Authorities approved 303 new TV shows last year, according to Economic Observer, with more than half carrying a revolutionary theme. Would it surprise anyone that out of those, the majority expressed anti-Japanese sentiment?

But you can only be so anti-Japanese before people get bored. And thus, shows have to resort to other tactics to grab ratings. Like with naked girls.

The above picture, posted by Sina Weibo user @Happy张江, is from “some anti-Japanese war flick,” though which exactly, it wasn’t said. The post has gone viral, and reaction has been… mixed.

@执笔天地绘乾坤: Ai! I like watching anti-Japanese war dramas. But this? What is this? History is distorted and children are misled!

@阿杰1991的世界: Wow, she took it all over. Not worth it. This girl has sacrificed way too much for this kind of drama. Do people even watch old-fashioned shows about anti-Japanese war?

@jerry7亮亮  That’s what I call revolutionary spirit. Brava!

@lonemath: Lol, I didn’t know there’re adult videos on the anti-Japanese war.

@靖仑: What film? This is a true story, y’all! A peasant’s daughter is reporting to the chief that she was raped by his soldiers, and she is showing off the evidence.

@这蠢驴不听话1109在搜狐: The more films they shoot, the more retarded they become. Except for easy money, there is nothing good from this kind of film. A complete waste of time! The Chinese entertainment projects are again being raped by a bunch of idiots. Cannot believe this has been approved by the government. Speechless!

@ 轻云剑: OK, so she voluntarily took off her clothes and the soldiers just stood there and saluted and watched? They did not even approach her? Yeah, right!

@ Vwords: Quick, give me the name of this show!

@ 無良看客: The director must think we are fools! They would have a little 18-year-old girl fight against the Japanese? What is it that he is trying to say? That she is patriotic? That we should admire her? Come on! This is outrageous! I hate every time how they glorify the image of a heroine just to inspire people. Oh yeah, I love my country and I will die for it, just because a vulnerable girl would sacrifice her body for it. Give me a break!

@八路2010: Unbelievable. What is it about nudity that is so attractive? Regardless of if this really occurred during the war, what is their intention of putting it on TV? More viewers? Or more anti-Japanese sentiment? Honestly, I don’t see the relationship between a nude female and anti-Japanese whatsoever. She is just standing there, which serves no purpose.

@哥哥你别太瘦: Is this an anti-Japanese video or a Japanese video?

@ riomaster: Stop making fun of our honorable red soldiers. Solders are people too. They have needs just like the rest of us.

The growth of anti-Japanese movies has been a boon for actors — this guy dies up to eight times a day playing Japanese soldiers — but it’s also made for ridiculousness, such as this scene of an enemy being cut in half. Add the above picture to the collection.

It’s no wonder that a bit of viewer fatigue is setting in. Take it away, guy:

@作业本: Every channel is airing anti-Japanese shows. Please stop! We got it! You defeated the Japanese. One of you can kill ten bad guys. And a wounded Red soldier can still kill ten Japanese bastards. A Red soldier with 16 bullets in his chest still stands until the end. You never lose and the Japanese never wins. The Japanese had the best weapons, best uniform and equipment, you have nothing to eat or drink, yet you still manage to slay all of them. I cannot believe that with these superb skills, the war still took eight whole years to finish. Chiang Kai-shek is a total loser!

Xiao Yi is a travel enthusiast who tweets @ellies_day.

A traditional rhyme in Sichuan goes like this: “Toss medicine money, worship your godfather, throw away clothes, and pray for the whole family.”

The people of Mianyang, the second largest city in Sichuan province after Chengdu, take the rhyme very seriously, along with other traditions. On March 18, thousands flocked to Jushui Village for the Ju Water Bridge Festival (雎水踩桥会), almost all of them to do one thing: step on a bridge.

More than 300,000 people gathered on Peaceful Bridge, according to news reports. A famous Sichuanese saying goes like this: “If a husband and wife both walk on the bridge, they will live happily ever after; worshipping ancestors on the top center of the bridge, children will be immune to disease; tossing money you would use to buy herbal medicine into the river, everyone in your family will live long and prosper; tossing your clothes, there will be no flooding in the city.”

Every year, tourists walk from one end of Peaceful Bridge to the other three times to ensure peace and safety for the whole year.

“The bridge sure is strong,” netizens back home wrote. Others were in disbelief. “I did not go! Safety’s first. You can never trust Tofu-dreg projects.” “You don’t want to step on disaster instead of happiness,” another added. A few netizens denied the tradition itself: “Come on, we all know we need to work for our happiness, ‘stepping on happines’ is make-believe, a pastime or family activity, that’s all.”

But today, Ju Shui Festival is also a chance for Sichuanese from all over to get together. It’s quite special, since Sichuan has a distinct culture. For starters, Sichuan food is unique, as is Sichuan Opera, with its face-changers. And Sichuan is the most populous province in China, and among the largest. Getting together to talk and celebrate is meaningful.

Officials in Mianyang expected a large turnout and were prepared. A sizeable police force kept order, and sent visitors across the bridge in groups. As tourists tossed clothes and money into the river, fishermen underneath immediately fished out the goodies.

After the Wenchuan Earthquake of 2008, Ju Shui’s Peaceful Bridge remained undamaged, though to ensure safety, the local government suspended the Bridge Festival for two years. After renovations, the Bridge Festival began again in 2011.

This year, however, was the first time that the festival exceeded 300,000 people. Was it to observe a tradition, or a yearning for an old way of life? Perhaps visitors just wanted to express their hope for peace and happiness.

Xiao Yi is a travel enthusiast who tweets @ellies_day.

The Ministry of Railways (MOR) is as old as New China, having been in operation since October 1949. But on March 10, toward the construction of a newer China at the 12th National People’s Congress, the government announced a series of reforms and reconstructions, which included the decision to dissolve outdated ministries. The Ministry of Railways, for one.

The question that was immediately on everyone’s mind in Beijing: when would MOR’s signature plate, which has been up for 64 years, be removed from its office at the Avenue of Eternal Peace?

People waited outside, in front of the famous plate, every day starting March 10 — waiting, just waiting in vain. And then finally, yesterday morning, it happened. It was a low-key event, without ceremony or fireworks. A handful of employees simply came out at dawn and took down the sign by hand. Only a few pedestrians were lucky enough to have witnessed the historic moment.

When reporters from Xinhua arrived at the scene at 11 am, the three characters for MOR — 铁道部 — were nowhere to be seen. The new plate reads, “China Railway Corporation.” According to Xinhua, the old plate has been sent to China Railway Museum.

On the same day, the Ministry of Health in Haidian District, which has been around for 32 years, was quietly re-plated to read “National Population Control and One-Child-Policy Burea.”

A man who didn’t want to be identified told reporters that as a former railroad worker, upon hearing the March 10 announcement, he took leave from work in Hebei province to take one last look at the ministry whose history is so closely entwined with that of New China.

Netizens on Weibo have expressed regret. User @wooden_head wrote, “I drove by for work and was appalled to see the new plate! My family and I came over twice before and it didn’t happen. Man, why did they take it down so unexpectedly!”

Most Chinese, however, are optimistic about the changes being implemented. @不能吃我, a self-proclaimed railroad fan, wrote that she took a picture of the old plate and the new one. “Change is good. Change means hope, and I have faith that the future of China will be different and better.”

The Ministry of Railways Timeline:

October 1, 1949: The Ministry of Railways of China is established, according to the 18th commandment of Law of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.

September 1954: The Ministry of Railways is fully controlled by the Central People’s Government, the chief administrative authority of China.

1970: The Ministry of Transportations falls under the Ministry of Railways, so that MOR becomes a single powerful agency that controls everything running on the road.

March 2013: the 12th National People’s Congress terminats the Ministry of Railways and replaces it with China Railway Corporation.

Xiao Yi is a travel enthusiast who tweets @ellies_day.

Did you know that Tuesday, March, 12, was Arbor Day in China? On Zhi Shu Jie (植树节), literally Plant-A-Tree Day, people celebrated by planting anything they could. As Sina Weibo user @粮仓一鼠 put it, “Although there is no land to plant a tree, we can grow a pea in a flower pot.”

Like him, many others posted pictures of their work to Weibo. It was a fun and silly activity for many, but the outpouring of response also showed that lots of people desire cleaner air and are passionate about creating a better environment.

On Weibo, a post called “Show Off Your Green Spirit on Plant-A-Tree Day” attracted more than 3 million forwards. Some netizens posed with new flower pots in their office, some snapped pictures of themselves watering trees near bus stops, while others smiled at the camera while eating with stainless steel chopsticks instead of ones made of wood or bamboo.

Other netizen reactions:

@粮仓一鼠 wrote that he was going to plant a tree in a small courtyard below his apartment complex, yet he was afraid that the new tree would take up nutrition from a bigger tree nearby.

@济南陶玉山: Our suburb has a holly tree. The branches are horrendous. After work, I will get the big scissor from the office to trim the edges.

@美丽水滴: We still have to work on the holiday. So my husband and I already watered the multiple pom trees at Seawall.

@向日葵吖頭: I didn’t find a place to plant a tree. And are we not allowed to plant a tree in public spaces? Anyway, I bought two cacti and a pot of tulips and our bedroom is greener than before.

@小米噗一直很脱线: My suburb had a game show today and I won a pot of ivies and a dozen Chinese roses! Those are so expensive! I love Plant-A-Tree Day.

@颐高数码太原店: Alright, planting a tree on Arbor Day is impossible, as we all know. Our home has no space for a single tree. For the spirit of the holiday, I still want to encourage everyone to not use wooden disposable chopsticks. Since we cannot plant a tree, let’s not kill one. Happy Arbor Day!

@阿黎seven: I was eating lunch today when I remembered it is Plant-A-Tree Day. Well, I don’t know where to get a baby tree, so for the spirit of the holiday, I selected a few onions in the kitchen, carefully buried them in the backyard and watered them. They will grow very quickly!

@广州天气: A fifty-year-old tree produces an amount of oxygen worth 31,200 USD; it takes in carbon dioxide that prevents environmental damage that’s worth 62,500 USD; this tree also provides for birds as a shelter, and is worth 31,250 USD. A tree’s help to our environment is substantial. Even though we cannot always plant a tree, make sure you don’t stomp a small tree either. They will grow up and contribute to our health and environment in a positive way.

@小小小丹兄: I don’t care if we can’t find a place to plant a tree. I put together twenty-something pots and gave some to my neighbors. Their kids will have a lot of fun watering and taking care of them.

These are all small contributions, but as the saying goes, if everyone did just a little to help the environment, we’d all live in a cleaner, better place.

Xiao Yi is a travel enthusiast who tweets @ellies_day.

Outside a salon in the city of Pyongyang hangs a framed picture of 28 hairstyles for customers to choose from. The North Korean government has declared these the “official” styles for men and women — and what selection!

We’re all too familiar with the practices of a conformist state, but this is a throwback to an even more communist era. If you are a married woman, you have to keep your hair short and ribbon-free; if single, young ladies should keep braids; etc.

These images of approved haircuts quickly circulated on Sina Weibo. Let’s take a look at what Chinese netizens had to say about their comrades next door:

@牛奶糖赠品_：what if someone is baldheaded?

@不能吃我：it does not include my kind of hair. Guess I will be persecuted if I live in Korea.

@_JamesMoriarty: Look familiar, don’t they? Like China twenty years ago!

@ 尼马神马都是马: A woman from South Korea is the nation’s president, and women from North Korean have to abide by sanctioned hairstyles. Which country is better? Pretty obvious.

@心茶de自由: Wait, Fat Kim Jong-Un’s hair is not among these!

@造型师朱宥承: Even women have just short hair! Man, working as a hairdresser in Korea is so easy!

@songliuyu: Their government is worrying too much.

@大叮乖乖o0: I think the government of North Korea is great! They have narrowed down the options and recommended the best ones, which would save me a lot of time at the hairdresser. Ha ha!

@胖的快飞起来的兔子: So sick.

@CamoBunny: They all look the same to me.

@我才是很拽的番茄: (answer the question “what if baldheaded?”) Well, the glory of Juche Ideology will not let such dismay as baldheadedness to happen.

@唛唛-fan: Way too strict. I can’t live in a place like North Korea.

@win0703: Do they have a set of sanctioned sex positions, too?

@东海林歌: must have taken ages for that same model to grow all those haircuts!

This campaign to limit hairstyles seems like the government’s latest effort to block the entry of Western cultural influence. In North Korea’s defense, it’s just trying to preserve its traditional beauty and prevent authentic Korean culture from being contaminated by the bad elements of capitalist culture. That’s something we can all get behind — right?

Xiao Yi is a travel enthusiast who tweets @ellies_day.

Remember swimmer Sun Yang at the London Olympics? He broke his own world record in the 1500-meter freestyle, and won another gold in the 400-meter free, joining Michael Phelps as the only male swimmers to win two individual titles.

With the success came endorsements and a hot girlfriend, but China’s poster-boy swimmer now finds himself at the center of a scandal.

According to Xinhua, Sun’s been so overwhelmed with fame and commercial interests that he’s forgotten his responsibilities as an athlete. And after skipping 40 days’ worth of training and posting pictures of his high-profile relationship on Sina Weibo, he’s been “convicted” by the Sports School of Zhejiang, where he is enrolled. He is fined one month’s allowance and temporarily suspended from all sponsorships.

Sun has also reportedly had big arguments with his coach of more than 10 years, Zhu Zhigen, who has been hospitalized for high blood pressure and thyroid nodule.

Li Jianshe, the school dean, told Xinhua, “This place is for good athletes, not for those with privileges… we have to punish him, as everyone is the same when it comes to rules.”

Sun’s popularity soared after the Olympics, and his love affair with Nian Nian, a flight attendant, trended on Sina Weibo. Sun’s coaches, to say nothing of his family, all disapproved of this relationship, and netizens have also been turning against the golden boy. @fion黎明之前 wrote, “Sun’s body is top of the line but his brain is underdeveloped.” And @不能吃我 made fun of him: “Well, he can’t be blamed. After all, it is hard to go to 5 am training directly from clubbing.” In a survey conducted on Sina Weibo, as of now, 37,000 people supported the punishment, while 7,000 voted for forgiveness.

Sun recently posted — then quickly deleted — this message: “Those who care about me, please do not hurt the one that I care about.”

Is Sun Yang falling apart? As the scandal grows, more questions will be asked. Can he be both a professional athlete and playboy? Will he be able to have fun without ruining the image of the national swimming team? Can an individual thrive in the collective mentality environment of organized sports? More likely, he will have to choose one or the other.

Xiao Yi is a travel enthusiast who tweets @ellies_day. (Image Xinhua)

 By Xiao Yi

“At my residence in Beijing, with Coke toast first to the supreme leaders!”

And with that first message on June 29, Sina Weibo user @作家崔成浩 – literally, “Writer Choi Seongho” – launched himself into Chinese social media fame. From the very beginning, as a self-proclaimed North Korean patriot, he has written solely to glorify the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and has attracted more than 480,000 followers while following no one in turn.

But all is not what it seems. Far from being a true believer in the Juche Ideal, Choi just might be this country’s foremost satirist.

The typical netizen reacts to him with scorn and ridicule, but Choi responds with the sort of indifference that characterizes a master Internet troll. He continues to sing North Korean political propaganda, publicize portraits of Kim Jong-il (comparing him to “the sun that every human being admires”), and celebrate DPRK accomplishments, such as satellite launches.

When netizens attack — e.g., @Korea_中国法师: “A tyranny that starves countless citizens and makes countless lives suffer, shameless and evil dictator!” — the patriot counters with ridiculous phrases that have since entered Weibo lexicon: “Watch your tone!” he writes. “Anyone who defies the supreme leader will not be excused. We are serious and will track your longitude and latitude.”

Serious? Only to the few — and they are very much the minority — who aren’t in on the joke.

During the once-in-a-decade political transition of the 18th Party Congress, when China’s security forces went into overdrive, banning innocuous activities like flying toy helicopters and buying fruit knives, Choi wrote, “Sometimes what a person says can change the world, for example, one person yells, Look, they are having a meeting on the boat!”

One Sina Weibo user, who may or may not have gotten it, replied: “How dare you insult the intelligence and dignity of China! Report your longitude and latitude, we are serious!” But Choi’s “meeting on the boat” is actually a reference to CPC history – a highly secretive meeting in 1921 held on a red boat, in which Mao Zedong, along with 12 others, made the decision to establish the Communist Party — and hints at his subversive humor.

Sina does not reveal the identity of its users, making it hard to determine whether Choi is really from North Korea. His account does not come with the telltale “V” that signals his location or identity has been verified. In his profile, he simply stresses his heart is linked to — and would never leave — Pyongyang, capital of North Korea. Many netizens, however, suspect he is a Chinese national; others say he is actually South Korean, or possibly Korean American (he has posted in English before, but those are usually quickly deleted for whatever reason). Netizens often ask him to reveal his identity, but he either ignores them, ridicules them, or points them to this post. Most agree that he knows a lot about Chinese history and, as @棉花糖 puts it, “is unusually smart.”

Choi isn’t just popular among average netizens. Many verified celebrities also follow him, including Kai-Fu Lee, the Taiwanese-born American computer scientist and executive, and Ivy Chu, a well-known TV hostess on Phoenix TV.

Phoenix TV sought an interview with the elusive Choi last month, but Choi declined defiantly. He did add, however, that he would do it with Ivy Chu, whose adorable smile and attractive personality have endeared her to many male viewers. She appeared to openly flirt with Choi online, leading netizens to coin the term Ju-chu (竹体思想), a combination of the characters in Juche — North Korea’s (specifically, Kim Il-sung’s) ruling philosophy — and Ivy’s last name.

Choi’s online interview with Chu was shown on the Phoenix TV program “The Internet’s Hottest Item.” Here’s how it began:

Yes, it was that kind of interview. Other highlights:

Ivy: You mentioned that you were a reporter and a student studying abroad, does that mean you are a “princeling”?
Choi: My parents are farmers, never had official post. Even in the future, I will not become the father of princelings.

Ivy: But, you are also a writer, do you plan on writing a book? What kind of book?
Choi: A book that introduces the new prosperity of Communism. I am serious.

Ivy: Ever since you’ve become famous, so many weibo accounts have mimicked your style and used your name and even stated that you all are related, what do you say to that?
Choi: Perhaps I have the most number of relatives on Weibo, still counting every day. Unbearable, and I don’t know any of them. Be tolerable a little bit, maybe they also need “Pyongyang sytle.” [Note: he wrote "Pyongyang sytle" in English, and intentionally misspelled "style"]

Ivy: Then what do you think of your fame? With 450,000 to 460,000 fans, are you comfortable? And did you think of this outcome when you first started Weibo?
Choi: I did not expect it at all. And I follow no one. Perhaps it is because people are eager to learn about the Juche idea. And Choi will continue to warm their hearts with the sunshine with Juche.

Whoever Writer Choi Seongho is, he has succeeded in one key respect: by shedding light on North Korea’s cheesy propaganda, he’s shown how much China has changed in a generation. Perhaps that’s been his point all along. As @不能吃我 points out, “China used to be like this during Mao’s time. People knew nothing but to praise and worship. Glad that period is over.”

Xiao Yi is a travel enthusiast who tweets @ellies_day.

Ed’s note: Offbeat China, who first blogged this on Friday, has more pictures of Liu Xianping, the 72-year-old model of Yuekou online store. This piece is the first for BJC’s newest contributor, Xiao Yi.

By Xiao Yi

“Look at the camera – no slouching!” Miss Lü instructs as she shoots pictures of her 72-year-old grandfather, dressed in a casual tailored blazer, a pencil skirt, and cigarette-leg jeans – a.k.a. the latest figure-flattering winter trend. The skinny model, Liu Xianping, looks stunning in long, dark brown, sexy wig. And with just a single pair of shades, the confident baller proves fashion’s most ironclad rule: sunglasses can make anyone, and I really do mean anyone, look cool.

Miss Lü, co-owner of a women’s fashion store on Tmall, an online shopping mall that’s part of Taobao (China’s version of eBay), inadvertently launched her grandfather’s fashion career. According to Beijing News, Miss Lü was unpacking a newly received stock on November 8 when her grandfather began playing around, mixing and matching, and tried on a piece himself. “We both thought it looked good on him,” Miss Lü said. “He has a young heart.”

Liu Xianping lived through the hardest time in modern China. Until well into his 60s, he was a farmer tilling the earth in Hunan Province. Then one day, his granddaughter brought him to Guangzhou for a vacation.

“It was a lot of fun shooting and we just thought the pictures would be entertaining, too.” Miss Lü said. She put the photos of her grandfather online, and he became an Internest sensation. During the November 11 Singles Day shopping spree, her online store saw revenue increase fivefold.

Netizens were amazed. One buyer, “mangoslayer,” said, “What an overwhelming project, he poses better than celebrities on TV. The store owner has a good taste.” Most netizens thought it was hilarious and agreed that they would not have guessed Liu’s real age.

Many women have also expressed jealousy of Liu’s slender figure:

@Little Fish: Look at those legs! He is like the girl from SNDN.

@Love Yet to Come: His neck is straight and long! Wow, so confident!

@鲨鱼子: He has the body of a professional model.

“Grandpa felt his breasts were too small and insisted on stuffing socks,” Miss Lü said. “At home, Grandpa cracks jokes whenever he can.”

In spite of Liu’s age, he likes to try new things, according to the New Beijing Press story. He often games on QQ, the biggest social networking site in China, and has more than 15,000 fans on Weixin, China’s popular instant messaging app.

As for cross-dressing, is Grandpa Liu making a controversial statement about gender roles in this traditional society?

Nah, he’s just having fun. “Why shouldn’t I (wear women’s clothing)?” he said. “Modeling for (my granddaughter) is helpful, I don’t lose anything. At this old age, I just want to be happy.”

Xiao Yi is a travel enthusiast who tweets @ellies_day.