More pictures here via AP. Another Golden Week tragedy, this time out of Hong Kong. Thirty-six people are confirmed dead after a ferry, the Lamma IV, capsized after colliding with a tug boat off Lamma Island. Many of the 120 onboard were off to Victoria Harbor to watch Hong Kong’s annual October 1 fireworks display, one... Read more »
Found on Liveleak last night, this disturbing scene from a kindergarten in Guangzhou shows a 20-something female teacher lifting a four-year-old and throwing her onto the ground because she wouldn’t do her exercises. The child, Yao Yao, suffered a “major” head injury, according to the newscast. The teacher, apparently unaware that young children shouldn’t be... Read more »
This is the music they play in movies when a hero is about to die. It's dramatic, it builds upon its own tension, it tells a story of sorrow, sacrifice, and honor, or fulfillment, or redemption. (In fact, I'm pretty sure it comes from a movie, but I couldn't tell you which one.) And it's incredibly overwrought, never quite right for our world but fine for an alternate reality made in a studio.
If you ever want to understand what it means to live in China -- "real China," as some are fond of saying -- head out to one of the popular tourist sites this week. It doesn't matter which -- may as well be the Great Wall, shown above, or Xiangshan, or Jiuzhaigou, whatever. Advance warning: you'll need to prepare heavy doses of perspective and patience, and master a few advanced breathing techniques, because what you'll deal with will shock and anger you, and seriously test your resolve to be a compassionate, courteous human being.
We only know what Sohu tells us: woman is in her 30s, walking along Beijing West Road in Guiyang, Guizhou province, clothing in her left hand, shoes in her right. Looks like it’s raining. Chilly, perhaps. Police arrive eventually, and nothing else needs to be seen. Previously in mysterious public nudity: White Woman Walks Naked... Read more »
A passenger coach erupted into flames earlier today on an expressway between Tianjin and Beijing, possibly the same stretch of road in which we saw a 31-vehicle pileup just a few days ago. Reports are that 5 German passengers and 1 Chinese have died, and another 14 were injured. Nothing else is known at this time.
In 1949, civil rights activist, professional football player, and stage actor Paul Robeson -- a man of many talents, one would say -- toured Europe amid controversy over his political leanings (in one word: left). During this trip, Robeson, a friend of China whose father was a runaway slave, gave a rather famous rendition of "March of the Volunteers," a song that begins, "Arise! All those who don't want to be slaves!"
This looks pretty normal. “After a round of heavy rains on the morning of September 25 in Xintang, Zengcheng, Guangdong province,” so goes the write-up on SHXB.net, “a spotless, snow-like super foam appeared on the river outside some neighborhood.” A day later, it was still there, scintillating under the sun. The Xintang environmental protection department... Read more »
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