Trending in BJ: Kudos for Kuaidi, 5-Star Hotels Hygiene Scandal
The fun, the strange, and the what-on-earth-is-this: a wrap-up of top stories in Beijing as told by the trending hashtags, local press, and general power of the internet.
1) All eyes on kuaidi
More Black Friday than the original Black Friday itself, the shopping spree in China known as 11.11 or Singles' Day has once again topped records, beating last year's sales and bagging USD 30 billion. While more determined souls ventured into the physical stores to queue for outrageously long amounts of time, online sales were where the action really was. With the frenzy over and payments now made, the buyers have now turned their collective gaze to the courier drivers (locally known as kuaidi) who will deliver their precious packages.
Weibo users are praising the delivery drivers' relentless effort to courier the packages as quickly as possible using the hashtag #快递小哥熬夜抢占快递柜 ("courier stays up late racing for a delivery box") and sharing videos of young drivers sorting packages deep into the night, as well as screenshots of delivery updates at four or five in the morning. One user went as far as to write a poem for the diligent deliverymen, saying, "I haven't woken up – yet the courier has arrived. I am sleeping already – yet you are still delivering goods. A sincere thank you."
Users are sharing the screenshots with the time of kuaidi updates
While some users were impressed by the no-rest-no-sleep policy of the couriers, others were annoyed by having their packages delivered late in the evening. Others remained unimpressed completely and just shrugged their shoulders saying: "Well, it's their job and they are eager to finish it as soon as possible to go home."
2) Maids caught on camera using guest towels to clean five-star hotel bathrooms
High-class hotels in Beijing, Shanghai, and other cities have come under scrutiny again after multiple incriminating videos (via Weibo) surfaced online earlier this week. Footage from big-name hotels, mostly in first-tier cities, including Conrad Hotel Beijing, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, and others, show maids failing to uphold the hotel's hygiene standards – or flagrantly ignoring them – while on duty.
The video shows maids using the same towel to wipe down the bathroom, and then the cups
The majority of the hotels contacted after the publication claim they are looking into the issue. One Weibo user said that he has has been staying in hotels for the last six years and that the problem of lack of hygiene standards affect almost 100 percent of the industry. According to him, even though regulations are in place, they are rarely strictly implemented.
3) Fourteen-year-old Cambodian language prodigy invited to Beijing
A young Cambodian boy named Thaksin has gone viral on the Chinese internet after being recorded speaking numerous languages to a tourist in an effort to have them buy souvenirs. While details about the boy and his language abilities vary from source to source (SCMP states he is nine years old and can speak 12 languages, while Sinchew claimed he is, in fact, 14 years old and speaks 15 languages), the video has not gone unnoticed and was picked up by a media agency who has invited Thaksin for an all-expenses-paid visit to Beijing.
Thaksin pictured with a Chinese tourist
According to Guangming Daily, Thaksin dreams of studying at Peking University and out of all the languages he speaks, likes Chinese the most. The little prodigy and his brother do not only speak Chinese but can even sing songs in Mandarin. The brothers claim they learned Mandarin purely by selling souvenirs and talking to tourists. That certainly puts us five-years-in-Beijing-and-still-no-Mandarin speakers to shame.
4) Beijing courtyard kindergarten to be transformed into a "floating playground"
Central Beijing courtyards are not famous for their abundant living space, and can often even come dangerously close to uninhabitable. However, the tighter the space, the wilder the fantasy, and Chinese architects are working on a kindergarten in the heart of the hutongs that looks like something akin to a pinball machine. The ambitious project, underway in Beijing's courtyards, is expected to be completed and open for business in the autumn of next year.
Instead of following an oh-too-familiar way of demolishing the old courtyard buildings and starting from scratch, the architects will play around with existing forms and construct the contemporary playground around it. As such, the roof is to become an elevated or "floating" adventure background, while the libraries, classrooms, and other facilities will be housed underneath.
This city changes fast. Stay up to date with Beijing's latest openings and closings, right here:
Images: Weibo, Chinaso (via n8.cmsfile.pg0.cn)
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