All posts in: China

11 Sep 2020

The World’s Longest Glass Bottomed Bridge Now In China

When I first saw images of this bridge spanning Lianjiang River, I was instantly reminded of bridges in South Korea or the one in Switzerland. Both of which were iconic to the K-drama series, Crash Landing on You. This new bridge in China though is neither. What it is is setting a new world record, however, for longest glass bottomed bridge in the entire world.

The suspension bridge connects two sides of a gorge 660 feet above the river and has a capacity of 500 people. Suspended from cables and supported by two red towers at either end, it’s constructed using three layers of tempered laminated glass, and has a transparent bottom that allows tourists to look directly down at the water. There are also large viewing areas where visitors can stop to take photos. The glass-bottomed feature offers a pretty cool perspective, but if you’re afraid of heights, this bridge might just be your worst nightmare.

Because of its beautiful glass bottom, this is sure to be a popular spot for photos.

[Source]

Design

10 Apr 2020

A Colorful Kindergarten

In Tianshui, China young students get to arrive to this colorful dome for their Kindergarten class. Windows, railings and doorways are made of 483 polychromatic glass panels creating this wondrous display. While much of this space is in color, there’s a part of it that remains minimal. Architect [Keiichiro Sako] shared this about his work:

“Color shades can grow and shrink as colors overlap and become different colors, or move from a vertical plane to a horizontal plane and back again. I hope that spending childhood in this beautiful light will foster the creativity of the children.”

[Source]

Culture

27 May 2016

China’s Most Racist Commercial

https://youtu.be/Xq-I0JRhvt4

I was absolutely floored when I viewed this commercial earlier this evening. Already, it has been viewed over 4 million times and that’s probably because it is completely ridiculous. It has been awhile since I have posted anything this controversial and I went back and forth for a few minutes wondering if I even should at all, but then I remembered that college me probably would’ve posted this and ripped it apart without any hesitation and we never want Yow Yow! to become soft or just fluff. So let’s talk about this commercial for a second.

There’s so much wrong with this video, it’s almost tough to figure out where to begin. Here are my issues with it:

Why does the black man in this ad have to come in with stains on his face and shirt whistling at the woman? This is playing into the stereotype that black men are more sexually aggressive towards women and that’s not okay.
The woman then puts something into this mouth (detergent) and then proceeds to shove him into the washing machine – looks to be kind of like in a violent manner if you ask me.
Lastly, he comes out of the washing machine no longer black, but now a light skinned Asian man. He also happens to be so clean (stain-free) and so white.

Nothing about this commercial, made by Chinese detergent brand Qiaobi, is okay. It is difficult enough to have to still in 2016 watch acts of racism occur in our own country and while I’m not naive in believing that this doesn’t happen outside of the United States, it still is very disappointing to see this.

Culture

15 May 2016

Sunday Learnings

Sundays are always the days when I have the most time to catch up on Yow Yow! stuff. For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been sharing with everyone little articles or videos that we come across that teach us something. It’s funny – when I was school everything I was learning felt so concentrated and it’s not secret, I was someone that got totally bored with school most times, but these days, being out of school, the things we learn just happen out of nowhere and that’s a bit more exciting to me. Here’s a video on how the Chinese take-out box came to be – turns out, it’s not from China at all!

27 Jun 2013

Random YouTube of the Day

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPzRPga6uDg]

This guy. Really likes his job. Really.

Culture

20 Aug 2012

Somewhere Between

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-tym49uGmm0]

Four Chinese adopted girls are highlighted in this documentary about their lives here in America

[Source]

13 Dec 2011

Daytime Fireworks

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FPV8zdiySlI#!]

It’s totally a thing.

Created by Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang

14 Sep 2011

Chinese Father Donates Skin to Daughter

A farmer has donated his own skin to his 5-year daughter who suffered burns on 60% of her body without any general anesthesia because he was unable to afford the medical fees.

31-year old Du Jinhui endured the pain, but requested the doctor take as much skin from him in order to give his daughter what she needed.

“[Doctor Shi Longjie] said removing skin under local anesthesia is risky and painful, but Du a migrant worker from Lingshou county in Hebei province, said his decision was “natural” and that any father would do the same for their child.

He said another reason for him to choose local anesthesia was that he would not be able to see his daughter in the operating room if he took the general anesthesia.

“The doctor told me I wouldn’t be able to move for about six hours if I took the general anesthesia,” said Du. “I didn’t want to miss my daughter’s operation.”

Reading this article has left me speechless. What an incredible gesture from a father… at the same time it is heartbreaking knowing that the medical fees reimbursed to his family will not be enough. It is incredible to hear that some of the community has decided to donate to the cause in order to help pay for his daughter’s treatment though. Even when I am disappointed by the health care or lack thereof provided around the world, people still continue to amaze me.

Now, go tell your parents how much you love them.

Source

12 Aug 2011

Will London be Robbed of The 2012 Olympics Too?

Since news of the riots have broken out in London, many are having second thoughts about having the city host the 2012 Olympics. And when I say many – I just mean China. Apparently, the riots (which have completely spun out of control from the original story) have tarnished the city’s reputation and could be now considered unsafe and unfitting to host.

I would hope that this would not continue for another year, but who really knows. I say let them keep the Olympics.

Source

21 Jul 2011

Bee-Wearing Contest

Two Chinese beekeepers were fearless when they competed against each other to see who could attract the most bees to their body in one hour.

“42-year-old Wang Dalin and 20-year-old Lc Kongjiang were the only contestants registered for the event that took place in Shaoyang City, China. Wearing only shorts, goggles and nose plugs, the two bee enthusiasts competed by each standing on a scale and using queen bees to attract as many regular buzzers on their bodies, in one hour.”

Yikes.

Source