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Planet China

The strangest stories from the Middle Kingdom...

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Pax Tyrannica
Sep 28, 2018 (WiC 426)

They are known as the “tyrants” of high-speed rail – passengers who take train seats they haven’t booked and then go to extreme lengths to hold on to them. The latest case to go viral is that of a Ms Zhou, a 32 year-old travelling from ...

Calculated measure
Sep 21, 2018 (WiC 425)

At airports, coffee shops and hotels it is normally among the first things patrons ask: what’s the Wifi password? At Nanjing University of Aeronautics the canteen’s bosses decided to turn this need into an educational exercise and test ...

We chat, but you can’t
Sep 14, 2018 (WiC 424)

Some think the origin of the idiom ‘Sent to Coventry’ dates back to the English Civil War of the 1640s when prisoners were sent to that city but cold-shouldered by resentful local inhabitants. Today the phrase indicates that an individual is ...

Polar extremes
Sep 7, 2018 (WiC 423)

One of the key traits required for running an educational establishment is an innate sense of what is appropriate. The principal in charge of the Xinshahui Kindergarten in Shenzhen evidently lacked this quality. As ThePaper.cn reports, parents ...

Skirting the rules
Aug 31, 2018 (WiC 422)

The Chinese are no strangers to apparently arbitrary decision-making, especially where local governments are concerned. But a new regulation on women’s skirts in Shanxi province may have reached new levels, say netizens. According to China News ...

On present form
Aug 24, 2018 (WiC 421)

Breaking up is hard to do: it’s the theme of countless pop music lyrics. Over in China the Youth Times picked up last week on an extreme example, where a breakup and attempted reconciliation between two young lovers led to police intervention. ...

For the love of the game
Aug 17, 2018 (WiC 420)

As WiC has reported on numerous occasions over the past year, short video is a hot phenomenon online – with Bytedance’s platform Douyin one of the leading lights of the new trend. The latest homemade short video to go viral will surprise, ...

The hearing test
Jul 27, 2018 (WiC 419)

“You snooze, you lose” is a familiar motivational phrase but netizens in China have coined a derivative: “you sneeze, you lose”. That newer phrase follows a cheating incident during an exam for architects in Changde. One of the ...

Housekeeping hell
Jul 20, 2018 (WiC 418)

China has a new candidate for the world’s messiest woman. According to Sohu she hails from Hunan province but her claim to the title is based on her residency in a long-stay hotel in the coastal city of Hangzhou. Hotel staff were forced to ...

On the table
Jul 13, 2018 (WiC 417)

Posting group photos online is seldom viewed as dangerous. But in Hangzhou it has cost two people their jobs. According to Sohu.com, the trouble began when eight disaffected sales staff quit their job and arranged a meal with three ex-colleagues. ...

Older »

1 23 4 5 6 7... 43

« Newer

Planet China

The strangest stories from the Middle Kingdom...

Pax Tyrannica Sep 28, 2018 (WiC 426) They are known as the “tyrants” of high-speed rail – passengers who take train seats they haven’t booked and then go to extreme lengths to hold on to them. The latest case to go viral is that of a Ms Zhou, a 32 year-old travelling from ...

Calculated measure Sep 21, 2018 (WiC 425) At airports, coffee shops and hotels it is normally among the first things patrons ask: what’s the Wifi password? At Nanjing University of Aeronautics the canteen’s bosses decided to turn this need into an educational exercise and test ...

We chat, but you can’t Sep 14, 2018 (WiC 424) Some think the origin of the idiom ‘Sent to Coventry’ dates back to the English Civil War of the 1640s when prisoners were sent to that city but cold-shouldered by resentful local inhabitants. Today the phrase indicates that an individual is ...

Polar extremes Sep 7, 2018 (WiC 423) One of the key traits required for running an educational establishment is an innate sense of what is appropriate. The principal in charge of the Xinshahui Kindergarten in Shenzhen evidently lacked this quality. As ThePaper.cn reports, parents ...

Skirting the rules Aug 31, 2018 (WiC 422) The Chinese are no strangers to apparently arbitrary decision-making, especially where local governments are concerned. But a new regulation on women’s skirts in Shanxi province may have reached new levels, say netizens. According to China News ...

On present form Aug 24, 2018 (WiC 421) Breaking up is hard to do: it’s the theme of countless pop music lyrics. Over in China the Youth Times picked up last week on an extreme example, where a breakup and attempted reconciliation between two young lovers led to police intervention. ...

For the love of the game Aug 17, 2018 (WiC 420) As WiC has reported on numerous occasions over the past year, short video is a hot phenomenon online – with Bytedance’s platform Douyin one of the leading lights of the new trend. The latest homemade short video to go viral will surprise, ...

The hearing test Jul 27, 2018 (WiC 419) “You snooze, you lose” is a familiar motivational phrase but netizens in China have coined a derivative: “you sneeze, you lose”. That newer phrase follows a cheating incident during an exam for architects in Changde. One of the ...

Housekeeping hell Jul 20, 2018 (WiC 418) China has a new candidate for the world’s messiest woman. According to Sohu she hails from Hunan province but her claim to the title is based on her residency in a long-stay hotel in the coastal city of Hangzhou. Hotel staff were forced to ...

On the table Jul 13, 2018 (WiC 417) Posting group photos online is seldom viewed as dangerous. But in Hangzhou it has cost two people their jobs. According to Sohu.com, the trouble began when eight disaffected sales staff quit their job and arranged a meal with three ex-colleagues. ...