Year of the MONKEY - Chinese New Year 2016

[GeneChing]

3 FEB 2016 - 8:55PM
Chinese baby boom expected in Year of the Monkey
Hundreds of thousands of people in China are preparing to usher in the Year of the Monkey, and for many hopeful parents, it's a good year to have baby.
By Katrina Yu
3 FEB 2016 - 8:14 PM UPDATED YESTERDAY 8:55 PM

Not only is the Monkey Year an auspicious time to give birth, it's also the first opportunity for many families to have more than one child, with China ending it’s one-child policy last year.

Daisy Yuan never thought she would have a second child. The Beijing resident is currently five months pregnant, and already mother to three-year-old Niu Niu.

“It was actually an accident and something I didn’t consider. But when it happened I spoke with my parents and husband and we realised that it was a good opportunity for Niu Niu to have a companion,” Yuan says.


Daisy Yuan and her three-year-old son Niu Niu. (SBS News)

The 33-year-old fell pregnant just after the Chinese government ended it’s long-held one child policy in October last year.

“I’m very happy, and it’s a monkey which is lucky. Monkey children are said to be smart and joyful, also energetic,” she says.

The new Lunar New Year will end the year of the sheep, a less desirable birth year according to Chinese astrology, and usher in the year of the monkey.

The lucky zodiac combined with the new policy have many predicting a bumper year for babies in China. In Beijing alone at least 300,000 newborns are expected - a 20 percent jump from the 250,000 average in recent years. German fertility drug maker Merck, has seen a boost in sales on the mainland.

Although not everyone adheres to ancient customs, some couples were extra mindful of becoming pregnant after May last year to ensure they would have a ‘Monkey baby’.

“The monkey king is the biggest hero in our culture and we would love to have a monkey baby so we can have a hero kid,” excited soon-to-be father Zoubai Wang says.

Wang’s mother was born in the year of the sheep, and encouraged her son not to have a sheep baby because those born in the sheep year have less luck.

“She grew up during a hard time and experienced hunger, so maybe that’s why she has this idea,” Wang says.


Feng Shui master Wang Hao Hua says sheep years are bad for having babies. (SBS News)

Feng Shui master Wang Hao Hua says that’s why many couples may have held off giving birth the year before.

“We have a changing sequence that takes place every year, which is what we Chinese call the 12 Chinese Zodiac," he says.

"Based on that, the year of the monkey follows the Year of the Sheep. And generally people agree that the year of the goat is a bad year, so the number of people who want to give birth is low in that year.”

Although Wang would love to take advantage of the second child policy, they’re not sure they can afford to. Like many other young couples in major Chinese city, they’re struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living.

“The new policy will impact urban areas a lot, but in urban areas the cost is the important factor,” Professor Du Peng, sociologist and population expert from Beijing’s Renmin University, says.

“Another problem is the lack of resources. The government is developing more facilities in terms of healthcare, so that families actually have somewhere to go if they do get pregnant again. At the moment there aren’t enough hospital beds.”

Some Beijing hospitals have reported maternity beds booked out until this April, and a 30 percent boost in bookings with the new Monkey Year.


Children born in the Year of the Monkey are said to have lucky lives. (SBS News)

Dr Wang Wejun, director of obstetrics and gynecology at Beijing’s Amcare hospital, says more older women are also approaching the hospital looking to conceive again.

“For mothers born in the 1970s for example, who have already got older... if they have wishes to have a second baby, we would try our best to help them to accomplish that,” Dr Wang says.

Yuan says she feels lucky to be able to afford to move into a bigger apartment in Beijing to support her growing family and is looking forward to helping Niu Niu adjust to life as an older brother.

“It may take some time to get used to, but he’s also looking forward to it," she says.

"He’s born in the dragon year, so he’s confident and smart - a great match for a monkey sibling.”

Almost all of the years of the Chinese zodiac have their auspiciousness, except the sheep and pig. That's why there are so many Chinese.

[GeneChing]

There are more pix - I only copy and pasted the lead shot.

This just reminded me of an archived ezine article that I should bring forward this year: Visiting the Home of the Monkey King by Gregory Brundage

| Wed Feb 3, 2016 8:35am EST
Chinese village hopes for year of profitable monkey business
BAOWAN VILLAGE, CHINA | BY JOSEPH CAMPBELL


A monkey rides a bicycle during a daily training session at a monkey farm in Baowan village, Xinye county of China’s central Henan province, February 2, 2016.
REUTERS/JASON LEE

During decades of political turmoil in China under Mao Zedong, monkeys were not trained or kept as pets, but often eaten.

But one village in rural Henan province, where the land is too hard and rough to grow crops, residents have for centuries relied on training performing monkeys to make money. And as the Year of the Monkey approaches, they are hoping for bumper business.

A small temple devoted to the deity of the Monkey King, a popular figure from Chinese folklore and literature, sits on the outskirts of Baowan.

"Since this will be the Year of the Monkey, and we will be putting on (monkey performance) competitions for tourists, we all need to visit this temple and burn some incense,” Zhang Zhijiu, a 60-year-old former monkey busker, said after praying.

Monkey breeding and raising is illegal across China without a proper license, but the 2,500 villagers of Baowan are an exception.

The animals, some wearing tight metal collars, are taught to ride bicycles and walk on stilts. One trainer was throwing daggers at a monkey balanced on a wooden board on a rolling cylinder.

The animal was deftly catching the daggers and putting them between its teeth.

Fan Haoran, 57, a trainer at Qilingang Monkey Farm who traveled the country monkey busking for decades, has been training monkeys since his youth. He says the key is to develop a relationship.

"Firstly, you have to show concern and take care of them. Secondly, you must proceed slowly, little by little, and not rush. For instance, when shaking hands - from the beginning, little by little - and then it will remember your hand."

But for China, which has spent decades trying to end rural poverty, animal rights have been almost non-existent until recently, and then mostly among urban pet owners.

Zhang Junran, president of Xinye County’s monkey breeding association, admitted that Baowan’s treatment of monkeys has been controversial, but he said the current methods were humane.

"Our way of training monkeys to perform was not the most educated (in the past). Especially when it came to their living conditions... But these monkeys also have lives, and they have brought us so many benefits, which have made such major changes to our lives. We must be good to our monkeys,” said Zhang.

Zhang Zhijie, 57, keeps a four year-old macaque tied on a leash just outside his home. Zhang comes from a line of monkey trainers and has made a small fortune performing across the country.

"It started from my grandfather, then my father, and then it was passed down to me. My kids studied in primary school, and then went college. Their education was completely paid for by money made from our monkey performances,” he said.

But the family business may be coming to an end - his children are not showing the same interest in the family tradition.

(Editing by Nick Macfie)

[GeneChing]

And I thought competing with Superbowl 50 was bad here in Cali...

2.03.2016
SACRAMENTO KINGS CANCEL "YEAR OF THE MONKEY" SHIRT GIVEAWAY AFTER PLAYER COMPLAINT

Someone was clearly not paying attention to the unintended implications of this promotion.



This week, the Sacramento Kings scrapped a commemorative Lunar New Year t-shirt giveaway celebrating the Year of the Monkey after a player noted the shirts could be deemed offensive during Black History Month.

Sacramento Kings Pull 'Year of the Monkey' Shirts From Seats

Player DeMarcus Cousins took issue with the shirt design, which depicted a monkey in Kings colors. The shirts were supposed to be given out to fans on Monday night during Sacramento's game against the Milwaukee Bucks, but were pulled at the last minute after Cousins raised the issue with team management.


The Sacramento Kings introduced players in Mandarin for Lunar New Year.

February 8 is the start of the Lunar New Year -- the Year of the Monkey -- but the team planned to give out the shirts on February 1... which also happens to be the first day of Black History Month. Players and coaches were already wearing shirts observing Black History Month on that day.

Associations between Black people and monkeys have been historically used in racist imagery. Someone in the Kings organization was clearly not paying attention to the unintended implications of this promotion.

Responding to Cousins' concerns, the Kings pulled the shirts from seats before fans arrived at Sleep Train Arena. Bucks TV analyst and former player Marques Johnson tweeted a photo of staff collecting the shirts:

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‏@olskool888
DeMarcus voices his displeasure and to the Kings credit they pull the Monkey T Shirts...



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Marques Johnson
‏@olskool888
Good move Kings. Year of Monkey Tees on 1 st day of Black History Month not a good look. Thanks DeMarcus...



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"We all need a lesson in sensitivity," Kings' president Chris Granger told The Sacramento Bee. "In an effort to celebrate Chinese New Year, we had some concerns about the t-shirt giveaway, so we pulled them all before the doors opened. Certainly we don't want to offend anybody, and we acted as soon as we heard the concern."

There is a league-wide initiative this season for teams to commemorate the Lunar New Year "in some fashion," and the rest of the Kings' Lunar New Year celebration continued as scheduled. Festivities included Kings Dancers performing a ribbon dance, a Lunar New Year drum line and a Mandarin emcee.

While I really appreciate the NBA's efforts to be inclusive and acknowledge the traditions of the Lunar New Year, the Kings definitely overlooked the optics and timing of the Year of the Monkey-themed giveaway. The concerns were valid, and it was a good call to yank the shirts. Every little step...

[GeneChing]

Someone got fired.

7:00pm February 4, 2016
Coles pulls Chinese New Year mishap from shelves
By ninemsn


Coles were quick to remove the Chinese New Year lucky bamboo plants from shelves once the mistake was pointed out (Image Source: AAP)

Coles has failed in its attempt to help customers celebrate the Year of the Monkey after it was revealed their lucky bamboo plants are labelled with last year’s Chinese zodiac word ‘goat’.

Originally reported by marketing blog Mumbrella, the pot plant's label features a cartoon monkey as well the Chinese character for sheep or goat.

The Year of the Goat started on 9 February 2015 and ends on Sunday. The Year of the Monkey starts on February 8th on the 12-year Chinese zodiac cycle.

Users on Chinese social media website Weibo were quick to joke about the mishap, with one commenting that the monkey's name could possibly be Sheep.

A Coles spokesperson confirmed to Fairfax Media that they were removing the product from sale.

"We're sorry for the mix-up and have decided to remove the product from our shelves. We hope everyone has a very happy Chinese New Year,” the spokesperson said.


The lucky bamboo plant in question, which features a cartoon monkey and the Chinese character for 'Sheep' or 'Goat' (Image Source: Weibo)

For the most part, customers haven't scolded the supermarket for their mistake.

"We should support western brands who take part in Chinese traditions & holidays - a blooper is ok, it's how we learn," Twitter user Michael Ashton wrote.

"How can Coles cope? Valentine's day, Australia Day and Chinese New Year, so much merchandising so little time," Neil Bibby wrote.

[GeneChing]

The two sides to China’s new monkey coin
Source: Xinhua | February 7, 2016, Sunday



GUAN Fuyuan, in his sixties, walked to his bank in the bitter Beijing wind just after breakfast to wait for three hours. Just before lunchtime, he got what he came for .

Every year since 2003 in the run up to Lunar New Year, China has issued a commemorative coin featuring the horoscope animal for the coming year. Last year, the Year of the Sheep, was the beginning of the second 12-year cycle, and the face value of the coin was raised from one yuan (US$0.15) to 10 yuan.

The central bank opened online subscription for the monkey coins earlier this month and on Saturday began to distribute them. Any Chinese citizen could apply for up to five coins, to be collected and paid for before New Year. For some, it is a small investment; for others just some fun.

This year’s coin resembles a one euro, basically silver with a gold-colored rim, featuring an image of a traditional paper-cut of a monkey sitting beside a lantern, staring off into the distance.

Born in 1980, another the Year of Monkey, Guan’s daughter Yijun decided to buy one this year. Subscriptions opened at midnight on January 6 and she began clicking as soon as the clock struck twelve. She eventually succeeded at around 6am.

“It took a long time to place my order, perhaps due to a bad Web connection, perhaps because there were so many other people doing the same thing at the same time,” she recalled.

Previously, Yijun had worked in England for three years. “In Great Britain, they issue commemorative coins on many occasions, such as the 200th anniversary of Charles ****ens’ birth and to celebrate 150 years of the world’s oldest subway system. I collected as many as I could.” The monkey coin is the first Chinese addition to her collection.

Beijing’s allocation of coins was sold out in less than 12 hours online and a report in The Beijing Evening News said that more than three million coins were snapped up in the first hour.

At a downtown branch of ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China), Yang Fan used three ID cards to collect 15 coins, mostly gifts for friends and relatives. “They are very special Spring Festival gifts,” he said. “It is not any kind of investment or speculation, as it takes a long time for them to appreciate.”

Jia Lijun, an ICBC teller, said that about 500 customers were coming in each day to collect their coins. A notice on the front door read that the branch had been allocated 22,000 of the minted monkeys.

According to ICBC, sheep coins issued in 2003 have risen from a face value of one yuan to 310 yuan in today’s market. Last year’s 10 yuan sheep now change hands for around 100 yuan. Wang Fubin, the president of a Nanjing investors association, said that the price of this year’s monkey had already doubled.

“Zeal for collecting coins has surged, and these horoscope coins are affordable for many people,” Wang said, “although coins remain less popular than stamps as investments.”

The value of collectibles largely depends on scarcity and age. Liu Haoxiang, a professional investor, said that the monkey stamp issued in 1980 is now worth several thousand times its face value. Wang Yu, a collector for 15 years, noted that coins and stamps were more accessible to ordinary people than jewelry and paintings, with lower risk of forgery. “They are issued by state-owned institutions so their authenticity is more reliable,” he said.

But for Guan, while his wait in the freezing cold of Beijing’s winter for a brass monkey was not entirely in vain, his time was not as well spent as it might have been. “I waited for so long but my daughter had only reserved one!” he complained.

Yijun confessed that her motivation to buy one of the coins was more fun than investment. “I like to keep some small souvenirs of each stage of my life, so that when I am old, these things will take me back in time,” she said.

Sunday

Lunar New Year: Year of the Monkey
Forever 49¢



In 2016 the U.S. Postal Service® will ring in the Year of the Monkey by issuing the ninth of 12 stamps in the Celebrating Lunar New Year series. The Year of the Monkey begins on February 8, 2016, and ends on January 27, 2017.

The monkey is one of the 12 zodiac animal signs associated with the Chinese lunar calendar. According to an old legend, the animals raced across a river to determine their order in the cycle. The rat crossed by riding on the back of the ox, jumping ahead at the last minute to win the race. Next came the ox, then the tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, and ram, followed by the monkey in ninth place.

People born in the year of a particular animal sign are said to share characteristics with that animal. Individuals born during the Year of the Monkey are said to be clever, wise, and honest. With their keen intellect and sociability, they can easily adapt to new situations.


Issue Date:
February 05, 2016
Art Director/Designer: Ethel Kessler
SKU: 586504

I actually have a lot of the U.S.P.S. CNY stamps. When I used to live in S.F., I got them as mementos in Chinatown. But I don't collect stamps. I don't really know what to do with those now. They are buried in storage somewhere.

[GeneChing]

I would try a lobster pizza.

5 FEBRUARY 2016 - 3:43PM | POSTED BY CHLOE MCKENNA
How big brands around the world are welcoming in the Year of the Monkey for Chinese New Year


How big brands around the world are welcoming in the Year of the Monkey for Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is now a truly global celebration enjoyed by over 1.3 billion people, with over 800 events hosted in more than 320 cities across 118 countries. With so many different people taking part in the festivities internationally, for brands hoping to get involved and run special promotions, localising messaging to different regions is increasingly important.

As we welcome in the Year of the Monkey, let’s take a look at some of the best examples of localised Chinese New Year promotional content around this year, and why it worked.

Pizza hut

Pizza hit is a great example of a big brand that puts a lot of effort into localising their Chinese New Year promotions to different regional audiences. Rather than rolling out a blanket ‘Happy Chinese New Year’ message across all markets, every country is running different offers, using bespoke imagery and locally relevant advertising to mark the occasion.

China

This year’s Pizza hut Chinese New Year menu caused quite a stir as it features a pizza topped with an entire cooked lobster (although a spaghetti option is also available for those with less adventurous tastes). This somewhat extravagant addition to the normally modest menu, although unusual, worked because people in China tend to want to treat themselves and their families as the holiday celebrations get into full swing and so are willing to be a little more lavish.


Pizza Hut China

Indonesia

In Indonesia, Pizza Hut’s promotional content is far removed from the grandiose food imagery used in China, with their Lunar New Year posts shunning photos from the menu in favour of simple pictures featuring a pomelo fruit and traditional cakes, which symbolise good luck for the coming year.


Pizza Hut Indonesia

Malaysia

Another country, another localised menu: In Malaysia, a brand new pizza range, the ‘Cheesy Crown’ was launched so that ‘this Lunar New Year, [you can feel] like a royal at Pizza Hut’. Pizza Hut Malaysia head Felix D. Michael said the new Cheesy Crown pizza was designed to ‘make an enjoyable meal for close friends and family during the festive holidays’.


Pizza Hut Malaysia

Levi's

Levi's have carried a similar theme across their regional markets with Chinese New Year promotions offering bespoke product ranges, offers and discounts tweaked for each specific market.

China

In China a special New Year’s clothing collection was revealed. The range went all-out with the monkey theme including jackets with embroidered monkey designs and others featuring the number 8, believed in China to symbolise luck. Discounts were offered through the use of QPR codes, which are hugely popular with Chinese users. A competition was also run on the local messaging app We Chat offering users the chance to win goodies including phone cases, T-shirts and wallets.


Levi's China


Levi's China

Thailand

In Thailand, a more toned-down Chinese New Year collection was launched, featuring red and gold t-shirts promoted with the slogan ‘new clothes for a new year’. Discounts of 20 per cent and 25 per cent are also being offered to entice online shoppers to spend.


Levi's Thailand

Malaysia

In Malaysia, local celebrities were employed to endorse the Chinese New Year collection. Clicking on each of the celebrity images clicks through to a landing page where they reveal their wishes for the New Year.

Prosperity packs are also being offered for purchases over RM250 allowing shoppers to ‘give [themselves] a treat this festive season, and spread some cheer too’.


Levi's Malaysia

Gucci

Gucci shows how, increasingly, even high-end luxury fashion brands and are incorporating Chinese New Year into their marketing calendars and localising these campaigns for regional customers.

China

In China, Gucci used the local equivalent to YouTube, YouKu, to promote a ‘happy holiday’ video, featuring traditional Chinese designs and imagery.


Gucci China

USA and Europe

The Gucci Chinese New Year collection, which sees monkeys adorning everything from keyrings to handbags received coverage across major fashion publications across Europe and the USA, showcasing the increasing trend for mainstream interest in the Chinese New Year holiday outside of mainland China.


Gucci USA and Europe
Key takeaways

So as global spending on Chinese New Year increases every year, with £8.6 billion pounds estimated to be spent this year by Chinese tourists alone, international brands need to seriously consider their marketing plans around this annual event.

As celebrations take place all over the world, understanding the customs and traditions of customers in different regions is key. Follow the lead of the brands featured within this list and tailor messaging to ensure a localised approach which will engage your audience during the celebrations, wherever they are.

Chloe McKenna is a social media strategist at Oban Digital

[GeneChing]

But bills not coins. And I just got my paycheck.

For lunar new year, Asians are flocking to the bank for luck


Bank decorations in Hong Kong for Monkey Year, which starts on Feb. 8. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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WRITTEN BY Thu-Huong Ha
3 hours ago

As lunar new year looms, people in China, Vietnam, South Korea, and the diaspora are hustling to get ready. Celebrants are scrubbing their kitchens, buying new clothes, getting hair cuts, paying (and collecting) debts this week, all to prepare for the first day of Monkey Year on Feb. 8.

One surprisingly crucial errand in the annual scramble to freshen up is a trip to the bank: It’s not a new year’s celebration without crisp clean money in your pockets to give out to your kids, grandkids, or younger siblings and cousins.

In crispness we trust

In countries where the new year is a public holiday, new (or nearly new) notes are automatically issued by the government’s central bank. But in countries like the US with smaller East Asian communities, it comes down to individual banks to ensure local branches have the crisp bills required by tradition.

Once word circulates that new bills are available, lines are out the door.

According to custom, it’s extra important to display model behavior on the first day of the entire year. So losing, lending, or borrowing money on new year’s day is a big no-no, as it’s seen as an omen for a whole year’s worth of bad fortune. Instead, one should pad one’s pockets with beautiful new money, usually given by an elder. Giving away red envelopes (called hangbao in Chinese or li xi in Vietnamese) with a few bills of good-luck money inside is de rigueur.
To prepare for new year-related demand, a Bank of America branch in LA’s Little Saigon ordered $6 million in new bills this January, according to the LA Times. That’s about 12 times the amount of new money it ordered for Christmas 2015.
At Bank of America’s Mandarin Tower in San Francisco (home to the United States’ biggest Chinatown outside of Asia), once word circulates that new bills are available, lines are out the door, a spokesperson tells Quartz. The bank routinely sees thousands of additional customers in the month before new year, so it staffs up and lengthens bank hours to meet the rush.

The past two weeks have been “pretty intense,” Jose Mendez, store supervisor at TD Bank in Manhattan’s Chinatown, tells Quartz. His branch orders new bills about two and a half weeks before the new year. On a typical banking day, 15 or 30-minute lulls without customers are normal, but in the past few weeks he’s observed a constant flow of traffic. When demand gets too high, the tellers designate a special line for people just looking for pretty bills.

Get (extra) lucky

In Singapore, where the ethnic majority is Chinese, banks also see unusual activity around li chun, the start of the lesser known solar new year, which signals the start of spring. In recent years, charts purporting to tell people their luckiest time slots for depositing money have gone viral in Singapore, causing long bank lines on the “auspicious” day.

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One trending poster this year, from shopping site 65daigou, suggests auspicious (and even more auspicious!) times of day for banking, according to zodiac sign. The site also tells visitors what colors they should wear to the bank for maximum luck.

吉 means “lucky,” and 大吉 means “extra lucky.”(Courtesy 65daigou)

The digital “war” for the red envelope

But mobile payments could soon make the scramble to collect and deposit crisp cash obsolete.

In China, digital exchanges of new year’s money have exploded with popularity. In 2014 Tencent social media app WeChat released a red envelope app for the new year that let users send money electronically. It was massively popular: WeChat’s 400 million users exchanged the equivalent of $46 million that year.

In 2015, its rival Alibaba responded by giving away 600 million yuan ($91 million) in red envelopes through its digital wallet, Alipay, sparking a “red envelope war.” This year internet giant Baidu has joined the fray, saying it will give away 6 billion yuan ($912 million) in digital hongbao.

Still, it seems unlikely the trend will catch on any time soon in diaspora communities in LA, San Francisco, and New York, where lunar new year is a rare opportunity to preserve customs from the homeland.

[GeneChing]

Lunar New Year in China Will Reveal New Travel and Spending Habits
Xiaoqing Pi, Bloomberg - Feb 06, 2016 2:00 pm


Paul Traynor / Associated Press
Chen Xiao, a real estate agent, checks on her smartphone as she prepares to leave her house to go back to her hometown for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, in Shanghai, China. Paul Traynor / Associated Press

Lunar New Year is always the best way to take the pulse of changing consumer habits in China.
— Jason Clampet

Chinese consumers, pillars of strength in a slowing economy, are ramping up spending as the Lunar New Year holiday approaches.

Travelers will make a record 2.91 billion trips by road, rail, air and water over the holiday season, up 3.6 percent from last year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planner. Six million will head to foreign destinations during the week-long public holiday, while retailers and restaurants will probably ring up more than $100 billion in sales.

The spending binge underscores the rebalancing to consumption and services from China’s historic dependence on investment and exports for growth. That’s making industries like tourism, health care, education and entertainment the economy’s new drivers as the old rust belt sectors like steel and coal struggle with overcapacity.

“A growing middle class fuels tourism,” Alicia Garcia Herrero, Asia-Pacific chief economist at Natixis SA in Hong Kong, wrote in a report. “Under the backdrop of improved living conditions and transport infrastructure, Chinese find traveling easier and more accessible.”

Epic Migration

The epic migration drives spending on everything from gasoline to gifts. China’s 1.37 billion citizens will each make 2.1 trips on average during the broader holiday season, which spans Jan. 24 to March 4. That’s like moving all 321 million Americans nine times over.

Travel website Ctrip.com projects a record 6 million overseas trips next week (the equivalent of everyone in Denmark taking off). Thailand, Japan and South Korea top the list of destinations, suggesting many will snap up cosmetics in Tokyo or splash in resort pools in Phuket.

China’s local tourism capacity is way lower than the demand, according to Chen Xingdong, chief China economist at BNP Paribas SA in Beijing. Further growth will be driven by the need to upgrade and “meet the demand of increasingly sophisticated Chinese consumers,” he said, and improvements across entertainment and restaurants will help offset the slowdown.

Growth Driver

Spending will get a boost from the essential elements of Chinese family reunions and gatherings: presents, banquets and movie nights. Restaurants and retailers reported 678 billion yuan in sales during the holiday season last year, up 11 percent from 2014, while box offices took in 900 million yuan, according to the commerce ministry.

The outlook is even better this year thanks to blockbusters such as Kung Fu Panda 3, which took in 338 million yuan in the first three days in theaters, according to EntGroup Inc. Cinemas reported a 47 percent jump in total sales in January from a year earlier, according to the Beijing-based entertainment industry research firm.

Sausages, Refrigerators

Meanwhile, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. rang up 2.1 billion “special purchases” in late January ranging from smoked sausage to refrigerators. The online marketplace features a range of goods and presents for the holiday, which is also known as Spring Festival.

Consumers born after 1980 made 81 percent of those purchases, according to the Hangzhou-based company. Clothes made up 36 percent of items transacted while food accounted for 15 percent. While urban youths favored wearable digital products, migrant workers bought home appliances for their rural families, according to Alibaba’s report.

As some travel tallies are poised to break records, harsh winter weather may put a dent in rail travel. Snow in northern China caused delays in the nation’s massive rail network this week, leaving as many as 100,000 travelers stranded Monday at the train station in the southern city of Guangzhou, according to a statement from the city’s police.

I get fridges, but sausages?

[r.(shaolin)]

Wishing all of you health and happiness in the Year of Monkey!

[GeneChing]

[GeneChing]

Welcome back Stephen!

China just had its biggest day EVER at the box office, taking in 660 million yuan



Cinema-goers overachieved this Lunar New Year's Day, with box office takings on Monday outdoing last year's single-day record by 78%. Stephen Chow's The Mermaid dominated with the best opening-day performance for a Chinese film ever.
According to EntGroup data, box office gross on Monday totalled 660 million yuan ($100.5 million), with The Mermaid taking most of that profit at $40.9 million. It's set an opening-day record in the country for a Chinese-language film, and is second only overall to the opening-day performance of Furious 7 last year.
A distant runner-up to The Mermaid was Chow Yun Fat's The Man From Macau 3, which raked in $26.9 million.
And a close third place was The Monkey King 2, at $25 million.
Meanwhile, DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda 3 has already faded from the spotlight, grossing just $2.9 million on NY Day. It also saw a 70% slump in performance in its second weekend, pulling in a mere $15.1 million from Friday to Sunday.
But while the top three enjoyed a combined screening total of 186,718 on Monday, Kung Fu Panda 3 was disadvantaged with just 9212 showings. Overall it's achieved $106.3 million over an 11-day period.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Shanghaiist in News on Feb 10, 2016 12:00 PM

[GeneChing]

See our WINNERS: Year of the Monkey T-shirts thread.

[GeneChing]

I can't imagine these make good pets. Ever hear Richard Pryor's routine about keeping a monkey as a pet? (NSFW)

Year of the Mini-Monkey? Newly wealthy in China illegally purchase endangered primates from the Amazon
by Danny Kichi on Fri, Feb 12, 2016



It seems that some folks are taking the Year of the Monkey a little too far. With their newly acquired wealth, an alarming number of the nouveau riche in China are paying loads of money for the smallest monkeys in the world, either to own as pets or to give them away as gifts. Granted, these tiny primates are super cute, but the problem is that they're endangered, and any transaction involving them is very illegal.

Native to the western Amazon Basin in South America, the five-inch tall pygmy marmoset is the smallest monkey and one of the smallest primates in the world. Weighing only about 100 grams, they are called "thumb monkeys" by locals, as they often will cling onto a person's hand when being held. As cute as they are, they are also endangered, which is why the buying and selling of them is against the law. Because of the habitat of where these little monkeys are from, forcing them to live in anywhere else is highly unethical, especially when the environment cannot be controlled. They have a very specific diet, and raising them is not easy. Because of some decline in local populations, they have been put on an endangered list by the International Union for Conservation, but fortunately, the threat of major decline at this moment is very minimal.

However, concern for these creatures' well-being is not shared by all. The pygmy marmoset has become somewhat of a trend amongst the super-rich in China, many of whom pay up to 30,000 yuan, or about 4,500 US dollars, to own one. Once purchased, they are given away as New Year's gifts or kept as accessories to be flaunted to those not wealthy enough or not inconsiderate enough to buy their own.

The bottom line is that these mini-monkeys are meant to be living in the Amazon, in their natural habitat, not in China or anywhere else. No matter how small, some animals just aren't meant to be pets.

[GeneChing]

She's 49 now? wow.

Bai Ling dresses up in fuzzy pink monkeys and nothing else to celebrate CNY



Chinese American actress Bai Ling -- known mainly for finding new and innovative ways to just barely conceal her private parts, has really outdone herself for CNY this year. Check out this Facebook post:

Bai Ling
about a week ago



‪#‎actress‬ ‪#‎Bailing‬ ‪#‎celebrate‬ her ‪#‎chinesenewyear‬ the year of ‪#‎monkey‬ with her ‪#‎super‬ ‪#‎hot‬ ‪#‎pink‬ new ‪#‎fashion‬ monkey ‪#‎bra‬ in beverlyHills going to a monkey Chinese party 😜👍🎥🎬 💋💋 haha it's crazy I know but it's the monkey wild mischievous fun spirit for the ‪#‎newer‬ 2016 hope you like it😁👏 the ‪#‎news‬ got to ‪#‎china‬ allover the ‪#‎internet‬ wow so crazy many ‪#‎paparazzi‬ have long lens in the car just driving around in ‪#‎beverlyhills‬ trying to catch action crazy I saw one, but did not see this one who take this ‪#‎photo‬ but my Chinese friend got it to me from Chinese Internet can't have your own ‪#‎privacy‬ anymore 😇😱😝
More to come in the morning 💋💋
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We aren't entirely sure, but we think that she may be trying to communicate the fact that photos of her posing in tasteful fluffy pink monkey underwear have gone viral in China during CNY.
To stand out more, maybe David Cameron should try this route in 2016:







Apparently this is how she celebrates most holidays, sadly no Presidents Day pics though:



Bai Ling is now 49 years old, just one year younger than China's hottest grandmother:


[Images via Facebook]
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By Alex Linder in News on Feb 17, 2016 6:30 PM

[GeneChing]

...when the internet is awesome.

Drunk monkey armed with kitchen knife chases bar patrons
By Ben Hooper | Feb. 17, 2016 at 1:22 PM


A monkey in Brazil drank a glass of rum in a bar and stole a kitchen knife he used to chase men. Screenshot: Jozivan Antero/YouTube

PATOS, Brazil, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Firefighters were called to a bar in Brazil to remove a drunk and belligerent monkey that downed a glass of rum and armed itself with a kitchen knife.

The local fire department in Patos, Paraiba, said they were called to a bar Feb. 5 on a report of an aggressive monkey with a kitchen knife chasing men.

Fire deparment Lt. Col. Saul Laurentino said the monkey drank a glass of rum at the bar before picking up the knife and chasing after men, leaving the women alone.

"It was a bar staff oversight that ended with the monkey drinking some rum and taking the knife," Laurentino told the aRede website.

Locals captured video of the monkey using the kitchen knife to scratch at the bar's roof.

The monkey was captured by firefighters and released back into the wild, but the mischievous primate was later captured a second time for acting aggressively toward residents of homes near the woods.

Local authorities said they are now working to determine whether the monkey will be released again or taken into permanent captivity.