Fans Greet Manchester United At Shanghai Airport

Sir Alex Ferguson signs lucky fan's shirt
Manchester United landed in Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport just after midnight today and were greeted by hundreds of enthusiastic fans, according to the team’s website. This marks Man U’s first China trip since 2009, part of a wider effort to reach out to the Asian market. It shouldn’t surprise you to know that the Red Devils are... Read more » Read more »

Jean-Yves Blondeau Becomes Latest Daredevil To Conquer Hunan’s Mt. Tianmen

Jean-Yves Blondeau Becomes Latest Daredevil To Conquer Hunan’s Mt. Tianmen featured image
Frenchman Jean-Yves Blondeau is known as "Rollerman" because of his custom-designed suit equipped with 31 skateboard wheels, ensuring he always rolls -- standing, crouching, prostrate -- wherever there's a hill. But why roll down hills when the world offers mountains? Specifically, Mt. Tianmen, one of the most scenic places in China, featuring a stretch of road -- which Alicia wrote about in April -- with 99 turns to symbolize Heaven's nine palaces. Read more »

Watch: Firefighters And Civilian Rescuers Attempt To Pull Out Submerged Vehicles At Guangqumen

Firefighters And Civilian Rescuers Attempt To Pull Out Submerged Vehicles At Guangqumen featured image
Within Beijing proper on Saturday, Guangqumen Bridge on southeast Second Ring Road was among the most affected by the rain, and resulted in one of the earliest reported deaths. (Incidentally, Guangqumen is about a kilometer and a half from Shuangjing Bridge, where some foreigners were having a good time, surely unaware of the trouble that was just down the street.) In this video, you see rescuers attempt to get to a submerged car at around 10 pm. Read more »

Pictures From Beijing’s Biggest Rainstorm In 61 Years

Beijing after rainstorm
The day after; picture by The Good Doctor Yesterday, Beijing saw its heaviest rainstorm since 1951, receiving on average 163.7 mm of precipitation as of 10 pm. Inevitably, there’s some bad news, which we’ll let China Daily deliver: The heaviest rain in 61 years that lashed Beijing Saturday have left at least four people dead and six... Read more » Read more »

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. Read more »