Workers at the shopping center on Beijing’s financial street covered up the statue and whisked it away only hours after it first appeared on Monday.

A phrase commonly used in finance circles, a “black swan” is a highly unanticipated event with far reaching consequences – just the kind of thing the CSRC would like to avoid.

Netizens ridiculed the decision to remove the offending statue. One person wrote, “Such a grand country, and yet can’t tolerate a single bird,” while another said, “This dynasty had better offer a sacrifice to the gods.” Yet another person said, “Don’t the firm tenets of Marxism insist on following atheism?”

It’s not the first time art has been removed from Beijing’s financial district.

Last June, characters from the hit animated TV show The Boonie Bears were removed just a day after they appeared at a plaza immediately facing the CSRC (shown below). Though the reasons why the bears were exchanged for monkeys was not made clear, it was thought that the bears were making rude hand gestures towards the CSRC. Additionally, “bear” is a term for falling share prices and widespread selling.

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The change of name comes after the China Forum of Environmental Journalists released lackluster performance tests of the tower on Sunday. The group determined that the tower has a filtering effect, but that it is unstable and limited in scope. The tower was even incapable of attaining World Health Organization air standards for PM 2.5 set at 75 micrograms per cubic meter.

The seven-meter tall device designed by Dutch engineer Daan Roosegaarde was hyped for years before being built in Beijing’s 798 art district this fall. It was supposed to create a “bubble” of fresh air around it by capturing 75 percent of all Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) and Particulate Matter 10 (PM 10) in its vicinity. It was touted as able to clean 30,000 cubic meters of air per hour through its patented ozone-free ion technology.

But it didn’t quite work out that way.

Feng Jia, a member of the Chinese Society For Environmental Sciences, compared the effectiveness of the tower to turning on an air conditioner outside a house. Feng called the installation “just a kind of performance art” seeing as the device requires energy to run, and so therefore produces pollutants to operate.

Another expert pointed out that the tower will only be able to absorb 4.5 grams of PM 2.5 an hour from a sky with a PM 2.5 concentration of 200 per cubic meter, barely amounting to a spoonful of salt.

Liu Guozheng, the general secretary of the China Forum of Environmental Journalists, said, “To introduce the tower to China is to live in a future without need for it.”

But as it were, the near future is when you can go see the device for yourself.

The newly-christened “Smog Warning Tower” is set to embark on a five city Chinese tour this winter, backed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

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Well, no more. A new rule mandates that a red alert will be immediately issued in the capital once the Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeds 500. The rule comes on the heels of criticism that local authorities failed to adequately warn the public.

In November 2015, Beijing faced its worst smog on record with PM2.5 levels past 300 micrograms per cubic meter of air for five straight days, hitting over 900 micrograms per cubic meter at times. That severe air pollution was only met with an orange alert issued by the local government.

The Beijing Municipal Bureau for Environmental Protection argued at the time that its lack of red alerts was compliant with national laws that are more focused on the duration of air pollution conditions rather than actual pollution levels. Under a red alert, government vehicles are taken off the roads, classes for elementary students are cancelled, and construction work is halted.

In its entire history, a red alert for air pollution has only been issued for Beijing twice, both occurring last year.

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Last Friday at around 1am, 50 uniformed police descended upon the LGBT-friendly bar Destination, testing patrons for drugs. The bar released a statement that said both staff and customers complied with police.

“Last night’s results show that gays and straight groups are the same: most are law-abiding,” said Destination. “We promote the concept of safe and healthy entertainment. Gambling is strictly prohibited, as are drugs … as they have been since our establishment was founded more than 12 years ago.”

The same night, police visited the Guloudajie-area Temple Bar and Dada checking the identification of patrons. According to sources quoted by the Beijinger, it is unclear if police administered any drug tests during the visit, however, both bars were ordered closed for the weekend.

Drug raids by police have become so prevalent in Beijing that bar owners have openly blamed them for declining business. “Two years ago, when the big raids happened at Temple and DaDa, we made sure we did not have anyone using drugs in our bar,” he said. “Now our business is on the decline. We may only have a few good years left before they do everything they can to shut it down.”

In August of 2014, Beijing police raided the live music venue, 2 Kolegas, arresting ten patrons including four foreigners who tested positive for a banned substance. Later that year, there was a massive police raid in the upscale Sanlitun area resulting in the arrest of 30 drug dealers, 10 of which were foreign nationals.

Last year, police raided the Midi School of Music in Beijing, arresting 16 students who failed an on-the-spot drug test.

This past June, 30 uniformed police descended upon the Mado and Modernista hutong-area bars, detaining six foreigners for drug testing. In April, 50 foreigners were detained and tested in a drug raid on a tunnel rave in Shenzhen.

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The LeSports Center will host the Grammy-winning band on January 17. Tickets will cost between 480 yuan ($70) to 2,280 yuan ($334), and will be sold from Damai.cn or ticketing hotline 400-60-3721 beginning November 17.

Next year’s tour will also take Metallica to Seoul, South Korea on January 11, Hong Kong on January 20, and Singapore on January 22.

The band’s eleventh studio album, Hardwired…To Self-Destruct, will be released November 18.

Metallica last performed in China in 2013, when it played two sold-out shows at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai. According to AEG Live Asia, tickets for the band sold out in record time, faster than any other Western act.

Like many Western musicians, Chinese authorities censored the content of Metallica’s live shows, and banned it from playing certain songs.

“They see a lyric like ‘Master Of Puppets’ being so subversive that they’re not allowing us to play it. It’s kind of scary,” explained Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, who nonetheless still played the opening riff to the song during the show.

Despite its misgivings, Metallica agreed to compromise and sold out two shows. “Whatever rules they set down, the fans were there to have fun,” said Metallica frontman James Hetfield. “We got our foot in the door. We were able to go and play in China. That was the key.”

Last year, another metal band facing the same dilemma came to the same conclusion.

Criticized for being too short and full of instrumentals, Megadeth frontman Dave Mustain explained that their performances in Beijing and Shanghai last year had also been “adjusted” by government censors. Mustain, a former guitarist for Metallica, said he didn’t mind the heavy-handed approach because “in the end, love of music always conquers love of power…”

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The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said the officials were disciplined by the Communist Party and government based upon inspections carried out by ministry employees.

One of the disciplined officials includes Li Bao, deputy head of the provincial department of environment protection. Li is under investigation for allowing steel refineries to use sintering machines that were supposed to be phased out.

Last month, several Xi’an officials in neighboring Shaanxi Province were arrested by police after it was discovered that they falsified air pollution monitoring information in order to secure their own jobs.

Last year, an air quality report by a Peking University research group found that the average reading of PM 2.5 in Beijing was 15 times higher than those taken by government sources.

A report released last month by the MEP showed air quality to be improving on average throughout China, but also listed six of the top ten worst Chinese cities for air pollution as being in Hebei, the province adjacent to Beijing.

Heating season, which commenced last week, usually brings increased levels of air pollution to China. Previous announcements have said coal use, the main factor in causing air pollution during heating season, will be either banned or restricted in urban areas like Beijing.

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Although authorities have moved up the official start of heating season by two full days to November 13, that still leaves a few days before the furnaces finally start up.

According to a report in The People’s Daily, the cafeterias at IKEA’s Beijing locations, are filled with elderly residents enjoying the pleasures of central heating. An elderly woman named Li was quoted as saying “IKEA is the best place for elderly citizens in such cold weather,” adding she always comes to IKEA together with her friends to enjoy the free water and coffee as well as the heating.

A Beijing IKEA employee confirmed to the People’s Daily that they have welcomed a number of Beijing seniors looking for a reprieve from the cold. The employee said that since IKEA aims to offer comfortable living spaces, the store won’t intervene unless the elderly heat-seekers start to negatively impact the shopping experience of real customers.

Last month, IKEA took back years of hospitality it had shown toward elderly residents who used its Shanghai store as a swinging singles’ scene. Store staff cordoned off the cafeteria and enforced a “paying customers only” rule in order to weed out the freeloading seniors.

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Even so, the news is bittersweet because even though there are supposed to be more polluted days, the severity won’t be as bad as last year.

Atmospheric environment bureau chief of the Ministry of Environmental Protection Liu Bingjiang expained the change is due to a weather phenomenon known as La Nina, which is also being blamed for the chilly temperatures to come. Liu said the predictions come from a historical analysis of years in which La Nina has exerted its influence upon China’s weather.

But the Ministry of Environmental Protection wasn’t satisfied in making predictions. With days of heavy air pollution sure to come in the future, the ministry is warning Chinese cities that they must properly implement emergency measures during smog attacks.

Last Wednesday, the ministry said it will strictly monitor eight cities to ensure emergency measures are carried out. Three of these cities – Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, and Baoding – are located in Hebei, adjacent to the nation’s capital Beijing.

Tian Weiyong, director of the inspection office for the Ministry of Environment, publicly named the government of Qian’an, Hebei for failing to ensure local companies comply with emission targets during severe pollution.

Meanwhile, three Shaanxi government officials were arrested for falsifying air pollution just last week.

Last winter, the Ministry of Environmental Protection also predicted a smoggy winter, and it was right: last year saw China issue red alerts for air pollution for the first time ever.

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The new theme park will incorporate Chinese elements into its design, similar to plans made for the Shanghai Disney Resort, which just opened this past June. The new park will feature garden landscapes inspired by Chinese literary works such as “Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea” and “Butterfly Lovers”.

The first phase of the four-square-kilometer complex will include two resort hotels and a Universal CityWalk retail-entertainment complex. Transportation for visitors between the park, hotels and CityWalk will take place on a manmade river.

Universal Studios Beijing is located in the eastern Beijing suburb of Tongzhou near the Beijing-Harbin expressway. There will be subway access via Beijing Metro Line 7 and the Batong Line, while the parking lot will be able to accommodate 10,000 cars, 300 taxis, 180 tour buses and 50 buses.

Previously scheduled to open in 2019, the 50 billion yuan ($7.4 billion) park will be the sixth of its kind in the world, and the third Universal Studios theme park in Asia.

Besides Shanghai Disney Resort, other theme parks that have recently opened in China include Hello Kitty World and the LEGOLAND Discovery Center.

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Iverson was in Beijing yesterday to promote his collaboration with the Youth Basketball Development League (YBDL), a Shanghai-based company that provides basketball training to Chinese children four years-old and up with “English-speaking foreign coaches”.

Along with naming Iverson as the new “chief instructor”, the YBDL plans to open a 20,000 square meter facility in Beijing.

Iverson also took time during a press conference today to praise fellow NBA Hall of Famer Yao Ming as “one of a kind”, saying that he hopes Yao will continue to inspire Chinese basketball fans to follow their dreams.

Iverson wasn’t all smiles however, and was disappointed with friend and Chinese basketball legend Stephon Marbury for not taking the time to meet him during his China tour.

Iverson’s return to China comes after last year’s debacle that saw the NBA star face criticism for not playing in exhibition games, something he didn’t agree to as part of his China tour. Iverson was prevented from going to the airport by disgruntled Chinese promoters, and was forced to make a video apology to Chinese fans after a suicide threat.

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