The Beijinger Blog - Coco Kou

Beijing News Bits: The Nike "S.B.", Panjiayuan Flea Market, Crowded Subways and No More Wedding Pics

thebeijinger — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:00:00 +0800

laonei.com: Who You Callin' SB?

"Perhaps the most horribly-named shoe in history, the Nike SB Dunk Mid “Beijing” has recently been unveiled. Unfortunately, the designers at Triumvir and Nike SB apparently didn’t realize that in Chinese, and especially among Beijingers, SB is very common slang for “stupid c*nt” because it’s the first letters of these words in Chinese (sha bi) ..."

Around the Net

Jerry — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:00:00 +0800

Xinhuanet: Heaviest Rainstorm of the Year Hits Beijing, No Accidents
“The heaviest rainstorm of the year hit Beijing from Thursday night through early Friday early, with downtown areas having the most rainfall, said the municipalweather service Friday. Zhang Mingying, chief engineer with Beijing Municipal Weather Service, said it rained hard at 11 p.m. Thursday and 3 a.m. Friday, with areas around Chang'an Avenue, a west-east landmark thoroughfare in the national capital, having a rainfall between 80 mm to 100 mm. In the suburbs of Yanqing, Mentougou and Changping, however, it rained slightly.”

Around the Net

thebeijinger — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:00:11 +0800

Echinacities: Zhongnanhai Bodyguards

Echinacities has a series of photos from the Chinese press showing the President and Premier’s various bodyguards, including this shot of one of Wen Jiabao’s female bodyguards, complete with concealed handgun, 007 style.

Tuesday's Film Roundup: Painted Skin and the Double Ninth Festival

thebeijinger — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:00:43 +0800

Film News

Box Office Success for Painted Skin
There really wasn't much to watch at the cinema over the holidays, and Painted Skin (Hua Pi) took advantage of the lack of competition to become the third fastest domestic release to break the RMB 100 million mark at the box office. It only took the film 6 days to achieve the amount, coming in behind this year's first installment of Red Cliff and Zhang Yimou's The Curse of the Golden Flower.

Double Ninth Festival
Speaking of Zhang Yimou’s gory blockbuster, those who have seen the film (well, at least when not distracted by Gong Li’s heavy breathing and cleavage), were probably impressed by the climactic massacre scene that took place on a square covered in chrysanthemum flowers. In fact the bloody climax of the film takes place on the traditional Chongyang Jie or Double Ninth Festival, a day which has a strong connection with the golden flower. Celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the festival has its origins in the Warring States Period (475-221) and is also regarded as a festival for old people.

Tuesday's Film Roundup

thebeijinger — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:30:33 +0800

Film News

Beijing Screenings
A showcase for Chinese films, Beijing Screenings is mainly aimed at getting foreign distribution for Chinese films. The organizing committee has invited hundreds of guests from 22 countries and regions to join the event including representatives from the Cannes, Venice and Shanghai Film Festivals. Industry insiders will get a sneak preview of Chen Kaige’s long-awaited Mei Lanfang along with 60 other films. Starting from today and for the next four days, 40 Chinese movies of varying quality will also being screened publicly at the bargain price of RMB 5 a showing. With films ranging from Feng Xiaogang’s award-winning war flick Assembly through to Crossed Lines a comedy starring Ge You and plenty in between. Follow this link for a full schedule of the films (in Chinese only). RMB 5.
Daily 9am, 11am, 1.30pm, 3.30pm. Xin Dong’an Cinema (6528 1988/1898)

In Other Film News

Despite being critically panned, The Mummy 3 has proven a hit at mainland box offices, where it has been classified as a Chinese film or guochan pian. As of last week, the film had already made RMB 100 million since its opening on Sep 2.

Films Around Town

Screening Times for Films in Beijing – Tuesday Sep 23

(All times and prices have been taken from today’s Beijing News or this website – it would be a good idea to call and confirm details) If you can read Chinese, this is by far the best site to consult.

Tuesday's Film Roundup

thebeijinger — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:10:05 +0800

Film News

Red Cliff has made RMB 360 million at the Chinese box office since opening in early July this year. This makes it not only the most expensive Chinese film ever made but also the highest grossing film in the history of Chinese cinema. By passing the magical 360 million mark, Red Cliff has removed Titanic from the top of the list. The success of the film also helped cinemas across the country achieve their best month on record, with RMB 486 million worth of tickets sold in July.

Moon Gazing: Beijing by Boat

thebeijinger — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 09:39:06 +0800

Last year the central government made some changes to China's system of public holidays, one of the results is that this is the first time that the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu Jie) has been honored with a public holiday. Beijing residents are making the most of the holiday, with train stations and long distance bus stations reporting huge lines. For those remaining in town, taking to the water to admire the full moon on the evening of Mid-Autumn Festival is also proving to be a popular option.

By the time you read this post, most of the popular boating locations are likely to be booked out, but you might be able to find a space at one of the lesser-known wharfs. As you might expect, prices have been raised to meet the increased demand with Houhai wharves raising their prices by up to 3 times the usual price.

Tuesday's Film Roundup

thebeijinger — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:19:49 +0800

Film News

Local singer Helen Feng, best known for fronting rock outfit Ziyo and more recently appearing as vocalist for Pet Conspiracy (in the past, you also might have caught her hosting CCTV 9’s Culture Express), appears in the closing scenes of the new Mummy film. After watching the film last week, I was wondering who the sultry jazz singer serenading dancers in a '30s Shanghai club was, the next day we received an e-mail from Neebing at Song telling us that it was indeed Helen. According to Neebing, Helen also composed the song that she sings in the movie. (My Sweet Eternal Love), you can take a listen to the track here, but you’ll have to go see the movie to see Helen. Well you could also go to Song this coming Thursday as she’ll be performing there with Pet Conspiracy – click here for more details or take a look at this Youtube clip for a taste of what to expect.

Speaking of The Mummy, ChinaSMACK have been combing the interweb for irate Chinese netizens' opinions of the American film starring Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh – and it seems some of them aren’t so taken with the picture.

After the disappointment that was The Forbidden Kingdom (Gongfu zhiwang 功夫之王), Jet Li has decided hang up his acting hat for the rest of the year – he’ll steer clear of teaming up with Jackie Chan again too – and instead devote his time to his charity – the One Foundation.

Tuesday's Film Roundup

thebeijinger — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:35:05 +0800

Film News

The Venice Film Festival got underway this past week, despite a good selection of films from Asia making it to the festival there is nothing from the mainland. However, the Hong Kong produced film Plastic City has been getting a bit of attention, not all of it positive. Some Chinese papers have been reporting that the film is more style than substance and that many viewers "kan bu dong."

Films Around Town
Screening Times for Films in Beijing – Tuesday Sep 26