Eating bitter in China

[bawang]

id hit it, disable or no disable.

...worry about eating clenbuterol.

clenbuterol gives u six pack abs. bodybuilders take it.

[GeneChing]

He is the definition of hardcore.

One-armed porter ready to quit after trekking up mountain 4,000 times in 14 years



A 52-year-old one-armed porter who's been dubbed "China's most famous porter" made headlines this week when he announced that he was ready to throw in the towel after 14 years of working and over 4,000 trips up Mount Hua, Tencent News reports.


Fellow workers help He get the cargo up on his back.

The porter, surnamed He, usually wakes up early in the morning to deliver 50 kg of cargo to a restaurant on Shaanxi province's Mount Hua for minimal wage. When he arrives at the dangerously steep ridge, he has to carefully lower his body and take small steps towards to the stairs.

"It's fine if I fall off and wound myself but it will be big trouble if the tourists get injured," the porter said.

He can earn 0.55 yuan per 0.5 kg and he carries 50 kg once. "I'm supposed to get 55 yuan, but other porters have given me five more yuan," he told reporters.

"When I go down the mountain, I collect some plastic bottles and waste paper, which can fetch another 20 yuan. If I am lucky, I can earn 2,000 yuan per month," he said.

From the year 2008 till now, his wage has been raised by only 0.25 yuan.

"I used to go up twice every day but now only once," said He.

Seeing as his strength isn't what it used to be, he now spends two hours covering one trip and stops to rest over 40 times. His fellow porters only spend one hour on the trip and rest three times.

"I didn't want to quit. My 70-year-old parents fell ill and my 30-year-old son has been suffering from congenital heart disease. Fortunately, my younger son who works in Zhejiang can earn 7,000 yuan monthly," He said.


He carries cargo up to the mountain.

He was born in a village in Shaanxi province in 1962. His wife died from heart disease after giving birth to his second son. At that time, He needed to take care of the two kids while paying off a debt of 12,000 yuan.



He lost his left arm when he was working for a mine in Ping Dingshan, Henan province back in 1992. After the incident, his boss reimbursed him for 4,200 yuan and later sent him packing. On the train back home, he was robbed for 2,000 yuan.

After failing to find another job, He came to Mount Hua in 2000 to become a porter.

"I planned to work until 70, I don't think I can, though," he told reporters, sighing.

By Lucy Liu

[ Images via Tencent News]

[David Jamieson]

I get the sense that life is a hard road in China if you aren't 1% or have money.
Dang!

[GeneChing]

This puts rollercoasters and bungee jumping in perspective.

Residents in remote Hubei village commute on cable-strung 'iron cage'


A villager and her two daughter ride home in the "'iron cage"

For the past 16 years, 196 residents living in a small village in Hubei province have depended on this rickety old cable car with no doors to get to and from home. They call it their "iron basket".



Yushan village, in Hubei's Hefeng county, is about 150 kilometers away from the nearest town and is surrounded with steep cliffs and valleys that make it difficult to access.


Villagers prepare to deliver items out of their village.




The 1,000-meter-long cableway is suspended 480 meters above ground level and has helped local residents commute in and out of their village since it was built over 16 years ago, Sohu News reports.


A cableway operator named Zhang Xinjian is photographed oiling the cable.

It takes the villagers an entire day to leave and return from the remote village without using the cableway.


Zhang prepares to operate the cableway and send villagers out.

By Lucy Liu

[Syn7]

That actually looks pretty fun. I'd be a lil weary of the design and craftsmanship though. What we have to go through here to throw a cable like that is pretty intense as far as standards go. I imagine they just up and did it. Props though, not an easy task.

[GeneChing]

That actually looks pretty fun.

I've survived Chinese rollercoasters. They are fun in a truly death defying way. I wrote about one here: Wu-Tang Enters Wudang (2 of 7) And You Don't Stop

Meanwhile, even Santa has to eat bitter in China:

Here comes Santa Claus, defying death to deliver gifts atop a cable car



With no flying reindeer or magical sleigh for assistance, Santa Claus took it upon himself to climb on to cable cars at the Shiniuzhai Scenic Resort in Pingjiang, Hunan Province to give Christmas gifts to visitors over the weekend.



NetEase reports that the Santa Claus was in fact one of the staff members of the scenic spot, apologies to all you kids out there.



It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas and everyone loves to surprise their loved ones, but Shanghaiist must recommend that you not try dangerous things like this yourself if you are not a professional. Just use a drone instead.



By Dina Li

[MarathonTmatt]

This puts rollercoasters and bungee jumping in perspective.

Wow. Pretty nifty.

Does anyone know what kind of horse that is in the third pic down?

[GeneChing]

When food bites back

Drunk Beijing man tries to bite into turtle, turtle bites back (and holds on for 10 minutes)



A drunk man who claimed that he could eat a live turtle at a market in Beijing on Wednesday saw the tables turn on him when the little shelled fellow bit him first, then clamped down on the man's lips for around 10 minutes.

The man was wandering around a market and was apparently sufficiently boozed up when he suddenly stopped at a fish stall and decided he ought to try eating a live turtle, as one wont to do. The turtle wanted none of his shenanigans, however, and bit down on the man's lips, refusing to open its mouth for more than 10 minutes, ifeng News reports.

Many people came around but none could really help him. Witnesses said the man just stood still until the turtle finally gave up and let go.

The man is said to be around 40 years old and reportedly raises a small pet turtle himself. He usually plays with his own turtle and puts it near his mouth. This particular turtle, however, was not so playful.

“The small turtles are pets, but this big one is used for cooking. We are also very careful and get bitten when holding it,” the stall owner said.

Sadly enough for humanity, this isn't the first case of its kind. A Fujian man was hospitalized following a run-in with a snapping turtle that left his lips horribly swollen last March.


By Dina Li

[GeneChing]

i totally would.

'Red Guards' serve food at 'Red Classic'-themed restaurant in Gansu



Waiters and waitresses dressed as "Red Guards" enthusiastically salute and greet patrons with pleasantries such as "Good Day, fellow villager!" at this hot pot restaurant channeling the Mao era in Pingliang, Gansu province. It's freaky.



The "Hong Qi Gong She" (Red Flag Commune) restaurant features staff donning Red Army hats and red armbands. Workers also adopt speaking styles reminiscent of the old era, and upon walking into the door, customers are greeted by hosts with phrases such as: "Welcome to the countryside! All you need is to improve your meal."



Even the way staff members address one another is nostalgic of the time.



Wait staff members are usually called "sheyuan" (commune members), the supervisor is called "Captain", the menu is "Ge Ming Yu Lu" (Chairman Mao's Quotations), beers equate to "land mines" and a glass of the Chinese baijiu is referred to as a "bomb".



"Customers never stop coming to my restaurant and they're not able to 'improve their meal' unless they have made a reservation beforehand," the restaurant's owner said in a Tencent News report.



"...I've never opened a business before," he continued. "But I have visited quite a few Chinese cities, and I found many of them have worked this kind of "Red Tourism" angle. I thought, why I can't have a 'Red Restaurant'? So i made a decision to open a "Red Classic"-themed restaurant here in Pingliang."


By Luke Sun

[PalmStriker]

Yes, I would feel quite comfortable around those Red Guard babes after I had a couple of land mines with my Chairman Mao sweet and sour.

[Syn7]

i totally would.

Yes, because I get a kick out of the irony of it all.

[bawang]

those gansu turk bishes make my wee wee tingle

[GeneChing]

There are still cave dwellers in Henan too. At least there was when I was last there about a decade ago. I know some people who lived in caves around Shaolin Temple. Zhang Lipeng's father took me to the cave he lived in for a while when he first came to Shaolin. By then, it had become a place to ****, way to nasty to go in, let alone live in. That was 2001.

35-year-old man lives in cave for six months to save money for family



A 35-year-old man who makes around 3,000 yuan a month working as a truck loader at a logistics company in Jinan city says he has been living in a dark and narrow cave for around six months so that he can save money to send to his family in the Doufuying village of Handan city, Hebei province.



Shi Zhiyong is the bread earner for his family, which includes his parents, wife and two young sons. Five year ago, he decided to find a job in Jinan city in the hope of earning more money to take care of them, Xinhua News reports.



"Working as a truck loader can bring in around 3,000 yuan in Jinan but only 1,800 yuan in my hometown," Shi told reporters, adding that the higher salary motivated him to move, even if it meant living far away from his family.



Shi only spent around 200 yuan on his rent, cellphone fees and alcohol, as his company provides him three meals. When he discovered the 10-meter-deep cave while taking a stroll on Yaoshan Mountain last September, he decided to live there to save the 100 yuan he'd spent on his rent. The cave was chiseled out for military purposes back in the 1970s, according to Shi.



Since September, he's been telling his family that he stays in his company's dorms or in hotels.

Shi told reporters that he wakes up at around 6:00 a.m. in the morning and uses the company restroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. Upon returning from work, he showers in the public bathroom at the bottom of the mountain.



By Lucy Liu

[curenado]

Makes a prayer come natural for those who must exert most strength for least return.

- red restraunt a hoot
- I would never ride the iron cage (no one should walk under it if I did either)

[GeneChing]

My kid is starting college tours so I've been thinking a lot about this lately.

Painting their future: 7,000 students sit fierce exam for a place in Chinese art schools - and only 30 candidates will make the cut

Thousands of aspiring artists took the exam at a 200,000-square-foot hall in Jinan city on February 16
Diligent students are hoping to get a place at Shandong University of Arts and Design through the test
The painting competition is part of the national college entrance exam for art attended by 900,000 hopefuls
By CHLOE LYME FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 11:50 EST, 17 February 2016 | UPDATED: 14:38 EST, 17 February 2016

Nearly 7,000 students were pictured recently sitting for an entrance exam for Shandong University of Arts and Design in east China.

On February 16 the examinees sat patiently in the 200,000-square-foot hall of the Shungeng International Convention Center in Jinan city, reports the People's Daily Online.

With registration for the university on the rise, this year's competition has become much fiercer as the number of students set to be recruited by the university has shrunk.


Test: Thousands of young artists sat an entrance exam for the Shandong University of Arts and Design on Feb 16 in Jinan city


Composed: Students sat in the 200,000-square-foot hall in Shungeng International Convention Center as they sketched, drew and painted


Under pressure: About 900,000 applicants take the national college entrance exam for art in China every year to enter their dream schools

The aspiring artists sat in long rows on the marble floor in front of their identical easels, canvas, paintbrushes and paint as they carefully crafted their artwork.

They're required to attend a sketching session, a drawing session and a painting session.

In the freezing cold room they all painted what looked to be a similar painting of some fruit next to a vase or pot. As well as the painting the students sketched with pencil what seemed to be a bucket next to a bottle and a book.

Pictures taken on the day of the exam show the students focusing on their work intensely in a bid to win a place at the university. Amazingly, a student who had no arms sat the exam room and used his feet to paint as well as sketch.

Their work will be marked and reviewed by the teachers from Shandong University of Arts and Design.


Determined: A student who had no arms was seen sitting in the exam room and using his feet to paint as well as sketch during the exam


Amazing: In the freezing cold room, the devoted candidate drew with his bare feet as he strove to enter the art school he liked


Hopeful: Around 7,000 ambitious Chinese art students took part in a university entrance exam in the city of Ji'nan, east China


Paint for success: The army of artists competed against each other for places on courses at a Chinese university yesterday in Shandong

For the budding young artists who took their exams yesterday, chances of getting are very slim, only one out of every 30 candidates will be chosen.

Art universities have always been a hit among China's high school students who are applying for the limited spaces available. The Shandong Arts and Design University is one of 31 art and design universities in the country.

According to its website the university's goal is to foster 'scientifc spirit, humanistic accomplishment, artistic innovation and technical skills'.

Around 900,000 applicants take the national college entrance exam for art in China every year.