Abby Liu · January, 2014

Latest posts by Abby Liu from January, 2014

‘Steamed Buns Store’ Song in Ode to Chinese President Xi Jinping

  24 January 2014

A song praising Chinese president Xi Jinping’s everyman behavior has been composed in ode to his appearance at a small Beijing eatery late last year. The song will be officially released after the Spring Festival. Offbeat China has translated the lyrics:  (accompaniment) Steamed buns store, steamed buns store (solo) Here’s the story:...

Zhihu: A New Space for Questions and Discussion in China

  24 January 2014

Since China's crackdown on the most popular social media Sina Weibo, a new online platform Zhihu has become popular among public intellectuals as a space for rich discussion. Similar to Quora.com, Zhihu allows Chinese web users to post questions, with the best responses upvoted by others. It is free from...

Photos: Chinese New Year Holiday Travel Rush

  20 January 2014

The Spring Festival, or lunar new year, is China's most important holiday for family reunions. According to The Ministry of Transportation, around 258 million train trips are estimated to be made during this year's Spring Festival, which runs from January 16 to February 24. China's news website iFeng.com shows images of people...

Chinese Mum Buys Ad to Urge Her Son to Come Home for New Year

  16 January 2014

Chinese New Year is a time for family reunion. For many Chinese singles, returning home during Chinese New Year can be a real headache as the attention and pressure surrounding personal matters from the whole family is simply unbearable. Earlier this week, a Chinese mom bought a whole page of ad...

Video: Music Parody about Food in China

  15 January 2014

“Rice, Rice baby” is a recent parody about the food culture in China from the expats’ point of view. The video is about how expats in China love the food but also are a little nervous of its effects.   The lyrics says: “Love it or leave it, you better...

China's Viral Sex Education Videos

  15 January 2014

A small team has released a collection of one-minute childhood sex education videos on China's youku, China's YouTube. The videos, involving topics such as “Why Are Boys Different from Girls” and “Where Do Babies Come From?”, have become the second most popular search on Baidu and have drawn over one...

China's Train Ticket Website Sparks Fury Again

  15 January 2014

As millions go online to buy train tickets home for Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan 30 this year, users are shocked again at how inconvenient and inefficient the site is. Many have been complaining about the site since its debut in 2010, but it hasn't been improved. Many have...

China Introduces Online Video Game: “Fight Corruption”

  10 January 2014

China has started a serious crackdown on corruption in 2013, it’s now also online entertainment. China introduced an online video game called “Fight Corruption” online and encouraged web users to play the game by claiming that “everyone has a responsibility to fight corruption and embezzlement.” TeaLeafNation has more details. 

Chinese President's Bun Shop Now Hub for Protestors

  8 January 2014

After Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to a local restaurant last week that received massive media attention, petitioners in Beijing think it's a good place for protest. Last weekend they showed up outside of the restaurant hanging banners calling out the government for corruption.  

Video:One Billion Stories

  2 January 2014

One Billion Stories is a series of short films set in Shanghai about the people we pass by every day. In this video, the BBQ street vendor Steven talks about his life as a migrant worker in Shanghai, his view on freedom and independence and his ideal China. He says:...

China's Top Searches in 2013

  2 January 2014

China's search engine Baidu releases an annual list of their most searched terms. Here are the top searches this year: Weather Taobao (China's online shopping website) Wu Dong Qian Kun (an online novel from Li Hu) The Tang Door  (online novel) Mang Huang Ji (online novel) Zhe Tian (online novel) Double Chromosphere (a...

China's Six Trends in 2014

  1 January 2014

TeaLeafNation has analyzed six trends in 2013 that will continue to transform China in 2014 both socially and economically. There are: 1 Political discussions are retreating back into private sphere such as WeChat.  2 Mainland Chinese shows and products have become popular in Taiwan. 3 Fewer Chinese people will learn English. 4 China’s massive...