We're all suckers for a good story. In recent years, we've seen the authors of too-good-to-be-true memoirs exposed (James Frey, Greg Mortensen, etc.), and now we're seeing this with a notable businesswoman from China. In Bend, Not Break, Ping Fu details her eventful life. During the Cultural Revolution, she was separated from her parents at age 8, then tortured and raped and assigned to work. In college, sh ...

A Hong Kong-born, British- and Harvard-educated woman, Sara Jane Ho, is opening a school of etiquette, the Institute Sarita, in the Park Hyatt Beijing. Price? Only £2,000 to £10,000 (about $3,140 to $15,700). Would you pay this much for, according to Daily Mail, "lectures on how to use a knife and fork properly, how to peel a piece of fruit, how to greet a prospective mother-in-law, how to walk in heels and ...

Manchester United recently announced sponsorship deals with two Chinese companies, Wahaha and China Construction Bank (CCB), the latter of which will produce Man U-branded credit cards. Considering China is one of the largest growth markets for any business, it’s no a surprise that the 134-year-old club is looking to strengthen its presence here. There are reportedly 108 million Man U fans in China -- nearl ...

At least I think so. I was chuckling with joy to see him so proud of his rooftop garden. The Atlantic's Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg explains: The Perennial Plate's video seems to suggest that above all, gardening is just a pleasure; [Guichun] Zhang takes visible delight in his vegetable patch and [Osbert] Lam (of City Farm in Hong Kong) says, "it's relaxing hobby, growing something. It's like a tranquili ...

For many of us who observe China's public holiday system, today’s the first day of work in 2013. But for many others in China – especially romantics – today’s significant for another reason: it’s “Love You a Lifetime” day. It's not officially recognized anywhere, but today just sounds significant. In Mandarin and Cantonese, 2-0-1-3-1-4 sounds like “爱你一生一世” (translation: Love You a Lifetime). ...

By Alicia When I was about 13, a male family friend told me, “Because you’re a girl, and I know you like to study [which is ironic, because I actually didn't], I’m just offering some words of advice to you now – you don’t need to invest so much time or effort into your education because when you grow up, you’ll realize that your husband won’t like it if you’re too smart, too successful or too strong.” Today ...

I wonder who owns all these black Audis parked next to Tiananmen Square... ...

In Taiyuan, Shanxi province on August 18, a 6-year-old boy called Wen Wen was playing in the parking lot outside his family’s fast-food restaurant when he was hit from behind by a minivan. But not hit, per se -- the van passed over him as he fell forward onto his knees and elbows and curled up into just the right size to avoid death. The vehicle continued to reverse, then briefly stopped. When the driver no ...

In the early hours yesterday in Nanjing, a fashionable sexy lady by the name of Ms. Xu, shown in the video wearing only black booty shorts, a tiny black top, and what must be five-inch-heels, was seen crawling out of the window of her car after she hit a railing and her vehicle flipped on its side. Xu says she was trying to avoid a taxi that was merging into her lane when she swerved. The accident is still ...

By Alicia This “Lamborghini” made with spare parts from other cars and steel pipes is the ultimate passion project. Wang Jian, 28, from Siyang, Jiangsu province reportedly spent 60,000 yuan to construct this life-size replica model of the classic Italian sports car (maybe the Gallardo?), and slapped on the license plate "王NB0001” (the character is Wang, and "NB" is slang for "awesome"). Chinese netizens hav ...

We're guessing this video was taken in Vietnam, but given we found this on Youku and here at BJC we’re amused by all quirky and homemade inventions, we thought we’d share this clip of a guy riding his own version of a batmobile... although it appears this vehicle is simply made from exercise equipment, bicycle handles and truck tires. Neat. Youku video for those in China after the jump. ...

As Louis CK says in one of his shows, children can be assholes (and “buckets of disease”). But is it worth screaming “kill you” at them for getting a math problem wrong? This video’s a bit old, from two years ago, but it recently went viral and found new life on Viral Viral Videos. Forget Amy Chua; it’s Asian mothers like this who give Asian moms a bad rep. ...

By Alicia Business Insider has published a 33-photo slideshow of photographer Nick DeWolf's work called "What Hong Kong Looked Like 40 Years Ago," and it's hard for me to believe that these were taken only a decade before I was born. Hong Kong looked so different, yet familiar. Seeing these, I feel a twang of nostalgia for the things I remember from childhood, and perhaps for some things I don't. I wasn't a ...

By Alicia To prove they aren’t chickens! On June 17 in Taizhou City of Zhejiang Province, Mr. Hong and his three aides were photographed walking their 5,000 ducks to a nearby pond, which is a kilometer from their house. As Mr. Hong told Beijing News, he’s been walking ducks for the past six months and has yet to lose one. Good thing he’s not taking them to the washroom – they might be accused of peepking. ( ...

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Dear Xi’an, Your roads are not safe. A month ago, we introduced a video of a woman falling through a sidewalk, and while this provided many of us endless laughter, leading me to create a GIF, we were reminded, at the same time, that falling through the street is not normal. In fact, it can have horrifying consequences. So, three days ago, when a burst water pipe caused one of your streets to suddenly collap ...

Via the tourism website Zhangjiajie.gov.cn By Alicia Hunan, already known for its spicy food and being the birthplace of Mao Zedong, will soon have another claim to fame: the most dangerous place for drivers. Check out the images of Tianmenshan Heaven-Linking Avenue, which has 99 turns to symbolize Heaven's nine palaces. It's a positively Arcadian paradise in which to veer off the road down a steep mountain ...