Snowstorms and record-low temperatures hit north China

Heavy snowstorms hit north China at the weekend amidst a sudden drop in temperatures. Beijing saw its lowest temperatures in a decade, with recordings showing minus five degrees Celsius on Saturday night. The snow led to picturesque scenes in many places, but also caused severe travel disruption and road closures.

Chinese esports team wins League of Legends crown

Online gamers celebrated the hard-won victory of EDG, a Chinese esports team, over Korean team DK in the final of the 2021 League Of Legends World Championship. Within two days, the hashtag “EDG won the championship” garnered nearly 3 billion views and 3.9 million comments on social media platform Weibo.

Man detained for picture of dog dressed as police

Police detained a man in Qingtongxia city, Ningxia, for nine days after he posted a gif of a dog photoshopped into a police uniform, on a WeChat group with another 300 members. The man had posted the gif during a conversation complaining about Covid-19 measures in a housing compound. He was detained on the grounds of insulting the police—an illegal act in China. Some netizens wondered if the man’s punishment was too harsh.

More controversy for pop idol Zhou Zhennan

Pop idol Zhou Zhennan’s father, a property tycoon, has been fined 236,000 RMB for charging tenants irregular and extra electricity bills. This is the latest scandal to hit the family, just over a year after the elder Zhou, Zhou Yong, appeared in court accused of embezzlement—leading netizens to wonder if that was how Zhou Zhennan had paid for his expensive lifestyle. At the time, Zhou Yong had promised to pay off all his debts by December 2021. Netizens now wonder what impact this development will have on the popstar.

Pet goods company apologizes for insulting customers

Angry customers complained that pet-supplies company Touchdog used insulting terms on a WeChat app to rank customers by their spending level, including “average woman,” “ugly woman,” and “Sister Feng” (an often-ridiculed internet star). When customers started complaining, Touchdog staff responded they “couldn’t handle jokes.” The Guangzhou-based company has since apologized on Weibo and announced the suspension of two staff members involved.

Haidilao hotpot chain to close 300 stores in a year

Haidilao, China’s largest hotpot chain, announced on Friday that it will close 300 stores by the end of this year due to lack of customers and poor financial performance. The company will also adjust their expansion plans. The announcement went viral on Weibo, with many commenters agreeing the company should slow down and focus on improving service.

Man takes college entrance exam 13 times—and still isn’t satisfied with his results

Tang Shangjun, a 33-year-old man from a remote village in Fangchenggang, Guangxi, has taken the college entrance examination (gaokao) 13 times, and is determined to gain admittance to China’s prestigious Tsinghua university. Tang has scored well enough in the past to enter other elite universities, but has refused their offers to continue pursuing his Tsinghua dream. Tang told The Paper he hopes to “sit the exams for the last time next year.”

Fire on highway destroys 9 tons of “Singles Day” goods

A delivery truck blaze on a highway in Hunan province had netizens worrying if their Singles Day orders might have been destroyed. The truck was travelling from Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, to Guangzhou, Guangdong province, when it caught fire destroying nine tons of packages just days before the annual shopping festival (also known as Double Eleven), which takes place annually on November 11.