Offbeat China

Candidates for this year’s Miss Korea all look “the...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:45:51 -0400

Candidates for this year’s Miss Korea all look “the same.”

We’ve covered how China Red Cross, the government-run charity...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:39:00 -0400

We’ve covered how China Red Cross, the government-run charity that never recovers from the Guo Meimei scandal in 2011, has been struggling to win back people’s trust, as well as donation money. We’ve also talked about how many Chinese now questioned the whole idea of donation because they thought that their government is rich enough to cover the cost of disaster relief, and that their donation may go to the pockets of corrupted officials. Well…now we have pictures to show just how real those sentiments are.

Below are pictures of two RMB notes donated to the recent earthquake in Sichuan…with handwritten text on them. The words on the green one (RMB 50 yuan) on the top read: “This is what I donated to Ya’an. Fuckhead, I dare you to graft this.” The words on the red one (RMB 100 yuan) on the bottom read: “This is what I donated to Ya’an. Whoever dares to graft this, your whole family will die.”

Below is an announcement made at a post office on Shuqian Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong province: “The postal service system has no Guo Meimei. All disaster relief donations are free of service charges.”

Here is the new Internet meme in China where some Chinese pet...

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 11:29:40 -0400

Here is the new Internet meme in China where some Chinese pet owners put their dogs in lingerie. While the first few posts were probably for fun, the meme stirred up quite some interesting discussions after taking off.

Stepping off a plane in Moscow, in a classic black peacoat and a...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 14:16:48 -0400

Stepping off a plane in Moscow, in a classic black peacoat and a simple unbranded black handbag, Peng Liyuan, China’s new first lady, made her first public appearance on Friday after her husband Xi Jinping took office.

Photos of her glamorous looks during the couple’s first foreign trip have been making waves on the Chinese Internet. Netizens flocked to cheer at her beauty and elegance. As netizen 阳光明媚的时候 commented: “Our first lady is so pretty, elegant and magnanimous. I feel proud.”

In response to a post in which Peng Liyuan was put in comparison with all of China’s past first ladies, including Mao’s wife Jiang Qing, netizen 宝贝亲亲笑嘻嘻 sighed: “Finally a presentable first lady, full of elegance.”

Such sentiment that Peng is the best first lady so far is widely shared among netizens. Like netizen 情意绵绵花仙子 commented: “She is the most beautiful first lady since PRC was founded. Hope she can bring good luck to the Chinese people.” 麻利杂高 echoed: “She’s got charisma. The first out of all China’s past first ladies.”

Peng’s popularity isn’t for nothing. She has been a popular singer in China since early 80s. People know her name way before they know who Xi Jinping is. Besides her apparent talent in singing, she’s also known for being low-key and easy-going.

Days before her Friday trip to Moscow, one of her early interviews in 1999 with Phoenix TV’s popular talk show Behind the Headlines with Wentao also went viral. In the interview, she described herself as a tradition wife, loving to cook and take care of housework. And probably the most interesting part to many Chinese netizens, in response to a question regarding her husband, she said: “ I’m in the marriage for more than 10 years…and it’s been full of happiness.”

It’s not very common for China’s top officials to show their human side in public. In fact, very rare. Their family life, in particular, is something that has always been kept away from public attention. Sometimes, names of top officials’ family members are even sensitive words subject to censorship. Many of China’s past first ladies never made public appearance except for in official trips. So…image how netizens are thrilled to see Peng publicly showed her affection for Xi Jinping. People simply love their love story.

But online chatter wasn’t all about Peng’s looks. 张欣, China’s real estate mogul, commented: “People have only good words to say about the current first lady, from media to netizens. The role of first lady in foreign policy is hard to ignore.”

In fact, there seems to be this fear that netizens’ swoon may be too much of a sexist gaze that her more important role as a first lady may get overlooked. Netizen 大魔王的曉允 asked: “What a first lady’s appearance has to do with her husband’s ability to run the country? And what a woman’s look has to do with a country’s development?”

假装在纽约, a celebrity on Weibo, China’s Twitter, commented: “Personally, I like her. But I also think that there needs to be a line. At least, we should stand upright and admire, not crouch and worship. At least, we should keep in mind very clearly that apart from showing her elegance, Peng and Xi besides her have more important responsibilities. Let’s save the applaud until after they show us their accomplishments.”

假装在纽约 wasn’t alone in having higher expectations of Peng in her new role. Netizen 手捧着你的清香 commented: “Beautiful looks don’t mean beautiful deeds. Please show us what she can do.” Another netizen 喔噢噢-是天屎-是天使 commented: “She is prettier than all the past first ladies. So what? I’m waiting to see what she’s able to do that can bring us real benefits.”

However, to show the Chinese people what she is capable of doing may not be a direction that Peng wants to take. For one thing, throughout the country’s several thousand years of history, the fear that an emperor’s wife would interfere with politics and thus ruin the country never disappeared – women, especially emperors’s wives, have no role in politics. For another, most people in China still remember very well what happened the last time when a first lady tried to show her capability – Jiang Qing, wife of Mao, led the “Gang of Four” and almost turned the whole country over during the notorious Cultural Revolution.

Peng’s journey has just started, and it will surely be an exciting one, for both herself and the onlooking Chinese people.

The reason to love Beijing. Snow in Beijing yesterday

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:24:15 -0400

The reason to love Beijing. Snow in Beijing yesterday

The clip was from a TV drama set during the Sino-Japanese war in...

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:46:34 -0400

The clip was from a TV drama set during the Sino-Japanese war in the early 20^th century. The heroine, an archer as set up in the TV drama, was surrounded by a crew of armed Japanese soldiers and fell victim. She was grabbed by a group of Japanese soldiers and the gang rape started. But while what seems to an officer was still “on” her, she managed to get hold an arrow in a box near her. She took it and stabbed the guy in the neck. Then miracle happened. Our heroine somehow shot into the sky (with pants perfectly on) and started what many Chinese netizens called a superwoman move – killing fully armed Japanese soldiers around her one after another with a bow and endless arrows.

This is but one incident of the sometime surreal anti-Japanese war themed TV dramas in China. In February, Offbeat China reported statistics that some 700 million “Japanese soldiers” were killed in anti-Japanese war themed TV dramas in China. To put the number in perspective, that’s enough dead bodies to circle the earth 3 times. Zhi Zhongpeng, a professional extra who always found himself in the role of a Japanese soldier, used to “die” 8 times in a single day.

The most-shared picture in the past 12 hours on Sina Weibo,...

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:16:42 -0500

The most-shared picture in the past 12 hours on Sina Weibo, China’s leading microblogging service, is a set of images in which a group of Chengguan (China’s special urban Administrative and Law Enforcement officers) tried to take away a street vendor mom in front of her little kid.

The most heart-wrenching picture from the set is one in which the 2-year-old girl was crying in the “arms” of her mom who wasn’t able to hold her kid with both hands tied up.

Needless to say, netizens are outrageous. China’s Chengguan is a special force independent of the police system. Their primary responsibility is to clean up the country’s streets, i.e., chasing away street vendors. They are notorious for being cruel to the already underprivileged. These pictures only reinforce their evil image in the hearts of ordinary Chinese people.

Many netizens gave the above image the name of “Sorry, mom cannot hold you in arms” and called for better discipline of Chengguan in general. 于建嵘, famous sociologist, commented: “She is a street vendor who tries to make a living with her kid. She may have violated certain regulations in this big city. She may have pissed these God-like Chengguan officers. But may I ask you [Chengguan] to not to bully her in front of her kid? I ask you to loosen her up. The frightened kid needs her comforting.”

郑渊洁, popular kid story writer, asked: “Since when did we become a country that ignores the existence of kids? Shouldn’t we pay attention to the psychological impact on minors during law enforcement efforts?”

郑渊洁 isn’t the only one who questions the environment that this fast growing country has created for its children. Netizen 老衲不老518 asked: “My only thought is that whether this kid, when grow up, will think about killing a few Chengguan.” Netizen 华之强 commented: “This will be a life-time scare for the kid.”

Some of China’s mainstream media also jumped in the chorus of criticism. The Beijing Newscommented: “Please remember this frightened kid on Guanzhou street. The kid doesn’t know what law is, but she knows that her mom has been bullied. Law enforcement shouldn’t cross the bottomline of humanity, shouldn’t crush the dignity of a mom. A country that fails to mange its Chengguan team owes a lot to this kid.”

The unexpected result of China’s new policy to curb property price: Higher divorce rate

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 15:07:47 -0500

On March 1, China’s State Council unveiled a set of policies designed to cool down the country’s...

Alibaba Group, China’s biggest e-tailing company that manages...

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 13:46:28 -0500

Alibaba Group, China’s biggest e-tailing company that manages Taobao, Tmall and Alibaba, compiled a nice infograhic summarizing the online shopping scene in China. Some key takeaways:

In 2013, the total online sales in China is expected to reach $265 billion, exceeding all other countries including the US for the first time.
China has 242 million online shoppers, 75 million more than in the US.
China’s online shoppers only account for about 40% of its entire population.
China’s online shoppers are more likely to buy clothing and accessories online, rather than home and personal electronics.

China wants to find PM2.5 a Chinese name, Netizens chime in

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 10:48:12 -0500

It’s another heavy smog day in Beijing, and the Chinese government finally decided to do something...

Want a new hair cut for the coming spring? Have a hard time...

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:29:00 -0500

Want a new hair cut for the coming spring? Have a hard time deciding on a new style? North Korean government has you covered. Men and women in North Korea are encouraged to choose from one of the 18 female hair styles and 10 male hair styles recommended by their government. [Pictures from Chinanews.com]

You are supposed to easily tell whether a North Korean woman is married or single by simply looking at her hair style. But of course, as officially recommended hair styles, they have much mightier use - to guard against the decadent Western cultures.

The move reminds many in China of their own “good old days” when everybody was dressed in either blue or green uniforms, holding a little red book in hands. But as many Chinese netizens pointed out, North Korea’s sexy leader Kim Jong-Un wears none of these hair styles.

The love manifesto made by one elder gay couple went viral on...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:15:12 -0500

The love manifesto made by one elder gay couple went viral on the Chinese internet. They publicized their wedding against all odds, but received both blessings and criticism. Click to read more http://offbeatchina.com/love-between-two-elderly-chinese-men

Below is one of the most-shared pictures on China’s leading...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:19:24 -0500

Below is one of the most-shared pictures on China’s leading microblogging service, Sina Weibo, for the past 24 hours. Enjoy your one-day trip in Beijing!

Some mid-week fun. A viral story today on both Renren, China’s...

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 12:31:02 -0500

Some mid-week fun. A viral story today on both Renren, China’s Facebook clone, and Weibo, China’s leading microblogging service, has to do with a job that may be the envy of many Chinese young guys – police porn examiner. They are technically police, but their sole job, as the original news article indicates, is to screen porn materials and distinguish pornography from non-pornography content.

The main story of the news article is about how local police at Peixian, Jiangsu province, has successfully smashed the biggest porn DVD wholesale retailer in Jiangsu province and its surrounding areas – 19 stores were closed, 25 people arrested and more than 40,000 porn DVDs confiscated.

The news itself has nothing to be surprised about because “anti-yellow campaigns” are pretty common in China. Yellow, in this case, means “pornographic.” The targets of anti-yellow campaigns are usually porn materials and commercial sex, which are deemed to be morally decadent and socially undesirable.

What caught Chinese netizens’ attention is the last paragraph of the article:

“According to local police at Peixian. Over 40k porn DVDs were confiscated. Four porn examiners at Peixian police department spent more than a month to finish screening all of them.”

Result of the investigation? “Despite a few unreadable ones due to abrasion, most are determined to be porn DVDs.”

And don’t think porn examiners are an easy job. According to Sichuan Mobile Newspaperwho verified the existence of porn examiners with local police at Chengdu, Chengdu police department also has police officers who are responsible for screening porn materials. To be a porn examiner, one has to be an “outstanding, well-behaved and highly politically-sensitive” police officer who “won’t have any problems after watching porn materials.”

In the past few days, Xinhua News, the official voice of the...

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 13:09:11 -0500

In the past few days, Xinhua News, the official voice of the Chinese government, has published a series of profile reports of the members of China’s new Politburo, the highest decision-making body in the country. The move is seen by many as another indication that Xi and China’s new leadership may have a very different management style from their predecessors: the robotic Hu and the “grandpa” Wen who almost never appeared in public with his wife.

Back to 1942, a new Feng Xiaogang production depicting a...

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:03:00 -0500

Back to 1942, a new Feng Xiaogang production depicting a less-known famine back in the year of 1942 during war-time China, has the whole nation talking. While watching a famine in 1942 on screen, people are thinking about the Great Famine of Mao in minds. Not all famines are equal in China. While some are made into movies, some others left in the darkness. Pictures showing Henan famine in 1942 by an American journalist.

In the past Sunday, China successfully landed its first...

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:08:00 -0500

In the past Sunday, China successfully landed its first designed-and-made in China multipurpose carrier-borne fighter jet, J-15, on the country’s first aircraft carrier Liaoning. The move certainly has a lot of implications for the rising regional tension in South China Sea, but netizens are enjoying their country’s many firsts nevertheless.

While the whole world have their eyes fixed on 7 Chinese elderly...

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:44:00 -0500

While the whole world have their eyes fixed on 7 Chinese elderly men who lined up uniformly inblack suits and red ties, another Chinese elderly man, Liu Xianping, has been posing for his granddaughter’s female fashion store on Tmall and has become an Internet sensation. (Tmall is China’s leading B2C online retailer separated from Taobao.)

Though most of the clothes Liu has been modeling for are more of the tiny, sweet and cute teen girl style with rosy shades, laces and ribbons, the 72-year-old totally pulled things off. His signature piece so far seems to be color tights and thigh stockings. Liu’s confidence in front of the camera and his long pair of skinny legs are the envy of many girls. Netizen 云眠Satsuki sighed: “He has such a good figure, especially those legs!”

The Tmall store Liu has been modeling for is Yuekou, a female fashion store started this May by 5 recent college graduates. Liu’s granddaughter Ms. Lv is one of the five. According to an interviewwith Ms. Lv, it all started when one day her grandpa Liu came to help with unpacking: “He picked up one piece and tried to give some advice on how to mix and match. We thought it was fun so we started shooting.” Who said elderly men in China didn’t have a sense of fashion? According to Ms. Lv, many of the looks in the pictures were her grandpa’s ideas – he surely knows how to make teen girls look cute and stylish.

What does hot grandpa think? “Why unacceptable (for someone like me to wear women’s clothes ? Modeling for the store is helping my granddaughter and I have nothing to lose. We were very happy on the day of the shooting. I’m very old and all that I care about is to be happy,” Liu told the journalist. And he was absolutely right. The store’s sales have increased 5 times since his pictures went viral and there was even a special “grandpa promotion style” currently featured at the store. Reactions from Chinese netizens have been overwhelmingly positive - they thought Liu was cool, open-minded, fun, extremely stylish and had the perfect camera face. Like netizen 东皇薄荷 commented: “He almost feels like Karl Lagerfeld!”

It is stories like this when one can get a sense of what a diversified society China has changed into in the past 40 years, especially for someone like Liu who has lived through one of the most rigid times in China’s history.

Tea ladies at China’s 18th National Party Congress: Must...

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 15:20:00 -0500

Tea ladies at China’s 18th National Party Congress: Must walk in one line.

This weekend, a once-52-years record snow storm hit Beijing. The...

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:45:05 -0500

This weekend, a once-52-years record snow storm hit Beijing. The most-affected areas were Yanqing county and several highways leading to Beijing where snow was as thick as 3 feet. The whiteout on Saturday night forced many highways between Hebei province, Beijing and Tianjin to close and over 1000 vehicles were stuck for the whole night. Some managed to walk their way out, some walked several miles for food and hot water, and some others waited until the next morning to be rescued. As of this post, there was no reported death other than 3 Japanese tourists who were stuck on the Great Wall on Saturday night.