International

VW's People's Car Project Ad Campaign Really Gets a Round

by China.new

Volkswagen gets back to their roots with “The People's Car Project”, an innovative multimedia ad campaign that's turning heads and winning praise in – where else – the People's Republic of China.

2 comments

Campbell's Noodle Chicken, the Cup Noodle Without the Can

by Steve Levenstein

Cross Campbell's classic canned Chicken Noodle Soup with Japan's iconic rehydrate-able Cup Noodle ramen and what do you get? Campbell's Noodle Chicken, of course, and you CAN get it... but only at Japanese Costco stores.

Portrait Of 60s Protester Adds Perspective To Occupy Movement In Song

by Ron Callari

Where have all the protest songs gone? Are they still blowing in the wind, or have new ones surfaced to chronicle life's current strife? While it seems like only yesterday, it's actually been over 40 years since Americans felt angry and disenfranchised enough to assemble in solidarity and protest against injustice and greed.

Chinese Compensation Scheme Saves Wild Predators, Reimburses Herdsmen

by China.new

Cry wolf, prey tell? China's innovative compensation program has proven to be a roaring success, protecting endangered wildlife as well as the pocketbooks of farmers and herders.

China Celebrates 'Singles Day' on November 11th

by China.new

If it's true misery loves company, get yourself to China on November 11th for Singles Day! A pop culture holiday of relatively recent origin, Singles Day (Guang Gun Jie in Chinese) celibates, er, celebrates the unmarried and unattached.

2 comments

Eco-Friendly Heat Pad Pencil Combo Composts As You Compose

by Steve Levenstein

Care to shave a few cents off your monthly heating bill? Looking to be the next hot writer? Say “yes!” to both, provided your purple prose is penned with the Heat Pad Pencil!

Japan's Top Pop Singing Group Invites Fans to Make Babies With Them

by Steve Levenstein

AKB48, Japan's wildly popular all-girl idol group, wants to make babies with their fans! Introducing "AKBaby", a curiously creepy app that lets fans - for a low monthly subscription fee to their new ISP service - merge a photo of their face with that of a favorite AKB48 member, thus creating the face of "their" baby.

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Faux Apple iShampo for 'Original, Revolutionary, Surprising and Elegant' Hair

by China.new

Introducing “iShampo”, yet another Apple tribute (copy, knockoff, ripoff) that seeks to parlay the promotional power of the iconic tech colossus. Why change the world again today when you can change your hair care regimen tomorrow?

2 comments

Free Solar-Powered TV Sets Bring Programs to China's Western Nomads

by China.new

Thousands of solar-powered TV sets complete with solar panels, batteries and satellite receivers have been donated to ethnic herdsman in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Nomads who've never even seen a TV before can now enjoy 51 channels of programming.

2 comments

Burger King Japan Goes Wide with the Pizza-Size Burger

by Steve Levenstein

What makes a Whopper look wimpy? Burger King Japan's new Pizza-Size Burger, that's what! This 8.8 inch (22cm) wide mega-meal is massive for short but not for long: it's only available from December 8th through 25th... and, sorry to say, only in Japan.

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London's Iconic Red Double-Decker Buses to be Made in China

by China.new

There's no better way to see the sights of London than from the open top of a red double-decker bus, no matter that the bus in question is made in China. A landmark deal signed by Britain's Big Bus Tours sightseeing company will see 34 shiny new Chinese-made buses hit the streets of swingin' London just in time for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

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10 Overly Cute Japanese School Buses That Go the Extra Smile

by Steve Levenstein

Too cute for school? Not in Japan, where settling at mere cuteness means you're not trying hard enough. That high-pitched sound you're hearing isn't a school bus in need of a brake job, just its pint-sized passengers squealing "KAWAII!" in unison.

6 comments

China's First Mars Mission Prepares to Explore the Red Planet

by China.new

China's first Mars exploration probe, Yinghuo-1, will be launched in early November along with Russia's Fobos-Grunt sample return spacecraft. The mission to the Red Planet is just the latest great leap forward – or should we say, outward – for the ambitious Chinese space program.

Classy or Crass? China Cranks Out Steve Jobs Memorial iPhone and iPad Covers

by China.new

Was it a crass way to commemorate a class act or a stroke of entrepreneurial genius anticipating huge public demand? Within mere hours of Apple founder and tech icon Steve Jobs passing away, memorial iPhone and iPad covers were flooding out of Chinese factories and onto retail store shelves.

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Flu-fighting Egg Yolk Antibody Lozenges Help Lick Influenza

by Steve Levenstein

Anti-influenza lozenges made with egg yolk antibodies are now being sold in Japan, just in time for flu season. The lifesaver-shaped "Barrifull" lozenges are said to be particularly effective when you're stuck in a crowd of coughing, sneezing commuters.

China's Gift-Givers Prefer Prepaid Vouchers Over Gift Cards

by China.new

With gift cards coming under increased governmental scrutiny, prepaid gift vouchers have emerged as a favorite way to give gifts in China. They make perfect sense, too: why buy a heavy box of perishable mooncakes when you can give a gift voucher that's just as valuable?

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Chinese Demonstrators Support 'Occupy Wall Street' Protesters

by China.new

Call it “Occupy Great Wall Street”: Hundreds of Chinese citizens recently held a rally in the city of Zhengzhou, ostensibly to support the ongoing and growing Occupy Wall Street movement in the United States.

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Beijing to Build 42,000 Electric Car Charging Posts Within 5 Years

by China.new

Chaaarge it!! Beijing is becoming China's “Electric City”, at least where drivers are concerned. An ambitious plan to set up 42,000 new electric car charging posts by 2015 intends to match the current number of gas stations in China's bustling capitol.

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Real Estate Spam Drives Chinese to the Nuthouse & the Outhouse

by China.new

A real estate bubble? In my China? It's more likely than you think, and real estate agents are feeling the heat. Overbuilt condo communities, housing estates and planned cities remain vacant as China's consumers keep a tight hold on their wallets while a slowing economy has got spenders spooked. The solution? Spam, spam and more spam!

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Obama Fried Chicken, You're Gonna Get Served!

by China.new

Why call on a mere Kentucky Colonel when you can chow down on chicken cooked by the Commander In Chief? Obama Fried Chicken was set up to serve students from nearby Beijing Aerospace City College campus... unless KFC China's lawyers "serve" the store's owners first.