashed them up with a sledgehammer. ...

Men behind the bars
Oct 25, 2019 (WiC 471)

China has a long history of alchemy, with the first of the imperial edicts promising death to gold counterfeiters dating back to 144 BC. Yet the practice is alive and well in the province of Shaanxi, according to a story in Caixin about a rural ...

Read, at speed
Oct 18, 2019 (WiC 470)

Most of us can read at a pace of about 200 words a minute. Scientific evidence of the merits of speed-reading are generally lacking. Most of the techniques involve getting words more efficiently to the centre of the retina. Some practitioners ...

Completely nuts
Sep 27, 2019 (WiC 468)

Consumers in China are defending their rights with ever-increasing relish. A recent claim against Disney in Shanghai was a case in point – particularly as it led to a change in company policy (see WiC467). Perhaps inspired by the case, a 30 ...

Face off
Sep 20, 2019 (WiC 467)

Female students were greeted by an unusual sight when they arrived at a school in Sansui county in Guizhou province last week. A teacher was waiting for them with a bucket and a wet towel. According to Beijing News, he washed each of their faces ...

Older »

1 2 3 4 5... 46

Planet China

The strangest stories from the Middle Kingdom...

Hogging the headlines Dec 6, 2019 (WiC 477) A survey by Wealth-X found that 80% of the ultra-wealthy donate to educational causes when dishing out their philanthropy. Of course, over the years many successful businesspeople have donated to their former school. However, in China this week ...

What a way to fail Nov 29, 2019 (WiC 476) Celebrating prematurely has been the undoing of many people throughout history. Just ask George W Bush about his 2003 “Mission Accomplished” banner – a phrase that the Boston Globe said “haunted” his presidency when Iraq subsequently ...

Train wreck Nov 22, 2019 (WiC 475) On December 1 the city of Nanyang in Henan will be connected to China’s high-speed train network. The local government got so excited by this prospect that it decided to hold a music festival to celebrate. However, what ended up getting media ...

Confusion, then chickens Nov 15, 2019 (WiC 474) Minor mistakes with medical records can have major consequences. For a luckless woman living in Nanjing, a faulty report nearly brought an end to her marriage. Surnamed Li, the 30 year-old had been married for six years when a report from a ...

Stupid skipper Nov 8, 2019 (WiC 473) China is so short of pilots that it has poached nearly 500 of them from South Korea (see this week's "Aviation" section). But that hasn’t stopped one of the country’s airlines from banning a local pilot for life and suspending his co-pilots ...

Relying on horsepower Nov 1, 2019 (WiC 472) When internet celebrity Luo Yonghao was upset at the poor performance of his Siemens fridge, he hit on a unique solution. He laid down a few of the brand’s fridges outside Siemens China headquarters and smashed them up with a sledgehammer. ...

Men behind the bars Oct 25, 2019 (WiC 471) China has a long history of alchemy, with the first of the imperial edicts promising death to gold counterfeiters dating back to 144 BC. Yet the practice is alive and well in the province of Shaanxi, according to a story in Caixin about a rural ...

Read, at speed Oct 18, 2019 (WiC 470) Most of us can read at a pace of about 200 words a minute. Scientific evidence of the merits of speed-reading are generally lacking. Most of the techniques involve getting words more efficiently to the centre of the retina. Some practitioners ...

Completely nuts Sep 27, 2019 (WiC 468) Consumers in China are defending their rights with ever-increasing relish. A recent claim against Disney in Shanghai was a case in point – particularly as it led to a change in company policy (see WiC467). Perhaps inspired by the case, a 30 ...

Face off Sep 20, 2019 (WiC 467) Female students were greeted by an unusual sight when they arrived at a school in Sansui county in Guizhou province last week. A teacher was waiting for them with a bucket and a wet towel. According to Beijing News, he washed each of their faces ...