Winter snowstorms affecting some 230 flights have stranded some 10,000 passengers at the airport serving the capital of Henan Province. The Xinzheng Airport in Zhengzhou was closed after snow forced the cancellation of 116 flights, while another 121 flights were delayed. The airport has since re-opened.

A red alert had been issued for severe weather in the region after snow began falling Monday night.

The winter storms have caused havoc on transportation throughout the region including trains and buses.

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A memo released by the company directly named the new Apple product that recently went on sale in China, telling its employees: “Our company forbids all employees from using or buying the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Whomever is found in violation of that rule will be immediately forced to resign.”

The company memo also called on employees to stop buying products made by US and Japanese companies, instead asking them to support Chinese companies.

The memo asked employees to use the money they would have spent on the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus (specifically mentioned as 5,388 yuan and 6,388 yuan) upon more worthy causes.

“If we have some disposable income, and if conditions allow it, let’s use the money to take better care of our parents’ health. Let’s pay more attention to our kids’ growth, to the value of life and to the prosperity of our country,” read the memo as reported by the People’s Daily Online.

First published by HNR.cn, the news was confirmed by Yingxiang Net, which also didn’t release the name of the company.

An employee surnamed Liu confirmed that the CEO of his company had written the memo, but said the order was meant to improve family values. “If a worker were to buy the iPhone 7, they probably won’t get fired,” said Liu.

The memo banning the iPhone was released on September 18 on the 85th anniversary of the Mukden incident, considered in China as the staged event that began the 14-year Japanese invasion of China.

In its report, HNR cited legal experts who said China’s Labor Law wouldn’t allow companies to enforce such a ban upon its employees.

However, it appears that such a ban on iPhones may not be necessary. Despite widespread popularity among Chinese consumers in the past, Apple’s newest iteration of the iPhone is currently met with a lukewarm response in China.

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The hand-made wood and nail boards can be found in a public square in downtown Zhengzhou near a shopping mall. As the People’s Daily reports, a number of the tiles in the mall’s square have been damaged by cars illegally parked. As a result, management took the rather extreme measure of laying down boards with nails hammered through them as a deterrent.

They have also posted signs that warn, “No parking allowed, drivers to accept all consequences for their actions” (seen below).

As effective as the boards may be in deterring vehicles, the spikes also pose a significant risk to pedestrians.

Mr Wang, a local resident who was walking by the nail boards, was not impressed. When interviewed by the China Daily he questioned the logic of the measure: “Who would think someone would put down a nail board in the middle of the road in the middle of the day? Using this method as a way to prevent cars from parking is simply too vicious!”

Wang also pointed out that the boards pose a significant public safety risk. “Good thing I have quick reflexes as I stopped myself from stepping onto it, saving myself a trip to the hospital,” he said.

Chinese netizens however support of the boards, saying that while crude and dangerous, they’re a necessary evil in dealing with Chinese drivers: “This isn’t being ‘vicious’, this is having no other alternative. Only by doing this can you achieve the desired result!”

Another netizen had this to say: “I think that this method is a necessary one to take, and is a good idea. There will always be drivers who will park improperly; they will park in any space they can squeeze their car into. Road blocks and warnings are not useful as there will always be people who will ignore them. This method is actually very praiseworthy.”

Nail boards as a deterrent aren’t entirely without precedent. Many Chinese have been protecting their homes against burglars by planting broken shards of glass atop barriers (as seen below):

Other sharp objects are also used to keep people out, such as cacti:

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The incident occurred just outside the ring road of the city’s commercial district at the intersection at Ping’an Boulevard. There were 57 people on board the bus when it collided with the sign that clearly stated a height clearance of three meters.

In a media interview, the driver explained he was looking at travel directions, and wasn’t paying attention to the road in front of him.

Last year, Chinese media remarked that of the 42 height restriction signs on Zhengzhou’s third ring road, 42 have been crashed into, while one particular height restriction sign had been crashed into 11 times within an eight day period. Chinese reports noted that Zhengzhou’s height clearance for vehicles traveling on its roads is three meters, and not the four meters that is the national standard.

Double decker tour buses have had a particularly bad run of accidents in Zhengzhou. Last April, eight passengers were hurt in a similar collision. The driver of the incident blamed rainy conditions that caused the vehicle’s windshield to fog up (shown below).

Another person was killed in October, 2014 after a double decker tour bus tore through a three-meter height restriction road sign (seen below). The accident took place on the interior of the ring road of the commercial district. At the time of the collision, the driver was said to be looking at a navigation device.

There have also been an number if accidents outside of Zhengzhou.

In January 2015, two passengers were killed when a tour bus collided with a height restriction sign in Tianjin (see below). Photos from the incident show a height restriction sign made out of welded steel girders shredding the upper level of the bus. A month later, two people were killed when a double decker tour bus slammed into an overhead sign in Zhongshan, Guangdong

In February 2014, 14 passengers were injured when a bus departing Kunming slammed into a height restriction sign. And then in February 2013, three people were injured when an overnight sleeper bus from Hubei to Zhejiang collided with a height restriction sign.

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The incident occurred around 2:30pm at the Xinyuan Road Applied Arts Academy of Henan in an office of the school’s engineering department. A man named Zhang reportedly held a man named Guo hostage at knife point.

According to a source that works at the school, the workers had not been paid wages for their work. Alcohol is said to be a factor in the dispute as workers were drinking during their lunch hour, immediately prior to the incident.

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A person has died an elevator accident at a hotel in the eastern Chinese province of Henan, the third such fatality involving elevators and escalators in China just this week.

The accident happened last night at the Guangzhou International Hotel in Xinyang, Huangchuan County.

Preliminary reports from local authorities were light on details, saying a 14 year-old boy died when a “steel elevator wall fell on him”. Early reports also list another victim that was seriously injured.

However, Hengchuan Online refuted this report, saying the teen who died was 16 years old and he was the sole victim. It also goes on to explain he was drinking alcohol at a KTV bar located in the hotel when he got into a fight with another individual. The victim then crashed into the elevator doors on the third floor, and fell down the elevator shaft.

Local authorities have now revised their report to reflect the revisions provided by Hengchuan Online. No one has been charged so far for the youth’s death, and an investigation is pending.

This is the latest fatality to be associated with elevators and escalators in China recently.

A woman in Wuxi, Jiangsu died in a cargo lift Monday afternoon when she got caught in a gap between the elevator and the platform.

This past weekend saw the horrific death of a woman who fell inside the mechanism of a moving escalator at a mall in Hubei. An investigation into the case shows that the two greeters present at the time of the accident specifically knew there was a problem with the floor panel of the escalator. A surveillance video shows one of them almost falling into the malfunctioning escalator five minutes before the woman was tragically killed.

Thirty-six people died in elevator and escalator-related accidents in China last year.

Related:

• University Student Dies in Freak Elevator Accident
• Nurse dies in gruesome accident after elevator plunges in Shenzhen
• Scary: Elevator in Shenzhen plummets 16 floors, strands passengers for over an hour
• Shenzhen pledges to improve elevator safety after price war causes accidents

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Renxing is just the word to describe the story of a tuhao who rented out the Baotianman whitewater rafting complex in Nanzhao, Henan.

The man purchased all of the tickets to the facility, ensuring that only he and his girlfriend, who was celebrating her birthday, were able to use the park for the entire day. According to the park’s staff, the man had requested that they all line the banks of the river and salute them as they passed “in order to make the woman happy”.

Other visitors were angry at being barred entry to the park, said to normally cater to thousands of visitors a day. Some visitors criticized the buyout as being a “waste of water resources”.

Netizens differed in their opinions over the matter. One person said, “This isn’t your ordinary kind of renxing.” Another netizen wrote, “Although this is a profit-earning venture, isn’t this a waste of natural resources? How can you allow the rich to be as renxing as they want to be?” while another simply said, “Tuhao!”

Other people weren’t as quick to apply labels. One person said, “(In our) exaggerated and boastful society, what is the value of news like this?” Another suggested there was nothing wrong with the behavior, saying, “If a guy has money and can buy out an entire facility, and the owner of the rafting facility is about making profits, then who would say that this is a waste of resources?“

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An all-women’s lifeguard team in Henan has been forced to begin wearing hidden cameras to protect themselves against men who fake drowning, and then grope the women as they’re being “rescued”.

The White Swan Women’s Rafting Rescue Team in Sanmenxia have continually had to swim out to a man in distress, only to find out later that the guy simply wanted to cop a feel.  So now cameras will be hidden on the lifeguards’ helmets or somewhere on their body to provide video surveillance in and out of the water.

Xie Tang, a spokesperson from the local tourist board, said that female tourists appreciate all-female lifeguards, as they don’t need be concerned with being taken advantage of by a male lifeguard. “The video will primarily be used to protect the dignity of the lifeguards.”

A photograph showing the lifeguards carrying signs echoes this sentiment: “I will rescue you; the camera gives me protection.”

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A temple fair in Henan turned chaotic yesterday as riders were thrown off an amusement ride that broke in half, injuring 19 people.

The incident happened at the Tonghe Temple in Changyuan County, Xinxiang at around 5:30pm. One rider sustained serious injuries from a leg fracture, while the other 18 have light injuries that are non-life threatening.

As seen in photographs, the mechanism of the “Outer Space Flying Saucer” ride somehow became separated from the chasis that is supposed to hold it in place. Riders are seen slumped in their seats, still held there by safety restraints.

The owner of the amusement ride has been arrested  by police, and the ride itself shut down.

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The bus was rented out by a Zhengzhou opera troupe on tour in the province. It appeared to be operating legally, and the passenger load was within the bus’ capacity.

An investigation into the crash is underway.

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