Trending in BJ: A Canteen Fire, A Year Without a Phone, and More
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) Fire in the Beihang University canteen
A bowl of noodles or your safety? These students have already chosen
A fire erupted at Beihang University in Haidian on Dec 16, with the open flames visible from some distance. Coming just days after the Google office fire, Haidian seems to be prone to such incidents as of late.
However, the Beihang fire went down in history not only because of the accident itself but because of the way students reacted to the emergency. Pictures show students still eating at the canteen while glancing casually at the open flames, rather than fleeing the scene. Others are seen with the trays of food outside even after the evacuation.
Every good spectacle requires a snack
While we also like to make eating a priority, someone should probably arrange a fire safety course at Beihang University. Netizens are sharing their feelings under #食堂起火学生端着菜跑# (shítáng qǐhuǒ xuéshēng duānzhe cài pǎo, when the canteen caught on fire, students were running with trays of food).
2) Would you survive without your phone for a year for USD 100k?
What's the use of mobile phones?
Coca-Cola has launched a competition that encourages customers to curb their phone usage, promising participants USD 100k if they successfully ditch their smartphone for one year and replace them with old-fashioned brick phones. Those who only last six months will receive a consolation prize of USD 10,000. While the competition is only open to customers in the United States, Weibo users are involved in a heated discussion about it under #一年不碰手机可获10万美元# (yī nián bù pèng shǒujī kě huò 10 wàn měiyuán, one year without a phone - you can get USD 100k).
Sure, it seems nearly impossible to imagine anyone actually going through with the plan. Nevertheless, some netizens are willing to take up the challenge. One of them found a crafty solution: "I would ask my grandma to do it." Another worried about his waimai: "But I'm afraid that you can't get any food in China without your phone."
3) Guomao station gets red carpet treatment
Guomao station, in Beijing's CBD district, has received a Hollywood worthy makeover. In an elaborate bit of advertising, every passing passenger is given the star treatment on this faux red carpet, with flashlights installed on the walls that resemble paparazzi snapping pictures, along with images of Chinese stars in the waiting area at the end of the passage.
Netizens are going nuts over the display, and are encouraging each other to stop by and pretend to be famous. Users are attracted not only to the possibility of walking down the red carpet, but also taking a selfie with one of the celebrities. Or their poster, at least. The picture sharing madness is happening under #地铁站变红了# (dìtiě zhàn biàn hóngle, red hot transformation in the subway station).
4) Sculpture from the Old Summer Palace sells for EUR 2.4m in France
A dragon head from the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) has appeared at an auction in Paris, France,the first time a sculpture from the Old Summer Palace had appeared overseas. However, there are doubts that sculpture is, in fact, authentically from the Old Summer Palace. Netizens are also discussing the ways that the sculpture had made it to France in the first place under #圆明园龙首在巴黎首次现身# (yuánmíngyuán lóng shǒu zài bālí shǒucì xiàn shēn, Yuanmingyuan dragon head makes its appearance in Paris).
READ: 2018 Year in Review: The News That Shocked Beijing
Images: Weibo
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