Blogs » Society » Get Connected: The Best VPN Providers

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• Get Connected: The Best VPN Providers
• Take Our Reader Survey and Win Great Prizes
• Environmentalists In Beijing Go Topless To Protest Ginseng Organization
• Photos: Anti-Japan protests spread across China
• Acid Dumplings [26]
• Gu Kailai Is No Madame Mao: That’s Good And A Little Sad
• Laowai allegedly slaps Chinese woman, near-riot ensues
• Today's Links: Underwater archaeology, Jeremy Lin in Guangdong and tighter visa rules
• Driver Tries To Cut In Front Of Truck On Highway, Fails Utterly
• Top-of-the-Week Links: A response to all those “whiny” departing expats, Xiaomi’s second-generation handset, and some believe Zhou Kehua is still alive
• An Attempted Suicide Story With A Shocking Twist [UPDATE]
• Justice Done And Dusted
• Dish of the Day: Spanner crab @ the Tongchuan Road Fish Market
• And Now Here Is A Beauty Pageant For Cows
• Video: White man raises public anger in Zhengzhou for slapping Chinese woman
• Tibetans fight tourism on holy lakes
• Vote Now for Round Four of Shanghai's Best Pizza Competition
• Today In New World Records: Rice Transplanting In Taiwan
• Watch: Melissa Chan's "final" report from China
• What Are Guests Saying About the Modena Putuo?

Get Connected: The Best VPN Providers Posted: 20 Aug 2012 08:26 PM PDT Date: Aug 21st 2012 10:26a.m. Contributed by: csteiner At some point a virtual private network to scale China's infamous firewall becomes a necessity. Here's a rundown of the top VPN services.

Take Our Reader Survey and Win Great Prizes Posted: 20 Aug 2012 07:30 PM PDT Date: Aug 20th 2012 8:26p.m. Contributed by: cityweekend_sh Every year we publish our reader survey to find out more about our favorite readers, users and general admirers. Jump to the one page (aka super quick) City

Environmentalists In Beijing Go Topless To Protest Ginseng Organization Posted: 20 Aug 2012 07:00 PM PDT On Sunday, a Jilin province-based ginseng association was holding a promotional activity in Beijing's Chaoyang Park when environmentalists brought its event to a sudden halt. Before being intercepted by park security and escorted out, the young protesters made it known that ginseng mining destroys forests. At least one woman was topless, drawing all the cameras. Poor guy shouting slogans in the background had no chance. In the interview at the end, one young man says, "Plant one patch of ginseng, destroy one patch of forest. If you don't believe me, go to Jilin and see for yourself." Youku video for those in China after the jump.

Photos: Anti-Japan protests spread across China Posted: 20 Aug 2012 05:30 PM PDT                    Anti-Japan protests have erupted across China after a Japanese right-wing activist group landed on a group of uninhabited islands known as Diaoyu Islands to China and Senkaku Islands to Japan. [ more › ]

Acid Dumplings [26] Posted: 20 Aug 2012 05:00 PM PDT

Gu Kailai Is No Madame Mao: That’s Good And A Little Sad Posted: 20 Aug 2012 03:54 PM PDT We live in an age of midgets. Even our villains are small (although that's certainly for the best). Here are two examples: Vladimir Putin sentences Pussy Riot to a couple of years in prison; Stalin murders tens of millions. And Gu Kailai is convicted of poisoning one Brit; Jiang Qing–Madame Mao, leader of the Gang of Four in the Cultural Revolution–is convicted of subversion, counter-revolutionary activity, treason, persecuting 727,420 people, and causing the deaths of 34,274. Focusing on the latter example, Ms. Gu admitted her crime, but pleaded mitigating circumstances. Ms. Jiang never confessed was not repentant and was even defiant. Her defense:  'I was Mao's dog. Whomever he told to bite, I bit.' Both received the same sentence: death with a two year reprieve. Here's Ms. Jiang at her trial (best video I could find with some English): And, here's Ms. Gu at her sentencing: Ms. Jiang's sentence was handed down in 1981 and two years later commuted to life imprisonment (as Ms. Gu's no doubt will). Diagnosed with throat cancer, she was released in 1984, and according to government reports hanged herself in a hospital in 1991. Her supposed suicide note read, 'Chairman [Mao]! I love you! Your student and comrade is coming to see you!' In her obituary in the New York Times, 'Suicide of Jiang Qing, Mao's Widow, Is Reported,' Nick Kristoff described Jiang Qing this way: Few people have been so hated in modern Chinese history, and after her fall she became a symbol of the excesses and brutality of the Cultural Revolution. When her trial was televised each night at the end of 1980, most of the nation was delighted and riveted by the spectacle of Ms. Jiang in the dock. She refused to repent, and even taunted the court to chop off her head. … Ms. Jiang (her name is pronounced jyahng ching) came to symbolize the fanatical egalitarianism and passion for ideology of the Cultural Revolution years. … To many young Chinese, there is not much difference between Ms. Jiang and some of the neo-Maoist hard-liners who remain in power. There is a big difference between Gu Kailai and Jiang Qing. And between their husbands, Bo Xilai and Mao Dzdong. Jiang Qing and Mao were evil but giants. Ms. Gu and Mr. Bo seem merely greedy and power hunger, respectively and perhaps collectively. Both midgets in an age of midgets.

Laowai allegedly slaps Chinese woman, near-riot ensues Posted: 20 Aug 2012 03:00 PM PDT It was a literal slap in the face for laowai/local relations. A Caucasian man, appearing to be middle aged and sporting a Walmart brochure in the left breast pocket of his shirt, found himself surrounded by angry passersby as he sat holed up in the back seat of a BYD car. Many from the crowd said, on camera, that the foreigner should apologize because he allegedly slapped a Chinese woman and spat on her face. [ more › ]

Today's Links: Underwater archaeology, Jeremy Lin in Guangdong and tighter visa rules Posted: 20 Aug 2012 01:35 PM PDT A few links to start off your day: Underwater archaeology, Jeremy Lin in Guangdong and tighter visa rules [ more › ]

Driver Tries To Cut In Front Of Truck On Highway, Fails Utterly Posted: 20 Aug 2012 01:00 PM PDT Last week on the Shanghai-Kunming Highway in Jiashan, Zhejiang province, an SUV was desperate to make his exit at all costs. How desperate? Take a look. Fortunately, the two passengers in the SUV suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Live and learn. Youku video for those in China after the jump. (H/T Alicia)

Top-of-the-Week Links: A response to all those “whiny” departing expats, Xiaomi’s second-generation handset, and some believe Zhou Kehua is still alive Posted: 20 Aug 2012 08:30 AM PDT Via Ministry of Tofu: "In the southeastern city of Nanchang, the management of the city's railway station has enclosed all outdoor stone benches with metal fencing to prevent travelers from sitting down on them, saying that travelers using the benches may harm the city's image." (Above picture via Free More News.) Air pollution was zero in Beijing yesterday. Hope you made the most of it instead of reading links. An email sent to Dan Harris in a post titled, "To The China Expats Leaving: Don't Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out": "In summation, you only are gonna get out what you put into this place, and rarely, if ever will the two balance out, if the only thing you have to contribute is vague and intangible, that's probably what you will get out of it at best.  Sorry English teachers, in the end you are useless sacks of white flesh.  Sorry expat bubble community, if the only thing you can do is cater to the expat community, don't expect to see anything come from China.  Sorry trading companies, your reliance on cheap crap being made here that you can mark up 50x cost didn't really benefit anyone in the end and those factories are being pushed up the value chain and cutting you the fuck out of the equation.  Sorry foreign consultants, an entire generation of Chinese are coming back from overseas and can do your job better. // If anything is going on here, it's a shift, a rather large one, a rather difficult one, but a shift none the less.  Those who can't hack it are smart to get out, because they will not survive." [China Law Blog] Corollary: If you haven't read it yet, here's the most-tweeted China Daily Show post yet, "Why I'm leaving China." Corollary 2: Just re-read the Mark Kitto piece. I'm sorry but I'm gonna say it: Kitto has one of those faces you just want to punch google.com/imgres?imgurl=… — Mitch Moxley (@mitch_moxley) August 20, 2012 With Gu Kailai sentenced, now we turn our attention to Wang Lijun: "Nevertheless, the state is expected to soon mete out its brand of justice against Mr. Wang, too. He could go on trial this month for his flight on Feb. 6 to the American Consulate in the nearby city of Chengdu, where he told United States diplomats of the Heywood murder before being escorted to Beijing by state security officers. The charge against him is likely to be treason, which potentially carries a death sentence, though officials may show leniency because Mr. Wang has cooperated with investigations, said several people with knowledge of the case." [NY Times] More on nationalism and Diaoyu: "Netizens critcise that Hong Kong Baodiao (保釣, defending Diaoyu Islands) activists, despite their pro-democratic stance, have hurt Hong Kong. They believe that this Baodiao action is to shift focus away from Hong Kong internal problems, especially when awareness of defending Hong Kong is growing." [Dictionary of Politically Incorrect HK Cantonese] China's iPhone? "A year after the launch of its first phone, Xiaomi, the $4 billion-valued company sometimes referred to as the Chinese Apple, has unveiled its much-anticipated second-generation handset which is anything but a budget Chinese knock-off. // The quad-core Xiaomi 2 looks like being a real iPhone contender when it launches in October. It is powered by a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and runs the company's MIUI V4 skin of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The phone even has its own Siri-like voice recognition software, developed by Keda Xunfei." [The Next Web] It was only a matter of time before these rumors about Zhou Kehua circulated: "Rumors that serial killer Zhou Kehua is still alive were dismissed by police in Chongqing yesterday. // The rumors began after police closed access to the southwest municipality's Gele Mountain. // The online rumors claim that the killer must still be at large in the mountain area where police and military personnel had been searching before his final shootout with police. // However, police said they were just searching for any hideouts Zhou may have used for further clues to the killer's activities." [Shanghai Daily] Medical innovations? "This is weird-ass news out of the north… Last November, the Bank of Canada started circulating a new $100 banknote. They're made of plastic polymer, and are extremely difficult to counterfeit. Yay. // So get this. One of the original images intended for the design showed an 'Asian-looking' woman scientist peering into a microscope — meant to celebrate Canada's medical innovations. // But focus groups were reportedly unhappy with the researcher's Asian appearance, so the bank eventually had the image redrawn to represent a more 'neutral' ethnicity." [Angry Asian Man] Chinese cricketer Jiang Shuyao something something gobbleygook narf. "'Shu', as he is popularly known throughout the club, has scored 196 runs for Cleethorpes' second team, in the Lincolnshire League, for an average of 24.5 and with a top score of 50, in the middle order. For the academy side, opening or going in first wicket down, he has scored 362 at 51.7, with five fifties and a top score of 98." [The Guardian] Panda giving birth to twins interlude: Finally… China's under-18 squad beat Hong Kong by 106 points. [NiuBBall] China now has a carrier named "Diaoyu Islands." [China Defense Mashup] "Bad China Days are like herpes." [Ryan McLaughlin, Lost Laowai] Kickstarter for Central Asian throat singers' collaborative album, Karashay. [Kickstarter] Chinese idioms for sex. [Speaking of China] Finally, finally… Ramadan in China, via Brian Hirschy

An Attempted Suicide Story With A Shocking Twist [UPDATE] Posted: 20 Aug 2012 06:05 AM PDT UPDATE, 9:37 pm: Several colorful details added via Yangcheng Evening News. Last Tuesday morning, a woman threatened to jump off the 9th-story roof of a commercial building in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, and certainly would have if not for the intervention of family and rescue workers — eight of them by my count, including her daughter, as shown in these stunning pictures from China Daily/Reuters, posted on Longhu Net/Sina, Daily Mail, et al.: Rescuers tried reasoning with her for four hours. Yangcheng Evening News reports that at 11:35 am, the woman's daughter arrived at the scene. …seeing her daughter, she cried and said: "Daughter, you've finally come, I just wanted to see you one last time, now I can jump…" The daughter wailed, "Mom! Why do you want to jump? If you jump, I'm going to jump with you!" in an attempt to move her mother's heart. "You have such a great daugther! Why are you willing to part and let her follow you to her death?" Zhao An followed, opening up the psychological fight. Eventually, everyone moved in, wrestling the woman down like a "tug-of-war." Now. What if I told you this woman was a murderer? Specifically, that she was fresh off killing her four-year-old nephew as the result of a dispute with her sister-in-law? That she had choked him in the bathroom until he passed out, then took his body to the rooftop and threw it off that very ledge? According to Yangcheng Evening News, the act was the climax of a longstanding and incredibly bitter family conflict that saw the sister-in-law try to poison the other family. (!) We're given no details as to what the confession was like. It's pretty hard to imagine. And then there's this, from Daily Mail (sic): The horrific truth behind her suicide attempt was unveiled when she had been brought off the ledge. 'She admits she'd thrown the boy's body off the same roof.', a police spokesman told local media. 'She will still die now, but by a firing squad for murder.' We'll have to leave it at that for now. (H/T Alicia)

Justice Done And Dusted Posted: 20 Aug 2012 05:25 AM PDT The suspended death penalty imposed on Gu Kailai neatly completes the official narrative that the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood was an exceptional case, the act of a single person under psychological stress. Gu will now disappear into the … Continue reading →

Dish of the Day: Spanner crab @ the Tongchuan Road Fish Market Posted: 20 Aug 2012 05:30 AM PDT Spanner crab, called laohu xie (老虎蟹) or "Tiger Crab" in Mandarin, looks like something the Mars rover might stumble upon before its screen would go fuzzy. But don't be fooled, this kooky critter is one of the main reasons we take that multi-transfer metro ride out to the Tongchuan Road Fish market week after week. [ more › ]

And Now Here Is A Beauty Pageant For Cows Posted: 20 Aug 2012 04:54 AM PDT Yu Wenxia may have won the Miss World crown on Saturday, but could she hold a pail to any of these cows? I'll let Want China Times explain this one: "The first ever beauty pageant for cows is being held in Shanxi province, with models posing with the cows. A total of 200 cows from 11 farms have joined the competition, and the organizer will choose the winners based on milk quality, appearance and pedigree. The first-place prize is 50,000 yuan (US$7,900). Orange Warwick county of the US is also co-sponsoring the pageant." The competition was held on Saturday in Shuozhou, Shanxi province, in the hours before Yu took the stage in Ordos. In a rather amusing newscast after the jump, which I've subtitled, one model says, "In all my years, this is my first time participating in this kind of event. Also, the type of events I used to participate in were related to cars or ceremonies. But this kind of cow modeling is a first." Another notes: "Because I always do these kind of events, we all approach this thing professionally. We don't feel like we're here just for hype. Don't look at us as doing something negative, try to understand from a positive light." That's exactly the spirit one needs when crouching down and milking a cow for the camera: Right. Here are more pictures: The one in the middle doesn't look amused. Finally… Picture from Baidu forum And now those videos: (H/T Hao Hao Report)

Video: White man raises public anger in Zhengzhou for slapping Chinese woman Posted: 19 Aug 2012 06:47 PM PDT A white man, who wore a "Wal-mart" card on his chest, was blocked by hundreds of Chinese citizens in Zhengzhou city, Henan Province, after he was caught slapping a Chinese woman twice and spitting at her for a traffic dispute. Local police officers were soon mobilized to the scene to calm the crowd down, as angry citizens roared on and wanted to beat the white man and turn over his BYD car (a domestically-produced Chinese car). According to eye-witnesess, a Chinese woman rode on her scooter to accidentally scatch the man's car. He then just got off his car to slap the woman and then spit at her. Seeing that he had raised anger of the masses, the man locked himself up in the car. Police officers made efforts to direct the crowd after arrival, and then took a chance to escort the white man quickly from his car to a police car, which stirred up quite an uproar as some ones attempted to rush forward to beat him. After the police car had moved away from the spot with the white man, the angry citizens still did not want to leave. They demanded the man make an apology right then, and smashed his car too, when some other police officers were still at the spot to calm the people. At the end, the crowd only dispersed, after the bureau chief of the local public security bureau stepped out to predge that he would resign if he could not handle the matter properly for the public.

Tibetans fight tourism on holy lakes Posted: 20 Aug 2012 01:51 AM PDT Public outrage has halted a damaging cruise boat project on one of Tibet's sacred lakes, but unrestrained tourism remains a threat. Liu Jianqiang reports. Mining, dam construction, sand excavation, poaching and grassland degradation are seriously damaging the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, the world's most fragile ecosystem. But without a second thought, the tourism industry has joined their ranks. The only difference is that tourism, rather than acting covertly, has swaggered in and brazenly harmed this beautiful and sacred place. On June 15, local media announced that Tibet will launch boating tours on Yamdrok Lake, one of the largest sacred lakes in the Tibet Autonomous Region. This news sparked an immediate public outcry. Yamdrok Lake is less than 100 kilometres from Lhasa and, along with Namtso and Manasarovar, is one of Tibet's three holy lakes. It is the largest inland lake in the northern Himalayas – a beautiful natural landscape of mountains and water, a rare sight in this world.   Actually, the lake has always been a popular destination, but this announcement aimed to raise its profile. Dawa, chairman of the Tibet Qomolangma Tourism Development Company, said the firm had bought a sightseeing boat called "the Qomolangma I", two ferries and several small-sized speedboats from inland China, according to media reports. "We will put all our effort into attracting tourists to come and experience for themselves what it's like to tour the lake," he said. But Yamdrok Lake is more than just a beautiful landscape, it has a special cultural significance for Tibetans. When important "Living Buddhas" pass away, such as the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, senior monks visit Yamdrok Lake to chant mantras and pray. They watch for a sign in the lake, to show them in which child the reincarnated spirit has been reborn.  Most Tibetans could not even imagine motorised tourist boats shuttling about in a place like this, with tourists making a commotion on the peaceful lake. But now this sacred lake of theirs was to become the money-making playground for the local government and tourism companies. At noon on the same day in June, two environmental activists, one Tibetan and one Han Chinese, held an emergency meeting at the Matchstick Man Café in Xining, the capital of Qinghai province. They decided to launch a campaign to "Save Yamdrok Lake" on Weibo ("Chinese Twitter"). Very early the next morning, Sun Mian, the founder of New Weekly magazine, posted a message on Weibo to his 270,000 followers, demanding that the Yamdrok Lake development should stop. Shortly afterward, the filmstar Chen Kun rallied his 17 million-plus followers: "Let's leave something for the later generations! Don't be blinded by short-term interests!" Public attention on Yamdrok Lake grew dramatically, as celebrities like actress Yao Chen and singer Han Hong joined the campaign. Overnight, the lake grew from a local news story into a national issue. But because of the remote location of the lake, and because the local government and the tourism company refused all interviews, information about the situation could only be spread on Weibo. A young Tibetan writer called Ying Sa posted an official news piece from five years ago on Weibo which said that the local government had given the tourism company permission to develop Yamdrok Lake: "Nagarze County, Lhoka, Tibet and the Tibet Qomolangma Tourism Development Company will collaborate to transform Yamdrok Lake into a top quality tourism site and work hard to create a good investment environment for Yamdrok Lake." Online, environmentalists questioned the actions of the local government; had this project passed an Environmental Impact Assessment? Some internet users urged people to file a complaint on the local government's official website The public outcry soon caught the attention of the local government. On June 18, @SaveYamrokLake received a private message from @Tibet Daily: "We are reporting in our morning paper that this project has already been suspended." Tourism has been destroying Tibet's sacred mountains and holy lakes for a long time. Qinghai Lake is a top-grade national scenic spot in Qinghai province and China's biggest saltwater lake. But it is being over-exploited. Back in May 2004, a local tourism company announced it would launch a luxury cruise boat called the "Qinghai Pearl" on Qinghai Lake. The boat would have food, sleeping berths and entertainment for tourists. It would be a floating "four-star hotel". But several academics spoke out against the project. Qinghai Lake is an inland lake; water can flow in, but it cannot flow out. And so all the waste oil, waste water and litter produced by the cruise ship would permanently pollute the lake. The polluted water would be impossible to clean up, causing irreversible damage to the lake's ecosystem. Academic Sun Honglie pointed out that there would be no way to deal with pollution using existing technology, unless pollution was "ladled out, spoonful by spoonful, and clean water poured in." Opposition from academics and questions raised by the media forced the Qinghai provincial government to suspend the cruise boat project on Qinghai Lake in the end. By then, about 70% of the so-called luxury cruiser had been built at a construction site on the shores of the lake. Founder of the "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection website" Tashi Nyima also joined the campaign to oppose the development of Yamdrok Lake. He said that the environment of Qinghai Lake was being damaged by a heavy load of tourists and boats. Of course, this is not only an environmental issue; it is also about respecting local culture. In an article by Tashi Nyima, he wrote that, even if the activities on Qinghai Lake are environmentally friendly, they do not respect local people's religious beliefs concerning sacred lakes. Local beliefs in "holy mountains and sacred lakes" play an important role in conserving the Tibetan plateau's natural resources; their "environmental ethnics" have provided a kind of invisible protection. But time after time, foreign tourists and explorers fail to respect local culture and break religious taboos. In 2004, when a sports teacher from Beijing called Zhang Jian announced that he would swim across the holy Namtso Lake, it sparked great outrage. Namtso, which means "heavenly lake" in Tibetan, is the world's highest saltwater lake and a sacred site for Tibetans. Many Buddhists meditate in the caves in the cliffs along the edge of the lake. The year before, Zhang Jian swam across Qinghai Lake, upsetting local Tibetans there. In his quest to conquer Namtso Lake, he again aroused strong opposition. The very popular Tibetcul website published an open letter: "Don't rush recklessly to every blade of grass and every tree, every hill and every stream. Over the course of history, local people and nature have created a special ecosystem. It should be treasured, and more importantly, it should be respected. Zhang Jian cancelled his plans to swim across the lake. The open letter said: "The reason why people call the Qinghai-Tibet plateau the "world's last pure land" is not just because of its geographical features, but also because of its profound cultural significance. These "sacred sites" are scattered across the plateau: sacred lakes such as Namtso Lake and Qinghai Lake, holy mountains such as Mount Kailash and Khawakarpo Mountain; and revered buildings like the Potala Palace." Unfortunately, not a single one of these sacred sites has escaped desecration. Khawakarpo Mountain, which stands over 6,000 metres high, is the world's highest unclimbed peak. In 1991, a team of Chinese and Japanese climbers attempted to scale the summit. The local people strongly opposed their mission. They prostrated and burnt incense for the mountain, entreating the mountain spirits to stop these outsiders from disrespecting the holy mountain. The climbers were caught in a sudden blizzard and 17 of them died. In 1996, the Japanese climbing team tried again, but local people blocked their way on a bridge over the Lancang River. Again, the climbing expedition ended in failure. Later, the local government honoured the local people's wishes and prohibited mountaineering in the Meili Snow Mountains, after gaining the central government's approval. But while mountain climbing is now prohibited, the tourist industry has developed in leaps and bounds. Last year, when I was at Khawakarpo Mountain, I saw that the excessive number of visitors had already damaged this holy mountain. The village road that heads deep into the mountains was covered in rubbish. Forests had been cut down to make way for places for tourists to stay. People butchered livestock at the foot of the sacred mountain to cater to travellers needs. This would have been unimaginable in the past. On top of this, official tourism companies and local people now scramble for profit. Revenue from ticket sales is not shared with local people. One local person said: "The infrastructure has grown old, no one looks after it. No one is repairing the wooden roadways on the cliffs; no one is looking after the power; no one is looking after the water; no one is looking out for mudslides! These problems have been created by the government because they handed the Meili Snow Mountains over to companies to manage. Companies put their profits first. They take the money and leave all the bad things behind, such as rubbish." In my book called Heavenly Beads, I interviewed Zha Duo, the executive director of the Snowland Great Rivers Environmental Protection Association. He said: "The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is like a famous painting. This painting is serene, peaceful, like the ideal Shangri-La. But people defile her at will: tourism, mining, blasting holy mountains, cutting down forests and damming rivers. The Qinghai-Tibet plateau is deteriorating at such a rate that it's as if she doesn't even have the strength to take a breath. People in the east make money so that they come to the west. But all they think about is money. Who will come and value this famous painting? Who has both the ability and the compassion to protect her?" Luckily, more and more people are realising the true value of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. And more and more people are willing to protect her, like those members of the public who expressed their opposition to the exploitation of Yamdrok Lake on Weibo. The public are still sceptical about whether or not the local government has really put a stop to the boat project. chinadialogue gave Nagarze's local government a phone call. An official who asked to remain anonymous said: "This project really has been suspended. The cruise ship has already been towed away under the direct supervision of the head of the county." Some internet users say they have heard that that boat has been sent to Lhasa. But you can imagine how the company that owns the boat must be looking forward to the time when they can take it back to Yamdrok Lake or use it on another lake, jam packed with tourists. Liu Jianqiang is chinadialogue's Beijing-based deputy editor. Homepage image by 李俊

Vote Now for Round Four of Shanghai's Best Pizza Competition Posted: 20 Aug 2012 03:32 AM PDT Date: Aug 20th 2012 5:55p.m. Contributed by: cityweekend_sh Round four of Shanghai's best pizza competition is now open. Vote now for your chance to win great pizza prizes.

Today In New World Records: Rice Transplanting In Taiwan Posted: 20 Aug 2012 02:00 AM PDT Continuing our coverage of world records you didn't know existed, "1,215 farmers in Taiwan set a new world record for transplanting rice seedlings on a plot of land," breaking a mark formerly held by Thailand, says ITN News. "This is the happiest day of my life as a farmer," one of the farmers is quoted as saying, which is so sad, yet kind of awesome. Youku video for those in China after the jump. (H/T Alicia)

Watch: Melissa Chan's "final" report from China Posted: 20 Aug 2012 01:19 AM PDT That familiar voice you hear in this video clip? It does indeed belong to Melissa Chan, the Al-Jazeera English correspondent who was effectively kicked out of China earlier this year when government officials refused to extend her press credentials. But she's not back in China just yet. In what she calls her "final report" from the People's Republic, an Al-Jazeera crew revisits on her behalf a couple whose world was changed forever when their son died in the devastating Sichuan earthquake of 2008. They've since been trying to have another child through in-vitro fertilisation, but so far all attempts have failed. Melissa Chan's report from May 2008 after the jump: [ more › ]

What Are Guests Saying About the Modena Putuo? Posted: 19 Aug 2012 11:00 PM PDT Date: Aug 15th 2012 2:37p.m. Contributed by: cityweekend_sh

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