An aquarium in Nanjing has sent out an appeal for people with long arms to help them pull a volleyball from the stomach of a dolphin, whose life is currently at risk. Since five year old Jiang Bo swallowed his toy on Wednesday, surgical efforts to remove the ball have been unsuccessful, leading the aquarium to try a more direct approach. "Whosoever pulleth out this ball..." more ›

In what is being called the largest bounty in Chinese history, authorities are now offering a total of 2.45 million RMB for the man wanted in connection with seven murders in Chongqing, Changsha and Nanjing. In the news they're calling him "Flat Top" (“平头男”). more ›

An expensive private kindergarten in Nanjing has been accused of hiring unqualified teachers from the Philippines who are allegedly mistreating kids and asking parents for more cash: more ›

A variety of couples took part, including some that were a bit gun-shy when it came to the moment of make-out truth, two cute toddler girls forced on stage by their parents, and even an old husband and wife in their sixties, who just sort of held each other in a mortified fashion. more ›

A man named nicknamed Junjun was looking for work in Nanjing, and met a man surnamed Zhang at a job fair. After being offered a place to sleep, Zhang took advantage of Junjun's kindness and raped his host. A later confrontation with Zhang resulted in Junjun attacking him with a stick, and then subsequently being charged and convicted of committing willful and malicious injury. more ›

Subway trains in Nanjing were delayed along line 2 yesterday, and reports coming out today state that recent heavy rains had a role, by flooding water channels and elevating the underground bed lining which subway track lays on. In a video from one of the stranded trains, passengers mill about annoyed and anxious at the delay, only to then run away in screaming terror when things start going wrong for the train car. more ›

A whirlpool swirls around a drainage pipe on Longfan Road in Nanjing, which has been battered by 36 days of continuous rainfall, the heaviest downpour the city has seen over the last decade. On Monday, several parts of the city received 100 millimeters of precipitation within two hours, paralysing the transportation network and submerging parts of the Shanghai-Nanjing InterCity Railway. more ›

"FOUR bullet trains from Shanghai to Nanjing were canceled yesterday due to a sudden rainstorm in Nanjing, said the railway operator. The Shanghai-Beijing high-speed line was not affected, authorities said. The Shanghai-Nanjing operator said 430 passengers were impacted as the operations on trains G7026, G7078, G7158 and G7164 were stopped by late in the afternoon. The heavy rainfall in Nanjing hit the track area by 4pm, leaving water and crimping the operation, said officials. Passengers were transferred to other trains, said Shanghai railway station officials. Emergency workers were making fixes to the affected track before the full operation resumed, said the operator." [Shanghai Daily] more ›

Reclusive North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il is currently making his way around southern Chinese cities and is expected to visit Shanghai soon. His luxury train entered China's Jilin province last Friday and arrived in the nearby city of Yangzhou on Sunday before going to Nanjing. (The leader reportedly has a fear of flying and only travels by train.) Though many of the details of his trip are cloaked in secrecy, the visit was confirmed by Premier Wen Jiabao who said China invited him to observe market reforms that enabled China to go from an economic backwater to the world's second largest economy. more ›

It looks like royal wedding fever hit this Nanjing couple hard. In honor of that most magical of days approaching, we bring you photos of absurdity-laden nuptials almost as shamelessly overblown as the real thing will likely be this Friday (tiny cameras embedded in altar flowers, mobile apps, two billion viewers, EVERY MOMENT IS PRECIOUS!) This couple rented out horses, a "royal guard", and a carriage, processioning around town waving and terrifying their horses with the obligatory fireworks. I'm not really up on my colors, crests, and kilts, but it seems to me there are more than a few conflicting costumes in the mix... more ›

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has announced the cancellation of the Wuhan-Nanjing flight route, beginning summer this year. The route is the first casualty of the onslaught by high-speed railway, which is now rapidly developing across China at breakneck speed. more ›

Transcript of remarks as prepared for delivery by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made at the G20 conference in Nanjing earlier today, via WSJ / China Real Time:

I welcome this seminar on reform of the international monetary system. This is a good time to assess the strengths and limitations of the current system, because the world economy is going through very substantial changes. more ›

Thought the state-abetted tree-cutting was just a Nanjing problem? Well, now, it's come to Shanghai too, and for the same reason. more ›

In many countries, it is a crime to chop off an old tree, but in Nanjing, it's the government that seems to be abetting the tree-felling. more ›

We've shared with you readers the populace's amazing ability to sleep anywhere several times before, but did you also know that they air their bedding everywhere too? These are photos taken at Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology the Sunday before the semester started. There was some good rays on the day and seems that students all had the same idea pop into their mind: Must air bedding. It's downright incredible to see quilts draped over cars, stadium seats, rooftops, large rocks, anything goes - kinda makes you wonder how clean it would be afterward though, no? Check out the full gallery to see a fully quilt-covered campus. more ›

We told you about this awesome vending machine for live hairy crabs in Nanjing a while ago, but now we've got more pictures up close. The crabs are priced very reasonably, from RMB10 to RMB50 depending on size and gender. And, if you're so lucky to get a dead crab, they'll give you 3 live crabs as compensation -- sounds like a good deal to us! [From ChinaDaily via ChinaTravelGuide] more ›

As the weather cools and the padded jackets are dusted down for the incoming winter winds, there's only one thing on our minds: hairy crabs. More precisely, hairy crabs in vending machines. Famous for their oil and roe, everyone is looking for a taste of these rich flavours and it appears that Nanjing is pushing the boundaries of tradition by setting up their own hairy crab vending machines. more ›

Did finding out the sanitation situation not scare you off crayfish? Then how about muscle degeneration? Dozens of people in Nanjing were struck down with a strange form of food poisoning from our little lobster friends: rhabdomyolysis. more ›

Starting today, a ticket for the new high-speed rail line between Shanghai and Nanjing will cost you 146 yuan (233RMB for first class), making the trip both intriguing and steeply uninviting. The new bullet train, starting operations on July 1 and traveling at a speed of 350 km per hour, will cut travel time between the two cities from two hours to 73 minutes, which, we assume, is meant to make up for the 56% increase in fare prices. Although, the new train system is supposed to mimic city buses, with five minute intervals between trains during peak hours, which could effectively turn Nanjing into a suburb of Shanghai. Officials have also said that prices could lower depending on market reactions. Commuters, we're crossing our fingers. more ›

China's biggest grudge match is even spicier than usual today. For the first time ever, Beijing Guoan come to Shanghai as defending CSL champions in the most eagerly-awaited fixture on the Chinese football calendar - the Jing-Hu Dazhan (京沪大战) more ›

Last weekend, the finals of the China Tennis Grand Prix took place in Nanjing. It was the culmination of a week-long event, which was actually the culmination of several months of tennis played at multiple levels in cities across China. more ›

• There aren't many of them still alive, but China still has women who went through and are willing to talk about “lotus feet,” that hundreds-year-old tradition of warping women's feet that was thankfully abolished after the revolution. [Wall Street Journal]
• Paul French talks to author Martin Jacques, who recently published the book When China Rules the World, about Chinese investment and business in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere, as well as the future of Sino-US relations. [China Rhyming]
• China will finally begin separating suspects arrested for minor offenses from violent criminals as it announces possible reforms to its detention system. The fact that they didn't before gives us the most unimaginable chills. [Time]

Singletons rejoice! Crack out the champagne and chocolate because today is the anti-Valentines day - it's singles day in China. As you know, one is the loneliest number and today is 11/11: four singles smack together, representing all the single folk out there. We think this day calls for a celebration, so we're going to treat ourselves to dinner! more ›

We're always fascinated by old pictures of China--we love seeing the tangible change in photographs from eras past. And since we can never get enough, here are a few more pictures from a wonderful photoset taken nearly thirty years ago. more ›

This picture was taken by a person who went to check out one of the military drill camps training for the 60th Anniversary celebrations. This one seems to be from the Nanjing military group. It can be translated into: more ›

Early last Sunday morning, a 29-year-old female worker was mauled to death by two big dogs in nearby Nanjing. Most frighteningly, over ten bystanders watched without doing a single thing. more ›

The internet can sometimes be a very dangerous place, especially for teenage girls. Yesterday evening, a 16-year-old school girl named Fang was stabbed to death in Nanjing by a man she met online. more ›

With RMB 1.2 million in prize money, this is the richest tournament in the tour's short history. The Nanjing leg also boasts the largest, and arguably strongest, field ever, with 144 players. And 31 of those golfers hail from outside Mainland China, another tour record.¹ In all, 14 nationalities are represented. Just two years ago it was a big deal when the once Mainland-only tour invited a handful of players from Taiwan and Hong Kong to compete in two events, now white writers attending tournaments get mistaken for competitors — things sure are changing fast. more ›