On the K256 Shenzhen-Hefei train, an off-duty rail worker was beaten to death by three train attendants for trying to mediate an argument involving the attendants and a fellow off-duty rail worker. more ›

Last Saturday, the local government in Yichun, Jiangxi Province, demolished the city's Yichun Bridge which has been in service for close to forty years. The government plans to build in its place a brand new two-layer bridge that it says will more adequately meet the requirements of the city's booming traffic. more ›

It looks like Good Little Brother (好第) has 'made it'. The viral internet star, who shot to fame after a clip of his rendition of 'The Words of Chairman Mao are Memorized By Heart' garnered over 1 million hits in two days during late May, was invited recently to open a new military museum in Jiangxi Province's capital of Nanchang. more ›

More details have emerged about the man responsible for the simultaneous bombings of three government buildings in Fuzhou City (抚州), Jiangxi Province (not to be confused with Fuzhou, Fujian) yesterday -- and the story is a heartbreaking one. more ›

Shanghai Daily reports that simultaneous blasts rocked a district government building and a local prosecutors building in Fuzhou City, Jiangxi Province this morning. Other sources say the explosions took place at 9:18am and 9:29am, both car bombs, and that there was a third blast at the Food and Drug Administration building at 9:45am. Rumors are flying on Weibo, the most prominent of which claims the man behind the bombings is a disgruntled farmer. We'll keep you updated with developments as more information comes to light. Update: Shanghai Daily is now reporting the third blast, targeting two buildings. The farmer is said to have been venting his anger at a recent court ruling. It has been confirmed that at least four people were seriously injured. Update 2: It's now being reported that two were killed and six injured. more ›

"Whichever villages the petitioners may be from, they will be relieved from their positions. As for the troublemakers, I've told the public security bureau already. Lock them all up first and then we'll talk." more ›

Despite weather reports that Typhoon Morakot would swing by our way (which triggered a rush of preparation for floods and damage) it... simply didn't. Yesterday was rainy and gross, but not any rainier and grosser than Shanghai weather normally tends to be. The same could not be said for other areas around Asia. more ›

A Chinese businessman is trying to sue hurdling champion Liu Xiang after injuring himself while driving a luxury car the Olympian had endorsed. The Jiangxi resident had collided with a truck and banged his nose on the windscreen when the car's airbags failed to activate. His doctor's bill amounted to almost 1000 RMB. Since he had bought the car because of an advert featuring Liu, the hurdler was obviously responsible. In that vein, we're thinking of suing this guy's mother for offending our sensibilities by producing such a dickwad... it makes about as much sense. Source: Reuters more ›

• Meanwhile in China… Sweet Powerpoint-style Graphics of Government Growth Plans [GOOD] "As someone who works in design, and the visual communication of information (like our weekly Transparencies or our recent infographic challenge to explain the financial crisis), I find this wonderful. Sure, it’s like every bad trick in the powerpoint/clipart book has been ruthlessly piled upon these slides. But still, to see typically boring, impenetrable government plans presented in a visual manner that seems sincere in its attempt to communicate with anyone is fascinating."
• Chinese 'gold farmers' making a living playing computer games [The Guardian] "These virtual industries sound surreal, but they are fast entering the mainstream. According to a report by Richard Heeks at Manchester University, an estimated 400,000 Asian workers are now employed in gold farming in a trade worth up to £700m a year. With so many gamers now online, these industries are estimated to have a consumer base of five million to 10 million, and numbers are expected to grow with widening internet access."
• A Chinese Pirate Unmasks: Letter from China [The New Yorker] "In his Internet experiment, Wang has added a compelling twist on the nature of Chinese nationalism. He did not simply want to prove that patriots would predictably bristle at the criticism, but that Chinese readers of all stripes would listen to criticism more closely from an outsider, even if they did not agree with it."

By 2015 it could happen, GoKunming reports. The journey currently takes 37 hours. According to GoKunming, "the Shanghai-Kunming passenger line (沪昆客运专线) will connect Shanghai and Kunming via the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan, passing through the major cities of Hangzhou, Nanchang and Changsha. Its target speed is reportedly 350 km/hr." more ›

Photo from Aileen Koh: Be on the lookout for these reddish spots on the hands and feet of your child. more ›

If you, like us, are already cursing the arrival of winter, watch this. There is a little 5 year old girl in Jiangxi who is still prancing around in her birthday suit, and revelling in the cold waters as if its still summer. Her parents say that since she turned one, the girl started showing her great dislike for clothes. She goes to bed nightly without even a blanket on, and if someone actually tried... more ›