china

Need some stress relief; grab a pillow.

For the fifth year in a row hundreds of Chinese gathered in Shanghai to send 2011 out with a massive pillow fight. And this time around so many people needed the outlet that two days of fighting was planned.

Eleven Wang is the organizer behind the event. He says there are many white collar workers and students facing extra economic pressure. He says with college bills piling up and bosses demanding extra work people need a healthy way to deal with their emotions. And if they need something to blame, they can write down the name of their boss, teacher or subject of stress and put it in the pillow.  read more »

Life in china is taking a turn for the serious.

Earlier this week the Chinese media reported that the country will be cutting back on entertainment oriented television shows to focus on ones that build morale. This includes everything from sitcoms to dating game shows to dance broadcasts. China’s state administration of radio, film and television says it is aiming to restrict anything that records what they call “the dark and gloomy side of society.”  read more »

China is re-interpreting their divorce laws and it’s looking pretty good for the ex-husband.

China’s top court recently changed the country’s divorce law saying that the spouse who bought the house before the marriage has the right to keep it after a split. In the past the property was usually divided between the two sides but the court says it is fair for each party to get back what they owned before the marriage but some people, specifically women disagree.  read more »

Most people play the lottery hoping to strike it big; in Beijing people play to get behind the wheel.

Right now the only way to get a registration is through the lottery; and without one Beijing residents cannot buy a new car. The restriction started in January as part of an effort to control air pollution and traffic congestions. And people are flocking to the lottery with the hopes of getting back on the road.

Earlier this week only 17,000 of the 614,000 applicants won the right to register. Officials say the odds of winning are 35:1; the same odds you would face at a roulette table. And although they scored the big prize a lot of winners aren’t cashing in.  read more »

Chinese officials are taking a bite out of crime; and it tastes like a rotten apple.

So far five fake apple stores have been located in the southwestern city of Kumming. Two of them have been ordered to shut down and suspend business while they are investigated. Police say they can’t do anything about the other three because they weren’t trying to sell fake apple products.

The discovery comes after an American woman stumbled across one of the fake stores. She took pictures of the store and posted them on her blog. She wrote that they had incorporated every detail of the real Apple stores; including the blue t-shirts employees wear. After that blog appeared more than 300 electronic stores were investigated and the other fake apple spots were found.  read more »

Have you ever wanted to take a bite out of the Great Wall of China? What if it was made of chocolate?

Chinese chocolatier Wang Qilu has built a thirty three foot long replica of the Great Wall entirely out of dark and white chocolate. The creation even features a minature army of five hundred and sixty chocolate Terracotta Warriors standing at attention on a layer of chocolate flakes.  read more »