China Central Television got itself a pretty good musical lineup for its New Year’s show on Monday night, headlined by the Wonder Girls and Leona Lewis. The entire show can be seen here.
Police estimate that about 2,600 protesters participated in a pro-government rally in Hong Kong on Sunday (or "as many as 40,000," if you believe organizers). It was the first half of a doubleheader of protests, with the nightcap coming yesterday -- the anti-government variety -- attended by 17,000, according to police. (In proportional hyperbole, organizers declared 130,000 people showed up.)
A wealthy businessman in Fujian province is being praised for bestowing more than 1 billion yuan — $160 million — as dowry for his daughter’s marriage. Wu Duanbiao, head of the ceramics firm Fujian Wanli Group, also donated 15 million yuan to two local charities.
There was a bikini contest in the open air of Jilin, Jilin province yesterday, organized by Beidahu Ski Resort, featuring 40 Chinese and Russian models in two-piece bikinis, snow boots and skis. The Jilin Tourism Bureau’s deputy party secretary, Meng Liru, said via NetEase that they were promoting the ski resort and Jilin City through... Read more »
Hong Kong had fireworks at Victoria Harbor. Shanghai had a 4D light show on the Bund. Beijing had a beam of light out of the China Millennium Monument (a sundial you probably haven’t been to, because Haidian district). We love our home city, but am also kind of okay admitting that Beijing loses this round (though... Read more »
As a blog, we’re contractually obligated to the Blog God to run a year-in-review post, so I’ve asked some contributors to give me their “non-notable story” of the year, telling them to interpret the phrase “non-notable” as they choose. Consider it an experiment in something or other. Here’s what they came up with:
The new year is a time for hope, optimism, and the joy of new possibilities, even in places like Pyongyang, North Korea. Check out its New Year's fireworks display.
China Digital Times brings us this rap video by Gao Yuan, featuring cosplay, martial arts, and English subtitles… and the line “Go censor your own motherfucker ass.” Via CDT: Artist Gao Yuan has produced a video based on the song “Nunchaku” by Taiwanese singer Zhou Jielun (Jay Chou), rewriting the lyrics to curse government censorship.
This is somewhat of a shocker. Marcus Williams, the leading scorer in the Chinese Basketball Association, has become the first player to test positive for drug use in the league. We had no idea the CBA tested for marijuana until now, but according to Xinhua:
New York Times correspondent Chris Buckley, 45, who has worked in China since September 2000, formerly with Reuters, was denied a visa renewal and is now off the mainland. As NYT reports: “I regret that Chris Buckley has been forced to relocate outside of China despite our repeated requests to renew his journalist visa,” Jill... Read more »
![A Most Tragic Frontpage [UPDATE]](http://beijingcream.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/SCMP-gun-and-knife-150x150.png "A Most Tragic Frontpage [UPDATE]"){kind=small}
