The guidebook provides Chinese characters as substitutes for the English language. For example, under its list of simple sayings, “thank you” is written as sankeyou (三克油), which has a literal meaning of “three grams of oil”. Likewise, “good morning” is written as goudemaonin (狗的猫您), which as a slightly offensive ring to it as “you of the cat’s dog”.

Due to the difference between Chinese and English, spaces between words also becomes an issue. “Welcome to Hangzhou” is written as waikanmutuhangzhou or weiokangmutuhangzhou, while  “Sorry, I don’t speak English” becomes the very cryptic shaorui, aidongtesibikeyinggeleiqu.

But even if Hangzhou locals aren’t able to memorize and properly execute these Chinese pinyin representations of English, at least the guidebook will have them reciting praiseworthy statements of their fair city.

Hangzhou residents will learn how to compliment themselves by saying “Hangzhou, the most beautiful city in China” and “Hangzhou, a paradise on earth”. They can also talk about the ten famous scenes of Hangzhou’s West Lake without context by saying things like “Three Ponds Mirroring the Moon” and “Dawn on the Su Causeway in Spring”, and only hope those listening will nod approvingly.

Some netizens criticized the handbook by saying the use of Chinese pronunciation of English works is an improper way to speak English. However, secretary of the West Lake District Council Xu Dongxu countered that using shorthand is a legitimate method by using foreigners as an example. “Sometimes when we hear foreigners speaking Chinese, even if the pronunciation isn’t standard, we can still understand the general idea,” said Xu.

Photos of the handbook are shown below:

The post New “English” Guide for Chinese Ahead of G20 Could Lead to Laughs and Confusion appeared first on The Nanfang.

Hangzhou Paradise celebrated the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival with an activity for graduating university couples. Advertised as a way for couples to publicly declare their commitment to each other, the park dressed them up in bamboo leaf bikinis and then had them roll around on a green bed sheet.

While this may make no sense to non-Chinese, there is a logic behind the activity, barely. Dragon Boat Festival’s trademark food is zongzi, sticky glutenous rice treats wrapped in bamboo leaves. In other words, the couples are declaring their love by “making zongzi”.

If this new way of celebrating Dragon Boat Festival takes off, it will be interesting to see how the theme park celebrates Mid-Autumn Festival and its “mooncake”.

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Ms Li, a 23 year old college graduate who had come to Hangzhou for a job interview, was returning home to Beijing on the evening of May 4 when the incident happened.

Security staff stopped Li from passing through the security checkpoint because a bottle of contact lens solution was marked as holding 118 ml. According to Chinese aviation rules, the limit is 100 ml.

Li was told she should check the contact lens solution in her luggage because the bottle would not be allowed through. However, Li disagreed saying most had been used up already, so there wasn’t much left in the bottle.

Security said that if Li was able to produce another 100 ml container that could hold the contact lens solution she would be permitted to take it on board, but she was unable to do so.

Unwilling to part ways with her contact lens solution, Li returned to the security checkpoint a second time. This time, Li put the contact lens solution into a disposable paper cup that she held in her hand. She was told a paper cup wasn’t going to work either, so she tossed it onto a guard.

That’s when she was arrested.

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The unidentified couple were traveling through Ding’an Station on the city’s Metro Line 1 when they bumped into a woman named Hu on the escalator. As a result, Hu dropped her iPad.

The ensuing argument turned into a shoving match, prompting the involvement of the subway station employees. In the video, a subway station worker can be seen pushing the baby stroller away from the argument. Hu, clearly taking offence, proceeded to walk around the man and knock over the baby carriage before anyone could stop her.

In the resulting melee, the male partner of the couple can be seen striking Hu. Hu attempted to justify her short temper on a cesarean section she had three month ago, which she claims has left her feeling “irritable”.

The baby and Hu were all taken to hospital. No injuries were reported.

Watch the video below:

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The report defines “uncivilized behavior”, as anything that leaves a mess on the street, including spitting, littering, and disposing of cigarette butts or nut casings on the ground.

As for how the law will be implemented, the public is expected to act as “civility enforcers”, dissuading their fellow residents from engaging in bad behavior. The law will also protect those who speak out, forbidding any sort of reprisal against helpful residents.

As for the police, they can choose to punish violators with a verbal warning or a 200 yuan fine. If violators fail to pay their fine, their credit rating will be adversely affected.

According to a street survey of Hangzhou residents conducted by a Modern Golden Times reporter, 90 percent say they support the law. The reporter added that many residents have wanted to dissuade others from engaging in uncivil behavior, but have feared reprisal. They hope the new law will help them to speak up.

So come March, we’ll have to see how the newly “deputized” residents of Hangzhou take to policing their town of wayward spitting and illicit cigarette butt discarding residents.

The post Hangzhou First Chinese City To Enact “Civility” Law appeared first on The Nanfang.

As documented by a number of netizens, the argument attracted national attention when the boyfriend was seen rolling on the ground to appease his girlfriend.

What has Chinese most interested about this incident is that the popular Chinese colloquialism of “Get lost!” (滚, gǔn) also means “to roll” at the same time. Despite not being able to hear the argument, many Chinese have come to the conclusion that the girlfriend told the boyfriend to gǔn, to which the boyfriend obediently obliged by “rolling” on the floor.

Here’s the video:

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CCTV news cited a Baidu Map database to report that Beijing has the longest commute in China for both distance and time, clocking in at an average of 18.9 kilometers and taking 50 minutes to complete. As well, Beijing roads are among the most congested in the country, with traffic on the East 3rd Ring Road only moving at an average of 22.6 kilometers per hour. It’s also the most congested road in the city.

Guangzhou has the next longest commute in China among major cities at an average of 18 kilometers requiring 40 minutes to complete, according to the report. Guangzhou also has the distinction of having the most congested road in China, Zhongshanliu Road, whereby traffic crawls along at an average of 15.5 kilometers per hour.

Shanghai comes next, named as having the third-longest commute at 18 kilometers, requiring 40 minutes to complete.

A 2015 report from another Baidu database named Beijing as the worst commute in China for clocking in at 52 minutes and 19.2 kilometers long, revealing that some commuters from out of town were traveling as much as 50 kilometers a day just to get to to work. Meanwhile another report last year said the average daily congestion time in Beijing is an hour and 55 minutes.

But while cities like Beijing seem designed to welcome long commutes due to urban sprawl and its way of urban planning, the worst commute doesn’t belong to the capital, but to Hangzhou.

It may seem strange to give top position to a smaller-scale city in which commutes take only half the average commuting time of Beijing at 24 minutes. However, the average distance a driver commutes is a paltry 8.7 kilometers, making Hangzhou the “least effective” commute.

On the flip side, Guangzhou gets the honor of having the “most effective” commute among major Chinese cities for allowing drivers to travel 18 kilometers in just 40 minutes.

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The drills were held at the Zhejiang Science and Technology Institute during the middle of the day, with the role of terrorists given to two black foreign exchange students at the university. There was also a third attacker who does not appear in the photographs.

Aside from the offensive racial implications, in the interests of ensuring the mock attacks appeared “realistic”, the three men carried out the drill with the current weapon of choice for terrorists: giant meat cleavers. During the drill, the attackers charged the campus wielding the blades and threatened civilians before eventually throwing smoke bombs. When police arrived equipped with batons and riot shields, the terrorists took three hostages, all women.

As the photos demonstrate, the attackers were eventually subdued by police, and the drill was declared to be a success.

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Loong Air flight GJ8712 safely landed at 9:55am after departing the airport at 5:46 earlier that morning. Upon its arrival, the Boeing 733 cargo jet was intercepted by some ten firefighting trucks that sprayed the plane down with foam.

The unscheduled landing resulted in a number of flight delays, however normal operations resumed later that morning.

Xiaoshan Airport said the landing was precautionary and not an “emergency landing” as commonly reported by numerous Chinese news media.

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Public reaction to McDonald’s plans to expand into West Lake, a Chinese tourist landmark often referred to as “heaven on earth”, was predictably dismissive. The Qianjiang Evening News criticized the plan, writing, “In the future, will Uncle McDonald (Ronald McDonald) with his red hair, and big smile on his face, be sitting on a bench just metres away from the Broken Bridge?” Online netizens reacted much the same. “This is a joke,” one person wrote on Weibo. “Can we turn Mao’s old house into a KFC?”

However, the outrage was not enough to sway the proposal. In addition to McDonald’s, a Starbucks also opened on the property two months ago.

Before approving the proposal, former Deputy Director of the Zhejiang Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage, Chen Wenjin, argued the residence was a cultural resource and that any commercial proposals should pass the scrutiny of government agencies and experts.

Chen also said the administration would ensure that the residence’s facade and internal structure remain unchanged, and that the residence would continue to serve the public good.

Chiang Ching-kuo was given the two-story residence by the mayor of Hangzhou after the Kuomintang successfully repelled the Japanese invasion during World War II. Ching-kuo’s father, Chiang Kai-shek, was given another residence, also on the West Lake property. Chiang Ching-kuo is said to have planted many of the trees on the property.

After the Kuomintang was ousted from mainland China by the Communists, Chiang Ching-kuo eventually succeeded his father and became President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) where he enacted press and free speech reforms, and allowed local Taiwanese to obtain positions of power in the government.

This isn’t the first time Western fast food franchises have set up shop in culturally-significant locations. In 2007, following a campaign initiated by former CCTV anchor Rui Chenggang, public outcry forced Starbucks to close a store it had opened at the Forbidden City in Beijing.

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