Results tagged “chengdu”

• Once seen as spies, Taiwan eases China media curbs [Reuters] "Taiwan has relaxed rules for Chinese media, long regarded as spy organizations for the Communist government, as relations warm between the two long-time political rivals, officials said on Wednesday. Effective immediately, Chinese media, which include state-run giants such as Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television, can increase staff from two to five people apiece and travel to any part of Taiwan or its outlying islands, officials said."
• Chengdu traffic gives rise to new profession: taxi chasing [GoChengdoo] "We've written before about how frustrating catching a taxi in Chengdu has become in the last few years. And although 800 cabs were allegedly added to Chengdu's streets last month, it doesn't seem to be getting any easier. But now help is on the way, in the form of a "chubby figure" who chases down cabs for passengers, collecting 2 RMB each time."
• In modern China, no place for totalitarian anthems [China Media Project] "How should we best understand the extravagance that marked China’s recent National Day celebrations? In the wake of the pomp and circumstance, a good friend of mine summed it up with a single phrase: “Four portraits and four anthems.” By portraits he was referring of course to the four massive portraits of state leaders - Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao - that gazed over the celebration."

You don't see this everyday-- a lowly garbage picker in Chengdu has captured the hearts of young girls, netizens, and the press. The story, picked up from the Chengdu Shangbao and translated by GoChengdoo, caught fire after someone posted a picture of the ragamuffin on the net. The rest is a testament to the incredible viral power of the Chinese internet community.

Now that the Qingdao Beer Festival is over, we've been looking for other places to go to satisfy our wanderlust. We'd love to visit some tourist sites, maybe a beach or two, but what we're really looking for is a scenic, historic city filled with culture, nightlife, and of course, beautiful women. Lucky for us, ChinaHush has a translated list from Netease of the top 10 cities in China for beautiful women.

What's going on with China and its exploding buses? Just days after that bus fire in Chengdu killed 24 people, one in Shenzhen burst into flames as well. On the morning of June 13, a public bus on the 320 route began emitting smoke at a traffic light intersection.

The deadly bus fire in Chengdu has sounded a warning to cities all over China to make sure that their buses are equipped and outfitted so as to minimize the chance of something similar happening again. But of course, never leave anything up to the government, right? The sales of safety hammers (10-80 yuan) in Shanghai are booming, and Shanghai has also decided to increase the number of conductors on buses in the upcoming months, especially on routes near the World Expo. Chinese media also reports that there have been emergency drills and exercises to help train bus drivers and people about what to do under such situations.

Well, that's not being ruled out as a possibility. Witnesses being interviewed have said that they smelled gasoline just prior to the bus going up in flames. They said that someone had probably spilled something flammable. It also seems that the only thing that was flammable on the buses would have been the seats, but the burning pattern seems to suggest that it wasn't the seats that first caught on fire. Chinese commentary has suggested that the bus driver was at fault for 1. cramming too many people on the bus (he and every other bus driver in China) and 2. not stopping the bus when people saw flames coming out the back. It's going to be awhile before we know what happened—if we ever know. In the meantime, the blame game is on.

A bus burst into flames on an off ramp in Chengdu earlier this morning. The fire has claimed 24 lives and injured 42 people. Its cause has yet to be determined and is currently under investigation. Head to GoChengdoo for more information.

Thought the swine flu fears were ebbing? Think again! Beijing reported the mainland's first suspected case of H1N1 (if you don't count the Hong Kong patient that was transferred over from Shanghai) after a 30-year-old male Sichuan student developed flu-like symptoms. The patient, surnamed Bao, had traveled from St. Louis to Tokyo, and then boarded Northwestern Airlines flight NW029 to Beijing. Then, on the transferring flight to Chengdu, he began exhibiting hints of the swine flu. He has tested mildly positive for H1N1 and is now quarantined in a Chengdu contagious disease control hospital. Those in direct contact with him during the diagnosis have also been placed under observation. Source: SCMP. (Photo by benchau)

Before we get on with this weekend's live music preview (and there's plenty going on by the way), here's a quick round-up of some recent music news we thought we'd share with you.

By Richard Yu

• Primary school students expelled for gambling ring in Guangdong [Zhongnanhai] "There were many cars waiting outside the Huadong (Dongguan, Guangdong Province) Senior High School gate over the last two days. Parents were waiting to take their kids back home, permanently. Over a hundred students in grades one and two have been involved in basketball gambling. All of them have been expelled from school."
• Saint Laurent Chinese Qing Bronzes Fetch $40 Million [Bloomberg] "Both made 15.7 million euros with fees, or 14 million euros at hammer price. The sculptures had been expected to fetch about 8 million euros each, said Christie’s. They were bought by Thomas Seydoux, Christie’s international co-head of Impressionist and modern art, taking instructions over the telephone."
• China keeps wary eye on displaced migrant workers [International Herald Tribune] "Although the government has not released updated information about rural unrest, officials have been strategizing about how best to keep large protests and riots from spreading, should the dispossessed grow unruly. This week, more than 3,000 public security directors from across the country are gathering in the capital to learn how to neutralize rallies and strikes before they blossom into so-called 'mass incidents.' At a meeting of the Chinese cabinet last month, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao told government leaders they should prepare for rough times ahead. 'The country's employment situation is extremely grim,' he said."

Didn't think the Chinese celebrated Valentine's Day? Chengdu apparently does, constructing this love-themed traffic crossing close to the city's Hejiang Pavilion, a popular dating venue for young couples. The local traffic bureau wanted to give the crossing a romantic atmosphere - and what's more romantic than gleefully stepping on hearts and the words "I love you"? Source: Ananova

Several scientists in China and the U.S. are claiming that the Sichuan Earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed at least 70,000 people, could have been caused by a 511ft-high dam just 550 yards from the fault line.

Over 16,000 people were stranded in Sichuan and Xinjiang last night after a giant fog enveloped Western China, just in time to screw up traffic for Spring Festival season. Visibility was less than 10 meters, not even close to the 500 meters required for take off. Expressways linking Chengdu to several nearby cities also had to be closed. But no need to get misty-eyed about a bleary situation for our West China friends, by 5am flights had started up again and traffic began its slow crawl by 11am. Spokespeople for Chengdu airport said they should clear the backlog by late tonight. Source: Xinhua

A 16 year old Sichuan schoolgirl has been invited to attend the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama on January 20. The girl, Li Zizi (李紫子) was actually born and raised in Japan but returned to her family home in Sichuan to attend the Chengdu Experimental Foreign Language School, close to some of the areas hit hardest by the great Sichuan earthquake in May.

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A powerful, evocative and sombre collection of photos taken by Shanghai-based Canadian photographer Chad Ingraham who has been spending time in Chengdu and Dujiangyan over the last few days.

Right: A woman over 60 years old, Wang Youqiong, was saved from the rubble 196 hours after the quake. She is now severely dehydrated and under intensive care at the Chengdu Huaxi Hospital. It is currently still unclear what damage has been done to her vital organs.

From France24:

Jia Zhang Ke (贾樟柯) mixes documentary and fiction in his film about three generations of Chinese workers. Watch clips from '24 City', filmed in the town of Chengdu, and an interview with the director.

Yet more notes from the field forwarded to us by our friends from Chengdoo:

Right: In Dujiangyan, heavy wreckage, collapsed buildings, great grief and a city that's been ground to a halt.

UPDATE, 18:09 The first Japanese relief workers are expected to leave tonight. A group of 60 earthquake specialists together with sniffer dogs will head to Sichuan over the next few days. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has appealed for earth-moving equipment to aid rescue efforts in the region. Many relief workers are currently sifting through the rubble with their hands according to ABC News. The latest official death toll stands at 19,500 but is expected to rise sharply over the coming days.

Treehugger: China earthquake threatens nearby dams, environment

Film star Jackie Chan has donated RMB10million to help those in need following the earthquake in Sichuan province. Other celebrities have also dipped into their wallets. From CriEnglish:

"Jackie Chan also sent his consolation to the quake victims and encouraged them to hold on as "people all over the country are with you," the star said.

Continue reading "Celebrity Power: Jackie Chan and Li Yuchun"

Right after the earthquake struck, Olympic officials maintained that the torch relay would go on as planned as "the epicenter is not along the route of the torch relay". In fact, one day after the earthquake, China Daily was still offering this really happy and harmonious image of the torch relay. That, unfortunately, did not go down well with people, and after a huge outcry on the Internet which saw Olympic organisers roundly lambasted for being "inhuman", BOCOG , to their credit, has taken a complete about-turn. Apart from this one minute's silence that you see in the video marking the start of the relay, "elaborate ceremonies surrounding the event would be scaled back, procedures simplified and the number of staff reduced".

BBC reports that the group of British tourists on their way to Wolong when the quake struck has turned up unharmed. So far, the official word from Xinhua is that there have been zero foreigner deaths (Note: report is from Tuesday morning), but a more recent report from AFP cites Xinhua as saying two Chinese-Americans and one Thai tourist in Sichuan have yet to be located.

As reported earlier, the epicenter of the Sichuan earthquake was not only near the city of Wenchuan, but it was also very close to the Wolong Panda Reserve. Xinhua informed us that some pandas at other facilities were safe, but the status of the Wolong pandas was still known.

* Over 10,000 feared dead in biggest earthquake in China for 30 years