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. Read more »
NKNews.org has rolling updates of today's nuclear test in North Korea. It reports in a separate post:
North Korea has successfully detonated a nuclear device in the Northeastern province of Hamgyong, causing an explosion with a magnitude of 5.1, geological surveys in China and the U.S. said.
The detonation originated at a depth of about 1 kilometer in Kilju County, North Hamgyong Province, 378km (235mi) NE of Pyongyang at 1157KST. Read more »
Less than a week after outing himself as the microblogger behind the super popular “Study Xi Fan Club,” migrant worker and college dropout Zhang Hongming may be calling it quits. According to SCMP: Zhang, who has more than 800,000 followers, wrote: “Goodbye. I was happy when I came here, but I’m leaving today with deep... Read more »Read more »
It's easy when you have a classically trained soprano. Props to Anhui TV for having the foresight to invite international recording artist, Phantom of the Opera star, and friend of China Sarah Brightman -- who sang at the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony -- to perform at its Spring Festival gala on Friday. She's probably done "It's Time to Say Goodbye" a thousand times, but the tune is, as we say, timeless. Read more »
Ho, hum. Another Chinese New Year, another ridiculous, wonderful fireworks display over Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor.
This happened last night, two nights after Beijing's skies were lit afire. No place in the world quite does New Year's Eve like China. Read more »
Scant info available on this, but it speaks for itself. Three men pull a driver out of his car to beat him, but the man valiantly fights back. He puts one man on his back, then another, flips another dude, then goes on the offensive with flying kicks. Who is he, Ryback??? Read more »
Ah, live TV. Did magician Lu Chen give the CCTV Spring Festival Gala -- the most-watched show on Chinese television every year -- its Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" moment?
First, a little background. Top Chinese pianist Li Yundi and Chinese American singer Leehom Wang are best buds who spend so much time together that people openly question the nature of their relationship. (The two have repeatedly said they're not gay lovers.) It's kind of a running joke, the sort that feeds gossip mills and keeps tabloids in business. Read more »
Celine Dion performed on Saturday, PSY performed on Sunday, but what about multiplatinum international recording artists BSB?
Indeed, on Friday night, the Backstreet Boys were on stage in Shenyang as part of the Liaoning TV Spring Festival Gala. (Full show here.)
How did a regional gala secure the rights to such a big-name act? It's all part of a trend as viewers continue to search for alternatives to CCTV's national gala, which has fallen into the trap of trying to please too many people. Read more »
They're setting off fireworks in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor right now. We'll have video later, but let us know if you enjoyed it, if you're there. First links edition of the Year of the Water Snake commences now. Read more »
A spate of sand art videos have recently popped up on Youku, many of them from Taotao (Torrential) Sand Art Studio (QQ: 2468897167). We can't be sure that the above is from Taotao, but it's in the same style as their other videos and conveniently Chinese New Year themed, so here it is. Enjoy. Read more »
