MISHMASH

AN ANCIENT GATE THAT BARES ITS TEETH

There is a well-known anecdote inJourney to the West: when the Monkey King offended a God and was hunted down, he transformed himself into a small temple but still couldn’t get away. When this photo of a 100-year-old building in Xi’an became popular online, people couldn’t help wondering whether this was exactly what the Monkey King turned into—not exactly the best disguise. The building used to be a village entrance gate in Xi’an City, where there were once many gates but the brutal march of progress has seen many dismantled, leaving only this one. Indeed, how cruel it would be to dismantle such a cute, teeth-baring gate? - GINGER HUANG (黄原竟).

WHO NEEDS CHENGGUAN WHEN THERE’S DOG-GUAN?

Tropical storm Trami sent a little dog into hiding in a park in Fujian Province this August. Park workers named him Ludan (卤蛋, soy sauce egg) after his favorite food. It turned out that Ludan got a new job along with his new home. He quickly set about guarding the park against ticket evaders, easily distinguishing those who bought tickets from those who did not. He would furiously start barking if anyone was acting suspiciously and once even pulled the shoe off a man trying to jump the wall, dutifully delivering it to his new masters and foiling the wall-jumpers plan. Ever vigilant, Ludan is currently working overtime and has been spotted on video surveillance, cruising the park for trespassers at night. - G.H.

A CITY DETERMINED TO STAY IN THE PAST

Changsha is the capital city of Hunan Province and the hometown of Mao Zedong. Decades after Mao’s era, the city is still charged with blood-boiling revolutionary spirit. The city loves parades and sloganshouting in the Cultural Revolutionary style more than anywhere else, and it always looks back at Mao’s era with profound nostalgia. Following a series of protests in May, in which protesters tagged an economist holding critical views of Mao a “dirty traitor”, Changsha made another move paying tribute to the 1950s in October: setting up a 30-meter tall sculpture of Lei Feng (雷锋), the moral idol of the 1960s, at the crossing of Lei Feng Road. In propaganda materials, Lei Feng allegedly spent his lifetime doing various good deeds. The new sculpture is built as a symbol of the immortality of Lei’s spirit—gazing over the city’s prosperous transformations. - G.H.

MOONCAKES RUINING MOONCAKE DAY

Mooncakes—the traditional food eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival—may have its fans (not that we know any), but for most young Chinese, the hard, greasy cakes are simply the food you have to quietly swallow for tradition’s sake—like the English and Brussels sprouts at Christmas. For some, mooncake fillings can just about pass as edible, but as culinary delights go,wuren(五仁, five kinds of nuts) flavor is up there alongside poison. An online slogan, “Wuren, get out of the mooncake family!” (五仁，滚出月饼界！Wǔrén, gǔn chū yuèbingjiè!) became a headline for numerous newspapers on the holiday. But it didn’t damage sales;wurenmoon cakes remain a firm favorite of the older generation. Looks like the young’uns are going to stick with re-gifting for now. - G.H.

FAN BINGBING FANS FAN AIRPORT CONFUSION

Two women were recently detained at Zhuhai Customs, Guangzhou, as they looked nothing like their passport photos and instead both resembled Chinese film star, Fan Bingbing (范冰冰). While one of the fake Fans was being investigated, passengers kept approaching her and asking if she was the real deal. Fan is considered one of China’s most beautiful women and is the go-to face for people wanting plastic surgery. As the customs official said:“By 10 am, we already encountered two women who looked like Fan Bingbing, but the number of Fan Bingbings passing each day is many more than that.” - G.H.

ACHY BREAKY HEART

subway station recently

complaints about its music; for three years it has repeatedly played a song called“A Friendly Break-up” (《好心分手》Hǎoxīn Fēnshǒu), making the station torture for many. The station responded by saying it has other songs but a station employee decided to play this song continuously when he broke up with his girlfriendthree years ago. Why he thought playing a song about a break-up non-stop for three years would help is anyone’s guess. In an interview with theOriental Morning Postthe employee’s colleague said: “I’m sick of the song too. It has been three years, and we hoped he would come out of the trauma of the relationship sooner.” The station has now stopped playing the song, opting for classical piano instead. - G.H.