The Nanfang Home

The Nanfang / Blog

Guangzhou

1cm-Long Pig’s Tooth Ends Up in Guangzhou Woman’s Lunch

Posted: 08/15/2014 9:07 am

The pig tooth found in A Ming’s lunch take-out (right)

In addition to the long list of hair, bugs, flies and even condoms found in meals while splurging on street food, a pig tooth is the latest free addition that came with a cheap lunch take-out.

A woman in Guangzhou found the chomper in her lunch from a local restaurant, reported Guangzhou Daily on August 14.

The woman, named Ah Ming, ordered take-out for pork ribs and egg-wrapped rice from a nearby diner in Zhujiang New City. After just a few bites, Ah Ming felt a twinge in her mouth, and spitted out a suspicious “hard material” only to find it was an intact gross-looking tooth.

Several of Ah Ming’s lunch pals vomited at the sight of this 1cm-long tooth that they suspected to be human. Ah Ming sent the tooth to a nearby dental clinic and found that it was a in fact a pig’s tooth.

The owner of the diner explained that the tooth might have accidently dropped into the dish while chopping the meat. Nonetheless, they refunded Ah Ming’s cost for lunch.

Photos: Guangzhou Daily

Haohao
Tagged:

Travel From Guangzhou to Macau By Helicopter In Only 45 Minutes

Posted: 08/11/2014 4:48 pm

There are already a number of ways for people to navigate between cities in the Pearl River Delta. But soon, there will be one more choice for those wanting to hit the baccarat tables in Macau: a Guangzhou-Macau helicopter service.

The new service is expected to begin at the end of September, reports iFeng, connecting Guangzhou Baiyun Airport with the Macau International Airport. The whole journey is only 45 minutes.

As the helicopter will fly at a height of only 300 meters or lower, sight-seeing will be spectacular (provided there isn’t much pollution). Passengers will see great views of Baiyun Mountain, the Pearl River, the the coast down to Zhuhai.

The chartered flights are to be operated by Nanfang Airlines Corporation using helicopters from the Pearl River Helicopter Company. Future planned routes include flights to Hong Kong, Shunde, Dongguan, and Yangjiang.

The cost of ticket has yet to be determined.

Photo: cnr

Haohao
Tagged:

100 Magicians Descend on Guangzhou for Magic Festival

Posted: 08/8/2014 9:47 am

The Second Annual Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau-Taiwan Magic Festival of 2014 will be taking place at the end of the month in Guangzhou. From August 30 to September 3, over 100 magicians will be performing at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in the city.

As part of the festival, there will be magic competitions, magic salons, a magic prop exhibition, an awards ceremony and just about every kind of magic-affiliated activity that would draw the curiosity of your average magic aficionado.

Tickets start at RMB 80 and up, and knowing this is a magic festival, are liable to… vanish!

Photo: Guangzhou Propagation

Haohao
Tagged:

Man Violently Beats Wife in Ugly Public Scene in Guangzhou

Posted: 06/30/2014 8:57 am

The man in white dragged his wife by the hair for dozens of meters.

On June 27, a man in Baiyun District of Guangzhou was seen beating and stomping on his wife’s stomach in public and dragging her by the hair for dozens of meters in broad daylight in front of their son,  Guangdong TV reported on June 29.

The violence went on for more than 10 minutes. While the man was dragging the woman along the road, the woman was carrying her son on her back. This caused the boy to sustain bruises and bleeding to his scalp according to witnesses quoted in the report, but this did not stop the man from laying his hands on his son, the witness said.

Although the man’s mother arrived and tried to stop the beating, the man continued to beat the woman with the intent to “beat her to death,” another witness told the TV station.

It was not immediately known what caused the violent beating, but a neighbour said it was a “family matter”. We have noticed increasing reports on domestic violence in Guangzhou driving up divorce rates and child abuse in the city. Despite bystanders recording the beating on their phones, it appears no one offered to help.

Photos: Guangdong TV

Haohao
Tagged:

PRD’s Contribution to the World Cup: Footballs and Condoms

Posted: 06/13/2014 7:14 pm

brazica ball football world cupTheChinese National Football Team can stop moping over its exclusion from the World Cup as the Pearl River Delta has found a way to represent China at the world’s biggest sporting event: by supplying the tournament’s official footballs and condoms.

While these two products have nothing in common, their production exhibits the Chinese pride that won’t be excluded, qualifying rounds be damned.

The “Samba Glory” from Shenzhen

The footballs used in the previous World Cup came under tremendous scrutiny for providing substandard performance. Called the Jabulani, the ball was criticized by Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano as being “supernatural” and for having unpredictable trajectories. This has led to a high-tech redesign of the official World Cup football—called the Brazuca—that has involved NASA wind tunnels and aerodynamic experts.

However, this official football designed and licensed by Adidas has humble roots, hailing from an undisclosed plastics factory in the Gongming Tianliao Industrial Area on Shenzhen’s west side. In fact, there is so much secrecy at this factory that many of its own workers don’t even know that the official World Cup ball is produced here.

A worker named Ah Ju confirmed to a reporter with the Yangcheng Evening Report that the official World Cup ball is made in a second floor workshop near the main entrance by a small group of ten workers, mostly women. The workers are sworn to secrecy, and the workroom is a restricted area that is sometimes guarded by security.

world cup football factory

Even though the high-tech research and development that went into this football was very expensive, the production and labor costs at the “Asian X Plastic Company of Shenzhen” remain low. Workers that make the official World Cup football only earn a monthly wage of RMB 3,000 (US$483), and are expected to work regular overtime and half-days on Saturdays.

Called “Samba Glory” in Chinese, the ball retails for RMB 1,299 (US$209) in China, meaning that workers would only be able to afford to purchase two of the footballs they make every month. However, as Ah Ju points out, progress has been made.

As confirmed by a company representative, the same factory had the honor of making the official football for the last World Cup, which cost RMB 1,080 (US$174). As Ah Ju points out, however, the workers were only earning a monthly wage of RMB 2,000 (US$322) back then, meaning things have improved.

World Cup Condom Kings

world cup condomsMoving on from balls and getting to the meat of the matter, the Pearl River Delta’s other connection to the World Cup is a factory in Guangzhou that supplies another vital product, although one used when games aren’t underway: the condom.

A Guangzhou company named Double One (Shuangyi) has been approved by the Brazilian government to be its sole supplier of condoms, reports Southern Metropolis Daily.

Located in Shuangyi, Huadu District, Double One takes up a total space of 130,000 square meters.  The latex factory has eight production lines to meet demand and soon hopes to expand to ten. In fact, Double One has deep roots with the World Cup. Back when South Africa hosted the games in 2010, this same company supplied 35 million condoms.

China is one of the top condom producers in the world. China sold 10 billion condoms in 2012, 25% of all sales in the world at that time.

Brazilians apparently demand high quality condoms, as they were described by the Southern Metropolis Daily as being from an ”extremely sexually-open country”.

Rules for the world’s most popular pastime remain the same: one in the net will end the game.

Photos: Yangcheng Evening Report, Southern Daily, Myactivesg

Haohao
Tagged:

3D Magic City Arrives in Guangzhou

Posted: 05/23/2014 12:05 pm

Life is so dull. Realism is so limiting. What we need are groovy optical illusions, and that’s what visitors can expect at the 3D Magic City, newly opened in Guangzhou. The exhibit showcases 70 3D paintings made by 20 South Korean artists over a six-month time period, and lets visitors become part of the paintings.

Now visitors can enjoy an elaborate personalized one-point perspective illusions without the harassment from buskers! Chalk it up to an appreciation for all things nouveau, but Guangzhou residents can’t wait to exhibit their extroverted natures as clearly explained in a handy user guide at this exhibit.

I mean who wouldn’t jump at the chance to be in control of a Chinese guy throwing around kuai? (shown above) 

Or this picture, where visitors can pretend to be tomorrow’s WeChat picture post of tonight’s dinner.

Are you into classic beauties? Bring home a nice girl for mom with this scene inspired by Renoir’s Boating Party.

Shrink your expectations with a movie-tie in.

Or fly out of a scene in a TV that is itself floating Up in the air.

The exhibit is divided into many different theme halls including Celebrity Hall and Dinosaur Hall, but we’re most interested in wherever this illusion (above) is located. A giant Medusa with a bikini top who has turned one warrior to stone, and has already half-changed another one hiding behind a rock. The visitor’s role is to wield a massive spear and plunge it towards the Medusa, ensuring certain death?

We’re sold. The only thing holding us back is the lack of snake abs.

Photos: ChinaDaily

Haohao
Tagged:

Dairy farmers in Foshan feeding cows oxytocin

Posted: 03/28/2014 2:00 pm

A self-claimed vet injects oxytocin into a cow at the farm.

Recently, we told you about the industrial salt being passed off as table salt throughout Guangdong. The most recent staple to watch for however, is your milk.

About 300 kilograms of cow milk injected with oxytocin may have been sold to Shunde, Guangzhou and other cities in Guangdong Province, New Express Daily reported on March 27.

An unlicensed dairy farm in Gaoming district in Foshan has been using the hormone on cows to increase the amount of milk extracted. The drug, often used on women to induce labour, is injected into cows to induce muscle contraction around the cows’ nipples, causing milk ejection out of the glands and milk ducts.

A self-professed vet working on the farm told the newspaper’s undercover reporter that they typically use the drug on the cows twice a day to help extract milk. When injected with the drug, cows are often able to produce milk in as little as 15 minutes, said the vet.

When asked by the reporter about the appropriate dosage used, the vet said: “We are quite familiar with what quantity to use. After all, when you use too much, it’s simply a waste of the drug.”

A woman working on the farm told the undercover reporter that about 200 kilos of milk extracted in the morning would be sold to Shunde, and 100 kilos produced in the afternoon would be distributed to Guangzhou. They also supply some milk tea shops (奶茶店), she said.

The potential health consequences of consuming the contaminated milk were not specified in the story, but according to a report by the Indian newspaper, Economic Times, sustained consumption of oxytocin can cause a hormonal imbalance in humans and may harm the reproductive system of animals, thus reducing their life span.

An article by Care2, a US social web portal for green issues, said a substantial part of the oxytocin injected into cows can seep into milk, and children are particularly susceptible to its harmful effects. Side effects include: imbalanced hearing, reduced vision, and lethargy.

Besides oxytocin, the reporter at the farm witnessed the use of antibiotics, vitamins, Chinese herbal medicines and penicillin.

Home page and content photo credit: New Express Daily

Haohao
Tagged:

Nigerian man caught using Chinese girlfriend to smuggle drugs out of Guangdong

Posted: 03/26/2014 8:58 am

It’s often hard to find someone with that special something that draws you towards him or her. But that was not the case for a Nigerian man caught by police in Guangzhou for drug trafficking. He knew exactly what he was looking for in a girlfriend – a perfect drug mule.

According to a report by China News, the Nigerian man, whose name was not disclosed in the report, deliberately sought Chinese women as girlfriends and lured them to help him smuggle drugs by mailing packages of drugs abroad, the report said.

In order to further reduce police suspicion, the drug dealer would ask his girlfriend to send a package from Zhuhai instead of Guangzhou where he lives.

The Nigerian man was arrested after police officers at Gongbei Customs Department seized a mail package containing more than 600 grams of crystal meth sent from Zhuhai to Malaysia in January this year. After a two month investigation, the couple was arrested at an apartment they shared in Baiyuan district in Guangzhou on March 18.

This, however, is not the first time a drug dealer used Chinese girlfriends to cover his drug trail. In 2006, a Nigerian man in Guangzhou was sentenced to death for dealing drugs. His Chinese girlfriend also received a death penalty with a two-year reprieve for assisting the illegal trade, China Daily reported in 2006.

Home page photo credit: CBC

Haohao
Tagged:

Serious about terrorism, Guangdong holds largest training session ever for police

Posted: 03/25/2014 9:11 am

Guangdong is really getting serious about quashing any terror threats, and it is mobilising police forces from the county level and up to be prepared for any threat.

About 200 local police bureau chiefs from various counties, districts and cities in Guangdong just gathered at a police academy in Haizhu district for an intense week long training session ended on March 23, the largest scale training of its kind for county-level police chiefs in 10 years, Guangzhou Daily reported on March 24.

In addition to terrorism, the subjects covered during the training include national security and stability, analysis of national security status, police anti corruption and response to public opinions.

Li Chunsheng, vice governor of Guangdong and its provincial police chief, reinforced the importance of anti-terrorism in his first lecture to the 196 police heads in the wake of the Kunming knife attack on March 1. He said the attack was an example that terrorism threats are right in front of us. He urged patrolling police to act “swiftly and resolutely” towards terrorists, the report said.

Following this, the province is planning to roll out another series of training sessions for officers handling emergencies.

Home page photo credit: Guangzhou Daily 

Haohao
Tagged:

Guangzhou baby hatch flooded with abandoned babies, forced to stop taking any more

Posted: 03/24/2014 9:37 am

In a case of something being too successful, the Guangzhou Baby Hatch, which opened in January, is closing its doors after being flooded with abandoned babies.

Staff at the facility, where parents can drop off babies they don’t want with the understanding they will be cared for, say they were overwhelmed with the number of babies being dropped off.

Since opening, 261 babies were left at the facility, according to UPI:

Using a “baby hatch,” a person can bring a baby to the facility, which is equipped with an incubator, a bed and an air conditioner. The baby is placed inside and an alarm button is activated. The person then leaves and welfare officials retrieve the baby within 10 minutes.

There were signs the Guangzhou baby hatch would be well-used only a few weeks after it opened. As we reported in February:

The baby hatch, located in front of the Guangzhou Social Welfare Institute, is about 50 meters away from the Welfare Institute’s security room. So far the abandoned babies range from two days to five years old, with many suffering from diseases or other abnormalities like a cleft lip and palate, cerebral palsy, congenital heart disease and down’s syndrome. Of the 33 dropped off, there were 22 boys and 11 girls. Two have been taken to hospital for medical care, two over-aged kids have been sent to relief stations and the rest have been checked by doctors and appear to be stable.

The Guardian says abandoning a baby in China is illegal, but some parents feel they have no other option:

Xu Jiu, the director of the Guangzhou Child Welfare Centre, said it had taken in 262 children since it opened on 28 January. All the babies – 67% of whom were less than a year old – had varying degrees of illness. More than 90% survived.

The influx of children has nearly doubled the centre’s workload, Xu said, preventing it from offering every baby appropriate care. The centre, which has 1,000 beds, is currently sheltering 1,100 children.

There are now dozens of baby hatch facilities in China, including one in Shenzhen.

 

Haohao
Tagged:
Popular Stories
AROUND THE WEB
Keep in Touch

What's happening this week in Shenzhen, Dongguan and Guangzhou? Sign up to be notified when we launch the This Week @ Nanfang newsletter.

sign up for our newsletter

Nanfang TV