Moving or traveling to a foreign country, especially one with a culture very different to your own, can be a nerve-wracking as well as exciting experience, especially with a country like China which has a long history of tradition. There’s so much that could go wrong and so many unintentional faux pas to make. Wouldn’t it be handy if someone put together a helpful list of the top ten things someone coming to China should know…? Read on to find out what conversation topics are as awkward as talking about hemorrhoids and why you should never give someone a green hat.
China (Page 26)
This mutant robot was featured at the 2014 Beijing International Emergency Rescue Expo and was described by Chinese media as ‘eye-catching’. It certainly is that, but we wouldn’t say it is exactly pleasing to look at. As you can see, the robot looks like a bizarre combination between a mutated four-legged spider and the dried squid I am having with my end-of-summer beer.
We’ve all seen a strange work of public art at some point while traveling–you know, that piece that makes you scratch your head and look at it upside-down to try to figure out just what the heck is going on. Fortunately for the residents of San Francisco, they have their very own bizarre–and ginormous–piece of public art to contemplate whenever they feel like it.
Japanese internet users recently stumbled across photos of this particular sculpture created by Chinese artist Zhang Huan and were quick to comment on its unique appearance. One fan even decided that it resembled nothing other than the final boss of a video game. While we’re pretty sure that’s not the interpretation that the artist was going for, the fan’s cleverly manipulated photo still gave us a chuckle.
Ever sit down to eat a meal and wish you knew how many calories or salt were in your food? Ever cooked a piece of meat or fish only to later wonder whether it might have gone bad? Last week, Chinese Internet giant Baidu announced that it has been working on a pair of wi-fi-enabled high-tech chopsticks that will be able to detect the nutritional makeup of the food it touches as well as warning consumers of any safety issues such as contaminants or expired food.
If we’ve learnt one thing from the vast number of articles on this site, Japanese fast food chains like McDonald’s come up with some really good ideas to keep people coming to their restaurants. Regardless of whether they turn out delicious or disgusting, inventions such as the luxury burger line-up, avocado burger, and tofu nuggets are hard to ignore.
It’s gotten to the point that people in Japan may have grown too accustomed to the nice things served at fast food outlets. For example, McDonald’s recently announced their new autumn special – Mushroom Risotto Balls – and online reaction could largely be described as righteous indignation with comments like “only an idiot would eat that!”
As reported by China Youth Daily and Shanghaiist, during another typical day in Beijing, a woman whipped off her bra and handed it to a man in public. Wait, what??
You might think that this kind of erratic behavior means she was participating in some kind of women’s rights demonstration, or felt like getting a super early head start protesting the next World Cup like these other Chinese women did earlier this summer. But actually, the real purpose for her ‘liberation’ was for a completely unrelated reason–to prove that she was indeed the owner of a luxury item.
Anyone who has boarded an airplane has probably gone through all the typical scanning and beeping, and some of you might have even gotten a pat down before being allowed to board the plane. But how many of you have been checked for the contents in your pants?
A little boy was stopped for inspection at the Guangzhou Baiyun Airport due to an unnatural bulge and movement in the crotch of his pants. What could it be?!
There are people in this world who are in love with the thrill of heights. From sky-diving to hang gliding, life is all about taking flight for them. Then there are people like me, who break out in cold sweat crossing an overhead bridge. If you’re afraid of heights, this video will leave your head spinning like there’s no tomorrow.
While a little belated, it seems like the world has fallen in love with the Japanese-created obstacle course action game show SASUKE (known as Ninja Warrior in other countries).
The show, for those that somehow haven’t seen or heard of it yet, gracefully combines three things that human beings all love the world over: Competition, people failing spectacularly, and ninja-like acrobatics. Although, in most SASUKE obstacle course runs, you only get either one or the other of those last two.
But, a recent contestant on the Chinese version of SASUKE pulled off an amazing hat trick of all three when he managed a nearly flawless run, only to fail spectacularly just before the finish line.
I’ve never been able to see those “magic eye” pictures. No matter how many times people tell me to “unfocus” or “relax” my eyes, I still find myself staring at a mass of dots, demanding to know (because, like a petulant child, I absolutely hate not being in on secrets) what I’m supposed to be looking at. So when I first caught this video, which shows an unnamed artist slapping white paint onto an all-black canvas on a beach in China, I assumed that it was just my noggin letting me down again when I couldn’t make out what the picture was supposed to be.
Until, that is, I reached the very end of the video and all suddenly became clear.
When the word “education” pops up, most of the time, the first thing that comes to mind is education for children. While parents and adults in general are often concerned about educating our future leaders, we tend to forget that parents need education too because, unfortunately, parenting skills do not come as a bonus with the birth of a baby.
A set of parenting posters produced in Shanghai in 1952 reveals some golden words that were given to parents of that time. Time and technology may have changed the way parents and children interact these days, but these 62-year-old parenting tips are surprisingly relevant even today.
Did you have a childhood sweetheart? In many cases, a childhood sweetheart tends to be a neighbor or schoolmate whom we spend many hours of our glorious juvenile years playing with and, more often than not, drifting apart as we grow up and life takes us to different places.
However, fate is a mysterious thing. If you’re destined for each other, fate will lead you back to each other, even after spending 18 years apart, like this pair of lovebirds!
There is a Chinese idiom based on the ancient military strategies of China: “Of the thirty-six stratagems, the best is to flee”. However, if you can’t flee, and have your hands held down, what would you do? If you haven’t been brushing your teeth for a year, you might have a chance at distracting your enemy with your breath.
We don’t really want to know how bad that smells, but apparently, a man who was recently arrested in Hebei, China, managed to make a police officer throw up because of his foul breath.
With home entertainments systems always evolving, there seems to be less incentive to head on out to the local movie theatre for a $10 cola and four-year-old running up and down the aisle during an R-rated movie. This means it’s up to the cinemas to raise the stakes and provide new and intriguing movie-going experiences.
Some theaters in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou think they have found such an experience by allowing those in the audience to post their comments onto the screen for all to see while the movie plays. So now when I take my mother-in-law she can ask everyone “Why did Bruce Willis just shoot that guy?” instead of just me.
Making a recruitment ad for military service is probably one of the hardest sells around. It’s easy to make someone want to buy a cookie. In fact, I want to buy a cookie just after typing that sentence, but motivating someone to put their life on the line takes a whole lot of finesse.
And finesse is what this new recruitment video for the Chinese communist party’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has in spades. Clearly intended for a younger audience, some of the hipper aspects of military service such as flying helicopters backwards, firing missiles and ensemble dancing are highlighted in this high-adrenaline three-minute promo video.
After saving global gold prices in 2013, Chinese dama, or middle-aged women, have found another claim to fame: Influencing world fashion trends.
While most think of going to the beach as an excuse to wear as little as possible, many of these women prefer to stay covered up. But don’t start calling them prudes, since, for them, it’s a matter of practicality and beauty!
For hardcore video gamers, life is a never-ending series of battles as they try to overcome the next boss, unlock achievements, or climb up the online leader boards. And for some of their parents, life is a never-ending series of battles as they try to get their kids to stop doing all that and study.
While more honorable gamers limit themselves to utilizing the best in-game equipment, some give in to the temptation to use hacks to gain an advantage over their adversaries. Recently, one education-minded mother in China adopted the same tactic by hacking her son’s online gaming accounts, then deleting them.
You know what’s apparently really popular right now? That Pizza Cats thing from Pizza Hut Japan. It’s a bunch of cats unwillingly forced into cute kitty-size Pizza Hut employee uniforms doing what cats do while someone films it and tries to stifle laughter. It’s all over the Internet.
Well, at least one Netizen has decided to get on the “reluctant sentient beings doing things they don’t normally do” bandwagon by placing a not-having-it-at-all and obviously confused baby in a salad bowl with a bunch of other salad ingredients because… INTERNET!
Snakes are a delicacy in many parts of the world and among them the Indochinese spitting cobra is held in high regard for both is scarcity and the alleged health benefits it holds to those who consume it.
For the people who prepare the cobras for consumption, however, it can be a completely different story. One chef in China’s Guangdong Province recently lost his life while dressing an Indochinese spitting cobra to serve to customers in a soup. Authorities are ruling this incident to be a freak accident. “Freak” is the operative word here, as the snake that bit the chef had reportedly had its head cut off several minutes earlier.



















Foreign man arrested for walking on Shinkansen tracks, claims he was on the run from yakuza
Can a downtown Tokyo super sento bathhouse beat a hotel for a one-night stay?
How to take your home ramen to the next level by making your own chashu pork in a frying pan
Tokyo turns its phone booths into free Wi-Fi hotspots, and here’s how to use them
Japanese ramen cocktail uses tonkotsu pork broth for alcoholic noodle flavour
First look at course menu items, pricing for upcoming Häagen-Dazs Matcha Salon in Tokyo
Japan now has stricter requirements for foreigners applying for citizenship
Schoolkids learn life skills through shopping field trips at street markets in Kochi Prefecture
You can assemble a well-balanced team of Pokémon, them eat them, thanks to Japanese cake chain
A history of Japanese schoolgirls’ purikura sticker booth trends
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Pokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration events
Starbucks Japan closing only Shinkansen platform branch for popularity-triggered renovations
Two food hacks take Japan’s convenience store fried chicken to amazing new sandwich heights
Fading Tokyo – Searching for signs of the Showa era as local neighborhoods evolve[Photos]
Tokyo teahouse serves up a sakura matcha dessert you won’t find anywhere else
7-Eleven Japan’s new baked-in-store sweet treat is only available in three parts of the country
Man bites woman at cherry blossom park in Japan, dies shortly after
Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]
Famous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]
Uniqlo announces new T-shirts for One Piece, Naruto and more for manga publisher’s 100th birthday
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
Krispy Kreme releases Super Mario doughnuts in Japan for a limited time
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
First look at course menu items, pricing for upcoming Häagen-Dazs Matcha Salon in Tokyo
Japan now has stricter requirements for foreigners applying for citizenship
Schoolkids learn life skills through shopping field trips at street markets in Kochi Prefecture
You can assemble a well-balanced team of Pokémon, them eat them, thanks to Japanese cake chain
A history of Japanese schoolgirls’ purikura sticker booth trends
Rolling suitcase with built-in desk is perfect for mobile businesspeople and cosplayers alike
Our reporter tries amemonaka, the traditional sweet from Niigata Prefecture
Fatal stabbing at Pokémon Center in Tokyo reignites concern over rising stalking cases in Japan
Let’s try all the melon bread types sold by Japanese convenience store Family Mart【Taste test】
Famous koi ponds overwhelmed with tourists throwing thousands of coins in them
Hayao Miyazaki comments on Chihiro’s final test scene in Spirited Away
Tokyo subway and almost all Tokyo train lines now accepting credit card tap payments