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Planet China

The strangest stories from the Middle Kingdom...

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1 2 3 4 5... 47

A flying pig
Jan 31, 2020 (WiC 481)

Much of the action in Peter Hessler’s classic Chinese memoir River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, took place in Fuling, where the American was sent to be an English teacher. In the late Nineties the Sichuanese town was a relative ...

Raised eyebrows
Jan 24, 2020 (WiC 480)

Humayun’s tomb in Delhi is famous not only for its beautiful architecture, but also for the fact that one of the key structures is dedicated to the favourite barber of the Mughal Emperor. The monarch was said to have a lot of trust in the man ...

Dual destinations
Jan 17, 2020 (WiC 479)

E-commerce has made life much easier for Chinese consumers but sometimes it can result in costly blunders too. That’s what happened to Liu Tianqi and his grandparents when they booked a ticket online for a bus journey from Guangdong last week. ...

Jumping the queue
Jan 10, 2020 (WiC 478)

Long lines at airport security are a typical scene in the US, especially when first-time travellers are unprepared for the requests to take off their jacket and shoes and belts and so forth. In Beijing security screening at airports and train ...

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. ...

Older »

1 2 3 4 5... 47

Planet China

The strangest stories from the Middle Kingdom...

A flying pig Jan 31, 2020 (WiC 481) Much of the action in Peter Hessler’s classic Chinese memoir River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, took place in Fuling, where the American was sent to be an English teacher. In the late Nineties the Sichuanese town was a relative ...

Raised eyebrows Jan 24, 2020 (WiC 480) Humayun’s tomb in Delhi is famous not only for its beautiful architecture, but also for the fact that one of the key structures is dedicated to the favourite barber of the Mughal Emperor. The monarch was said to have a lot of trust in the man ...

Dual destinations Jan 17, 2020 (WiC 479) E-commerce has made life much easier for Chinese consumers but sometimes it can result in costly blunders too. That’s what happened to Liu Tianqi and his grandparents when they booked a ticket online for a bus journey from Guangdong last week. ...

Jumping the queue Jan 10, 2020 (WiC 478) Long lines at airport security are a typical scene in the US, especially when first-time travellers are unprepared for the requests to take off their jacket and shoes and belts and so forth. In Beijing security screening at airports and train ...

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. ...