The Nanfang reported on the negative reaction previously, but now we have some actual statistics. Guhe Media and Weibo Database released a study that offers a breakdown of user activity in China in regards to the Paris terror attacks on the micro-blogging service Weibo.

Out of all the users in China concerned with the November 13 Paris terror attacks (by posting and writing comments), almost half (48 percent) came from Beijing (seen on the pie chart above, to the right). Other provinces were not well represented with Guangdong coming in at ten percent, Sichuan at eight, and only five percent out of all the Weibo users concerned about the Paris terror attacks in China came from Shanghai.

The statistical breakdown continued by saying male Weibo users were far more interested in the Paris attacks than their female counterparts by a 4:1 ratio (78 percent, and 22 percent, respectively).

The study differentiated between posts that used “positive” and “negative” terms. Positive terms including “cooperation”, “hope”, “gold”, and “cute”, while negative terms included “terrorism”, “threat”, and “dead”.

Another telling detail was that among those with the most fans, no Chinese entertainment celebrity commented on the attacks. Instead, the most popular accounts to get involved in the discussion included several Weibo humor accounts like “Piggie likes to make sarcastic remarks”, and social commentators like management studies phD Chen Li.

And, as the study showed, Chinese have been talking about terrorist group ISIS for awhile now, most noticeably last February in the aftermath of the horrific executions of two Japanese hostages. Strangely, the study does not show any online reaction to the September news that a Chinese national was being held hostage and ransomed by ISIS.

50 year-old Fan Jinghui was reported to have been executed earlier this week, an act that drew strong condemnation from China’s Foreign Ministry and President Xi Jinping.

The post Measuring China’s Online Reaction to the Paris Terror Attacks appeared first on The Nanfang.

While this sentiment runs throughout China, the media isn’t shy about leading popular opinion. Chinese state-run newspaper the People’s Daily does not want the Paris terror attacks to overshadow a deadly landslide that coincidentally happened at the same time, and it does so by urging its readers to choose one over the other.

Twenty-five people died when a landslide struck the village of Lidong near the city of Lishui, Zhejiang at 10:50 on Friday night. Only one person has been rescued from the landslide so far, while another 12 victims remain unaccounted for. Twenty-seven Lidong homes below an adjacent mountain were buried, with another 21 flooded.

Landslides are a common occurrence in China that have derailed trains, blocked train tracks, capsized boats in the Yangtze River, and have caused numerous fatalities during south China’s annual rainy season. It’s a problem that keeps happening in China, but with the Paris terror attacks attracting world-wide attention on Friday night, the Lishui incident is at risk of being ignored in the daily news cycle.

That’s where the People’s Daily intervened by sharing a Weibo micro-blogging post at around 8pm on Saturday. The post compares the two tragic incidents:

People’s Daily Weibo Opinion: Cry for Paris, but don’t forget to cry for Lishui as well.
The Paris terror attack has shocked the world. Terrorists are the enemy of the entire word which is united in its humanity to defeat it. Cry for Paris, but don’t forget to cry for Lishui as well. A landslide occurred in Lidong village, Yaxi County, Liandu District, Lishui, Zhejiang. The latest news reports there are nine dead from the disaster, with another 28 victims unaccounted for. Every life that is taken away in a disaster is valuable; please direct your concerns and prayers towards Lishui.

Even though many Chinese have shown sympathy towards the people of France, many of the top-voted responses said deaths from the Paris terror attacks are simply not as important as those from the Lishui landslide, two incidents that were otherwise separate and unrelated before the People’s Daily Online made the connection.

Here are what some Chinese people had to say in response to the People’s Daily Online Weibo post:

(highest rated comment)
洛水柳畔：
I don’t cry for Paris, I pray for that whore the Virgin Mary to curse them. I only pray for Lishui. 

Fally章：
Pray for your own compatriots! France supports Tibet independence!

春晖大地：
Some people these days only know how to concern themselves with the outside world. They think that everything outside the border is great. If you think that it’s so great in other countries, then you should immigrate! If you’re going to be spouting off your opinions, then you should show some concern about your own country. China is not worse than other countries!

O福星高照O：
Cry for Paris? From where do I have such emotion? I am only sympathizing with them! I only cry for the tragic deaths of my compatriots!

king1however：
The perspective of the masses is directed by the media. Don’t forget this, because the people won’t forget this. 

应西堤：
Even more importantly, don’t forget about Tianjin.

努力使自己微笑：
The running dogs of capitalism have gone to lick France.

Even though Chinese President Xi Jiping has made an official statement saying that China is devoted to fighting terrorism, and the Oriental Pearl Tower lit up its exterior in the colors of the French flag, the feeling that the Paris terror attacks were stealing attention away from China’s own domestic tragedy have been spreading online.

In a CCTV report about the Lishui landslide that made no mention whatsoever about the Paris terror attacks, netizens used the opportunity to compare the two incidents in much the way that the People’s Daily Online had done:

鉴翔师：
I ask the municipal government of Shanghai to shine their lights for the victims of the Lishui landslide. I also ask the network of the addicted running lap dogs of the Virgin Mary to shout aloud ‘May heaven protect Zhejiang’. I also ask that the traitors belonging to the media outlet Caijing as well as others to pray for the victims of Lishui.

Lr19970808：
Hey, Oriental Pearl Tower, why do you pray for foreign countries, but not for China?

神的奥斯坦丁：
My compatriots (who died in the Lishui landslide), even though you didn’t die in a terror attack, you are still Chinese people. The Oriental Pearl Tower won’t shine its lights for you. When I return home I will light a candle for you… 

Then there’s this comment:

Don’t the lives of Chinese people matter?
On November 13, Paris suffered an unprecedented terror attack that led to the deaths of some 140 people. On television, French President Francois Hollande showed how moved he was by the attack by the shakiness of his voice. What is unacceptable is that the 2009 terror attack in Urumqi, in which 197 people died and 1700 people were hurt, was far more severe than in Paris. However, the French government showed no anger or “shaky voice” at this time, but instead interfered with China trying to implement the death penalty upon these terrorists.

It may seem like a minor miracle to get Chinese to actively care about the terror attacks in Paris, but there is one thing that may come to pass. Since the attacks occurred on Friday, there has been no contact with 27 year-old Chinese graduate student Liu Anyu, drawing fears that he may be one of the victims who succumbed in the attacks.

The post Chinese Nationalism Dulls Sympathy for Paris Terror Attack Victims appeared first on The Nanfang.

Taken at a breakfast described as “bling bling” by China Daily, the photo included Alibab’s Jack Ma, the chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, and founder and chairman of Lenovo, Liu Chunazhi.

Chinese netizens were impressed by the gathering of uber-wealth; the top-rated comment joked,  “Even my ‘grandpa’ knows how to dip the head and tuck in the chin (when taking a selfie).”

Similar comaradarie between East and West was recently seen during the “golden” UK state visit of Chinese President, Xi Jinping. Besides a casual visit to a British pub for some fish and chips, Xi joined British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and Manchester United striker, Sergio Aguero, for an informal selfie that was posted to social networks.

Selfies have been a hot promotional tool for Chinese politicians in 2015. In May, Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, posed with the social media-savvy Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. And in April, Xi had the first selfie of his presidency taken with Indonesian politician, Fadli Zon.

The post French President Poses With Chinese Tycoons For “One Trillion Yuan Selfie” appeared first on The Nanfang.

With this in mind, the wholesale counterfeiting of Western culture continues to grow in China not just by size, but scope. We’ve recently told you about a Shenzhen financial company that operated for years using the name “Goldman Sachs” despite having no connection whatsoever with the famous New York-based investment bank.

However, the size and scope of counterfeiting in China has taken another step forward as a Hebei-based developer in Shijiazhuang has copied the famous Louvre Pyramid to serve as a neighbor to a 1:1 replica of the famous Egyptian Sphinx.

The Sphinx replica was made in May last year, and drew protests from Egyptian culture officials. A spokesperson for the Shijiazhuang Great Wall Film and Television Base, the administrators of the site, explained at the time that the Chinese Sphinx replica is nothing to get upset over:

This venerable (version) of the Sphinx is used as a temporary backdrop for shooting films and TV. After the shoot is completed, it will be torn down.

A year and a half later, a pyramid has been built to compliment the reinforced concrete-Sphinx. But not just any pyramid. Instead, for their version of a shanzhai international landmark, they chose the famous 1989 Louvre addition designed by Chinese architect I.M. Pei.

But for what has been called “temporary movie prop”, this shanzhai Sphinx is attracting many Chinese tourists willing to pay for the privilege of seeing a little piece of Egyptian culture in their home country. After causing a sensation online, the well-known Chinese shanzhai attraction started charging RMB 10 ($1.57) admission at around Spring Festival this year, and another RMB 10 for entry inside the replica Sphinx, a feature not available at the real Sphinx in Egypt.

And to show how popular shanzhai attractions are in China, this Sphinx replica is not same Sphinx replica we had told you about before, located south in Anhui Province.

There’s worth to be had in experiencing the world’s famous landmarks in one convenient place, albeit without the context of being in the presence of the last remaining Seven Wonder of the Ancient World, or being in front of a 200 year-old museum containing the world’s greatest art collection.

The value in bringing the world to your doorstep also goes for domestic tourist attractions as well. While Chinese headlines have focused on the shanzhai Louvre Pyramid addition, the Shijiazhuang developer is also developing a shanzhai version of the Temple of Heaven, a historical attraction located nearby in Beijing. This way, Chinese tourists can get the best value by experiencing French, Egyptian, and Chinese culture all at once, signifying a great place to have your selfies and group photos taken.

The post Fake Louvre Pyramid Moves In Next to Fake Egyptian Sphinx appeared first on The Nanfang.

Thieves have broken into the Chinese Museum of the Palace of Fontainebleau in Paris and made off with 15 artifacts from China and Thailand. Some of the items, in fact, were originally taken from the Old Summer Palace when it was burnt down in 1860.

The stolen items include a 19th century replica of a Siamese Crown, and a cloisonne kylin (a Chinese unicorn) from the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty’s sixth emperor. All of the stolen items were given by Napolean III to his wife Josephine as gifts in 1863, and are considered priceless.

The thieves broke into the facility at 6am and were finished pilfering the artifacts within seven minutes, astonishing the museum management. The director of Fontainebleau told AFP he was deeply shocked by the burglary. “The thieves were very decisive and assured, and they were clear about which items they wanted. The way the crime was committed was very professional.“

The post Priceless Chinese Artifacts Stolen from Paris Museum appeared first on The Nanfang.

While a symbolic gesture would have been adequate, France has simply outdone itself. As reported by the Beijing News, they’ve created a giant, imaginary creature in the aesthetic of Michael Bay’s Transformers.

Not convinced? Let’s go through a checklist of how awesome this thing is:

• has a dragon’s head
• has a horse’s body
• has wings
• mechanized, can move on it’s own
• is “auspicious” through proper use of symbolism
• breathes fire and smoke
• emblazoned with Chinese characters for “dragon”, “lion, and “dream”
• weighs 47 tons, is ten meters high, and requires ten people to operate it
• colored yellow, the second-most lucky color in China

But that’s not all. No, France has gone even further in upping the awesome quotient. They’ve paired the dragon-horse behemoth with a similarly cool spider creation:

The “spider” weighs 37 tons, is 5.7 meters high, 6 meters wide, and can spew gallons of water in a single spurt. If you’re lucky, you too can catch a performance of the dragon horse battling the spider accompanied by Chinese folk music performed by a symphony orchestra.

France giving the Statue of Liberty to the USA turned out really well. However, Lady Liberty doesn’t breathe fire.

Photos: BJ News, CCTV, Foshan Daily

The post France Gifts Mechanized Fire-Breathing Dragon/Horse to Celebrate Ties with China appeared first on The Nanfang.

As CCTV reports, Chen defeated Wilfried Montagne from France in the 67 kg weight class of the WBC World Professional Muay Thai King of the Belts contest on August 15 in order to win the honor. Chen’s victory marks the second time that a Chinese national has become a Muay Thai boxing champion.

Chen is a martial artist that has trained since childhood. Having studied at Shaolin Temple, Chen went to Thailand by himself at 15 to begin his career.

Check out the photos of his victory below.

Photos: CCTV 

The post Chinese Boxer Wins Muay Thai Championship appeared first on The Nanfang.

A crêperie suggests sweet desserts. Not the case at Emma’s Crêpes. In fact, I was delightfully surprised that there was a number of savoury crêpes options, as well as salads and pastas if you’re just not that into pancakes. I say “delightfully” because I’ve not come across an alternative, let alone something tasty, to distract my sweet tooth.

Emma’s Crepes

Tucked away down the side streets of Guang Mao Times Square, outside Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS), Emma’s has become a popular haunt for staff and students.

The taste test
I couldn’t possibly have eaten two different crêpes in one serving so I had to come back twice to truly experience the menu. For my first helping, I chose a classic: a banana and Nutella crêpes. The flavour immediately makes your mouth water as you chew away. It’s incredibly addictive, and the portion is quite large, given the 18RMB price tag (however, I paid a tad more for an extra smearing of Nutella and vanilla ice cream on top – delicious).

Banana Nutella Crepe

On my second session, I ordered a Hawaienne, which includes egg (cooked to your liking – I went for sunny side-up), Emmental, pineapple, chicken, pepper and herbs. It arrived beautifully presented in a square shape, drawing attention to the filling and decoration. Compared with the Nutella crêpes, the Hawaienne was quite filling, and should accommodate larger appetites without the need of purchasing extras or side orders.

The Hawaiiene

On each serving, my drink of choice was warm, and frothy hot milk with honey. Gently flavoured, and not too sweet, it was an excellent pairing with the crêpes. Unlike the large portions of the crêpes however, the drinks require a little fine tuning – perhaps the option of a larger cup size.

The service and staff
Language is no barrier here. Menus are available in Chinese and English, and the friendly warmth of the Chinese fuwuyuan (and owner), will charm you with her gorgeous English speaking French accent (she lived and studied in Paris for six years she tells me).

Her partner, the crêpe-making maestro, comes direct from France, and orchestrates the cooking behind the scenes. When he’s not busy in the kitchen, he’s wandering the café, smiling, and getting to know his customers.

Service is very quick and efficient from order to service, as fresh, warm crêpes ensure a quick turnaround time. Customers however are not rushed but rather encouraged to stay, relax, and enjoy all the flavours the food has to offer.

The atmosphere
While you’re not going to get much from the interior, or from the very firm seating, there’s plenty of the French experience to enjoy at Emma’s. With French music playing in the background, and numerous photographs of France plastered on the walls, if you close your eyes for a moment, you too may get the feeling you’re sitting in a Parisian café.

Final thoughts
The crêperie is an intimate setting where singles, couples, friends or small groups can go. Preferably no more than groups of eight, as each crêpe is cooked to order, and the service may become sluggish. Regardless, Emma’s is worth coming back for again, and again, and again.

Overall rating
4 out of 5 forks.

Price
First sitting
Banana and Nutella crêpe: 18 yuan
Hot milk with honey: 10 yuan
Extras
–          One scoop of Vanilla ice-cream: 5 yuan
–          Additional Nutella: 5 yuan
Total price: 38 yuan

Second sitting
Hawaienne crêpe: 30 yuan
Hot milk with honey: 10 yuan
Total price: 40 yuan

Address
Guangmao Times Square A7: the east gate of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Baiyun Avenue, Baiyun district, Guangzhou.
广州白云大道广东外语外贸大学正门北侧（广贸时代广场档)

Telephone number
020-3620-6781

Email
[email protected]

Extras
Free wi-fi is available

You can get more information on Emma’s Crepes on The Nanfang restaurant page here.

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