The Rain Last Night Brought People Together, Too [UPDATE]

Rain brings people together featured image
We'll be learning, very soon, about the damages caused by the biggest torrential downpour Beijing has seen in several decades. There will be time to sift through the fallout and figure out how we pick up the pieces, i.e. drain and dry the whole damn city and find some of the many vehicles that were washed away in the storm. (By the way, today is another reason I'm glad I don't own a car in this city.) But for now, let's focus on the more lighthearted scenes from yesterday: fans having a good time at a Guo'an game; a foreigner delighting onlookers by swimming in the street; a party at Shuangjing, amid traffic.

The Party Is Apparently At Shuangjing Bridge [UDPATE: Video]

Party on
Just a half-naked foreigner directing traffic. Whatever. He appears to belong to the soon-to-be famous party of four laowai at Shuangjing Bridge. Hmm… Party of Four Laowai. That has a certain ring to it, doesn’t it? What’s another way of saying “party of four”? Band of Four? Gathering of Four? Gaggle of Four? Gang… More pictures... Read more »

Today’s Biblical Rainstorms In Beijing Enabled This Foreigner To Have A Splash

Foreigner swims after rainstorm
The heavy rains found their way inside Fourth Ring Round around 1 pm today, and it's been sporadically pouring ever since: some deity simply dumping bucket after bucket of water over the city. I was outside around 1:30 pm to witness the sky and everything underneath it go eerily dark; 10 minutes later, a dazzling white mist rose out of nowhere, like the ash of a mythical sky creature. It was unbelievable. I put out both arms and said "What the fuck?" several times.

In Beijing, Guo’an And Hangzhou Greentown Are Playing Soccer In A Swimming Pool

Beijing rain
Heavy, heavy rains have again left Beijing’s streets flooded, but that hasn’t stopped tonight’s Chinese Super League match between the hometown Guo’an and Hangzhou Greentown FC. Above, the first goal of the night, putting Hangzhou up 1-0. That remains the score in Workers Stadium as the two teams slog it out in the 77th minute.... Read more »

In This Video, We Hear The Beijing Subway Hostage-Taker’s Voice

Beijing subway hostage taker's voice featured image
Yesterday night, a man took a subway security guard hostage for about 70 minutes at Tuanjiehu station on Line 10, and when negotiators failed to get him to release the hostage, a sniper took him out. A lot of the dialogue in this video is unintelligible, but we're pretty sure that at the beginning, the hostage-taker tells everyone nearby, "Don't come any closer."

What We Can Learn From City Weekend Shanghai’s Incredible Uffie Review [UPDATE]

Uffie fiasco
Paris-based electronic musician Uffie (Anna-Catherine Hartle) played in Shanghai’s Mao Livehouse last Saturday, and by all accounts put on one of the most embarrassing shows ever. For 300 yuan, people got to watch her get drunk and stand around, possibly wave her arms, while other DJs played pop and dance music, e.g., Rihanna. It was... Read more »