Trending in Beijing: Hot Pot Kung Fu, Case of the Heating Blues

Original Caiwen Chen theBeijinger

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The fun, the strange, and the what-on-earth-is-this? Trending in Beijing is a wrap-up of top stories in Beijing as told by the trending hashtags, local press, and general power of the internet.

Foreign Jackie Chan fanboys all get Kung Fu on a hot pot restaurant

In a local hot pot restaurant, two foreigners were caught on camera taking out their love for kung fu as well as Jackie Chan, making themselves a scene in front of all the customers.

Netizens were amused with the video hashtagged “Young foreign guys practiced kung fu and attempted to buy a chair after finishing eating hot pot” #外国小伙吃完火锅后打拳买椅子# According to BTV, the two fellows showed off their skills with a display of iconic martial arts movements including shadow boxing, mantis boxing and somersaulting, leaving all the diners and wait staff in awe. The duo even insisted on purchasing the restaurant’s property, a chair in which kung fu mega-star star Jackie Chan had once sat in an earlier visit to the restaurant.

That mask may protect the waiter against pathogens, but not against these moves!

A staff member of the restaurant told BTV that the pair were very disappointed when they were informed that the chair is not for sale.

Some netizens recognized the foreigners from Douyin and Kuaishou, both trending short video apps. “This has to be a staged farce by some wanghong" reads one comment. Other people find the video amusing: “Jackie Chan’s influence in the foreigner community is indeed unparalleled”, commented another Weibo user who reposted the video.

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'Tis the season to complain about central heating

As you may have felt in your very own home, the city's central heating began last week, giving Beijinger's a much-needed toasty night's sleep in these winter months.

While the massive system that powers the heating scheme was once powered by coal-burning boilers, the quiet energy shift to natural gas and electricity has nearly been completed in Beijing with 98 percent of the system now operating on gas.

For ecologists, this is cause for celebration, but many Beijing residents weren’t as happy this the changes. Although regulations stipulate that the central heating should keep room temperature no lower than 18 degrees Celcius, netizens complained that the radiator in their home is “barely working” or “not as warm as before”. One comment read: “the energy is sure cleaner, but in the end we will actually pay more for lower temperature”.

Baby it's cold inside?

Never too old for the road: China nixes age cap on driver's license applications

China’s surging number of seniors are now given a chance to hit the road with their newly issued driver’s license. Previously, while elder driver’s license holders were allowed on the road after turning 70 with a yearly test, grandpas and grannies were never allowed to apply for new licenses or even sign up for a driving school after surpassing that age.

Can an old dog learn new tricks? China's roads are about to find out

As its society ages, China is lifting the limit to stay in tune with most of its developed counterparts with an aging population. According to data from Chinese Ministry of Public Security, the elderly over the age of 60 is the fastest growing demographic in new drivers. The government expects an increase in automobile consumption with the absence of the age cap, to contribute to China’s post-pandemic economic reboot.

The new rule opens up multiple types of driver's licenses apart from the most common private sedan, including the entirely electrical mini vehicles that are often spotted in Beijing's old residential compounds.

Most netizens, who are by their very nature internet-savvy young people, expressed concern over the potential safety issues the new rule may cause over the hashtag “Driver’s license application no longer has age limit” #申请驾照不再有年龄上限#. However, some are more optimistic than the others. “What a big deal is learning to drive?”, commented one Weibo user, “Two old folks in their 70s are running for the president in some other country.”