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China (Page 41)

New South China Mall: The Largest Mall in the World… World… world…

The New South China Mall, situated in Dongguan City, is considered to be the largest shopping mall in the world. According to an Emporis in 2012 it has 600,153 m2 of gross leasable area.

It boasts a hotel, an indoor/outdoor roller coaster which spans the complex, a canal with gondolas, and various replicas including the Arc de Triomphe, and Sphinx. It’s an impressive feat of design and engineering.

The only problem with the New South China Mall is that it’s almost completely empty and unused. The Emporis’ report also refers to it as a “dead mall” and, according to a CNN Japan report, the escalators are covered in tarps and the passages are dusty and lined with shutters.

So what went wrong?

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The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (PCC) is a group composed of politicians, organizations, and other independent members who gather to help shape the political agenda for the upcoming year.

During this meeting on 4 March, international film star Jackie Chan appeared before the Governmental Advisory Institute with some stern words about the way law enforcement is handled in his country when it comes to cigarettes.

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So you think you have a refined sense of smell, do you? Well, forget that job as an aromachologist, ah, yes, the position actually does exist, there may soon be openings in Shanghai that will allow you to put your nose to work for the greater public good.
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Recent reports from Radio France Internationale (RFI)’s Chinese site suggest that China’s pollution problem is raising serious concerns within the country itself. In the push for economic growth, the China is also becoming increasingly aware of what could potentially develop into a serious problem if steps are not taken soon. In this connection, there has been heated debate on the Internet suggesting that Chinese authorities are proposing moving the capital away from Beijing.

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Simple Pleasures: The Story of One Man’s Love Affair with a Nylon Washcloth

“This is one thing that I want to continue using until the day I die.”

Of all the things that Japan is renowned for– all of its architectural triumphs, pioneering technology, sexy shenanigans and mind-bending animation — it comes as a surprise to this writer to read that one Chinese blogger in Japan values one thing above all else. Residing in Japan for more than 15 years, this 39-year-old blogger and professor of fine arts claims that, were he to return to his homeland, he’d miss one item more than anything else, and simply can’t begin to fathom why it hasn’t caught on back home.

Forget underwater Walkman music players, forget strawberry ramen and cuddle cafes; for this man, the humble nylon wash cloth is the pinnacle of Japanese invention, and it has become an essential part of his life.

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Measure Asia’s Air Pollution with a Map Based on the Length of Your Nasal Hair!

In recent years along with many other developing Asian nations, China has been increasing its level of industrial manufacturing as it readies itself for remarkable industrial growth. However, neglecting its environment for the sake of industry has brought with it the problem of dense smog pollution, with microscopic smog particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less having been detected in overwhelming large amounts in China’s air in recent days.

The smog is the same as that found in factory exhausts, car fumes and the like. Measured per cubic meter, at one instance the observed value of pollution in Beijing reached levels 10 times the Chinese government’s recommended safety level. If one were to go by the Wealth Health Organization (WHO)’s recommended value, the figure rises to 40 times greater than normal. When it comes to pollution, it is thought that of the asian nations undergoing remarkable growth, 70% of nations are reaching a critical level. The toxic substances that seep out into the environment cause asthma, pneumonia and even in some cases death.

Of course, those living in highly polluted areas will surely want to know how their air compares, but measuring the levels each time can prove tiresome and expensive. With this in mind, one innovative company called Clean Air Asia has stumbled upon a way determine just how polluted your air is, and has designed an interactive map based on – wait for it – nostil hair.

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Chinese Man Found Dead After 40-Hour Gaming Session 【News Bite】

While the rest of the world worries about global warming, guns and which countries may or may not be building nuclear weapons, there are evidently some people out there who ought to be more concerned about things a little closer to home.

According to Japanese website Game Spark, a 21-year-old man in China has been found dead after playing an as yet unnamed online role-playing game for some 40 hours.

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Recently a bizarre eight legged creature bearing striking resemblance to gold skultullas — the special from gold-backed spiders from the Legend of Zelda series — has been spotted in Hong Kong.

At first glance,you might be inclined to think that you’ve been playing too much Nintendo, but this spider with a seemingly human face is an actual image taken by an eyewitness.

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In an interview with well-informed sources on December 28, Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun discovered Chinese diplomatic papers created in 1950 used the Japanese name Senkaku to identify the Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea. The same document also contained language recognizing the Senkakus as a part of Okinawa.

Currently China claims the islands are its territory as “a part of Taiwan.” Recognition by China in 1950 that the islands are a part of Okinawa is contradictory to its current claim and weakens the foundation of its present position.
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With Tibetans continuing to set themselves ablaze in protest of oppressive rule by Chinese authorities, state media for Qinghai province reported that the government of the province’s Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture announced it would begin offering rewards of 200,000 yuan (about US$32,000) by December 27 to anyone at the scene who can prevent such suicides from occurring.
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Some foods are so spicy that consuming them can leave the more intolerant of us with an upset stomach. It was once believed that eating lots of spicy food could even cause gastric ulcers—a break in the tissue lining of the stomach—but this has since been proven false, the credit stolen by a bacterium known as Helicobacter pylori. If you find yourself retching with pain after lunch at an Indian food buffet, you’ve likely aggravated an existing condition and should probably have it checked out.

So as colorful as the expression is, eating spicy food can’t actually “burn a hole in your stomach”. At least, it shouldn’t be able to, which is why doctors at a hospital in Wuhan, China, were scratching their heads when a 26-year-old man with no history of gastrointestinal disorders was brought in after eating soup so spicy that it opened a hole in the wall of his stomach.

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Did you think coffins were only for the dead, haunted house managers, and vampires? Well apparently not! Climbing into a coffin for a few minutes is supposedly therapeutic, too! An artificial near-death experience is allegedly good for the soul, a great stress reliever and growing in popularity in China.

Karapaia Livedoor.biz, a Japanese news blog that reports oddities and adventures from around the world, decided to take a look at this special psychological therapy which is taking off in Shenyang China. Read More

 

According to reports by the Chinese media, a gas station in the eastern province of Jiangsu has been identified as the source of heavily-diluted fuel that has caused numerous vehicle breakdowns in the area.

A number of cars in the city of Nantong suffered engine trouble just minutes after their tanks were filled at a Sinopec stand (owned by the China Petrolium and Chemical Corporation), with each car later found to have water in its fuel tank.

It wasn’t long before mechanics and motorists alike began to notice a pattern between the sudden engine failures and visits to the Sinopec stand.

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Is everyone ready for the end of the world in a few weeks? In preparation for Armageddon I’ve decided not to pay any of my bills.  And that new toothbrush will have to wait until after 21 December, when the Mayan Long Count calendar expires.

I thought I had everything covered until reading reports from Chinese media about Lu Zhenghai from Xinjiang.  The engineer is currently finishing off his own “Noah’s Ark” with an estimated price tag of two million yuan (US$320k).

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Bitching about our bosses is probably one of the best things about socialising with coworkers. They’re to strict; they’re a push-over; they have coffee breath and get way too close when they talk; whatever the issue, complaining about the boss is a great stress reliever and helps us get through the day.

According to a recent survey taken across four countries, however, expectations of bosses and opinions of what makes a good one vary wildly between countries. Not only that, Japan ranks as the country with the lowest “boss satisfaction” rate of all those surveyed.

Of course, my boss is the greatest, and I would never even dream of saying a bad word about him <cough>Christmasbonus<cough>, but the difference between the opinions of those surveyed in Japan and those in other countries, most notably China, is startling.

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In any country there are both written and unwritten rules of etiquette that people are expected to follow while riding the subway. In many cases, these rules reflect some of the more unflattering quirks of that country’s people. In Japan, there are women-only commuter cars because some guys just can’t help themselves from recording up a girl’s skirt with their smartphone.

As China has been working to expand its subway network over the past few years, including a nearly 50% increase to the Beijing Subway that as made it the fourth longest metro system in the world, the country has developed its own brand of metro manners— or the complete lack thereof .

So just what kind of offenses do Chinese subway commuters have to endure on their train rides to and from work? A local newspaper in  Tianjin, China’s fourth largest city, surveyed 894 people to find out what they think are the “most unforgivable subway manners.”

Take a look at the survey results below!

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Better Soccer through Feng Shui, Change of Place Hoped to Beef Up China’s National Team

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has had their hands full for a long time with their lackluster international national team. To add insult to injury, fans of Chinese soccer have grown even more disillusioned due to allegations of corruption in recent years.

Chinese media reports that the longstanding woes of the national team were due to some bad qi floating around the CFA headquarters. Apparently, having a building facing North by Northwest makes your executives degenerate gamblers.

However, by applying the principals of feng shui to their new offices perhaps the association can flow into a reversal of fortune.

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We’ve all heard the stories of Chinese parents selling away their babies. Some do so because the government allows only one child per family, and they would rather have a son than a daughter. Some do so because they are too poor to support a child. Some do so in order to fund their online gaming habits.

But this 72-year-old Chinese man from Chongqing, he sold away his daughter in order to bring up someone else’s daughter.

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Back in high school, the best my friends and I could come up with to cause a ruckus was a little underage drinking, but kids these days can manage to bring countries to the brink of war with their shenanigans. Lawless whippersnappers!

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Looking back at the violence that occurred in the anti-Japan protests in September, I’m still baffled at why those regular people got so crazy over a land dispute between two governments in some remote area.  Maybe I’m the only one who lacks that patriotic spirit that compels one set fire to a factory over zoning issues.

Or perhaps like almost every world event in history, there are more complex – usually economic – factors at play beneath the surface. At least that’s what a group of Japanese writers and journalists claim.  According to them, the stage was set for this explosion of anger years before it happened.

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