Trending in Beijing: Stalkers, Foreigners, and Some Granny Love
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 the general power of the internet.
1) A Man Awaits the Return of His Loved One in a Bookstore
"You haven't gone to work for 50 days?" "No, I don't go to work so I can find her instead" "What if she is not interested?" "Well, if she doesn't like me then so be it."
Finding the love of his life has truly backfired for this man. During a recent visit to a Beijing bookstore, he happened to glance at a woman and fall head over heels in love at first sight. Hoping to see her again and inform her of his deep and unwavering feelings of devotion, he has been lurking in the same bookstore for the last 50 days, skipping work in order to do so. Having so far been left in the lurch, he decided to go as far as to sue the mysterious lady for emotional distress in an attempt to glean her true identity, making this possibly the saddest story of the year. Netizens are following the love/harassment story under #男子起诉一见钟情女孩# (nánzǐ qǐsù yījiàn zhōngqíng nǚhái, a man sues his love from the first sight).
2) Foreigners Who Have Studied Chinese for Too Long
Other Weibo users have been raving about foreigners who are able to speak immaculate Chinese, not only ogling their incredible verbosity but also what the prolonged study has done to their brains. One post, tagged #学中文太久之后的外国人# (xué zhōngwén tài jiǔ zhīhòu de wàiguó rén, foreigners who have studied Chinese for too long), where one American expat said that instead of now answering a question with "Yes, I can" he now simply says "can," mirroring the same simplified structure in Chinese. A Japanese woman claimed that speaking Mandarin made her more of a 女强人 (nǚ qiángrén, strong woman). She explains that while speaking Japanese she tends to be quite humble and thinks everything through very carefully but after learning Chinese, she has become much more straightforward.
3) The Granddaughter Who Sends Daily Vegetables to Her Grandma
"My grandmother may not pick up the phone, so you can just put the package at the doorway. Thank you."
'Tis the season of giving but for this kindhearted granddaughter, giving is an everyday act. The lady in question lives in Beijing, which gave her the sense of not being adequately able to take care of her 80-year-old grandmother, who lives in Shanghai. Therefore, the caring woman decided to buy vegetables online and have them delivered to her grandmother's door every day. The touching photo of the package (pictured above) was posted by a courier who often delivers the vegetables. The woman carefully picks the contents so as to best suit her gran's diet, who suffers from colon cancer. Netizens were moved by this story and urged each other to visit their grandmothers more. "They need that the most," claimed one user. However, the most popular comment has taken a cynical bent, saying, "This is how advertisements now work?"
Throwback Thursday: When Beijing Pointed Fingers at a "Criminally Active" Restaurant
Images: Weibo
Want to know what awesome events are happening in town? Scan/Extract the QR code above to get the list of our Editors' Picks.
Got something to sell? Looking for a job? Or an apartment? Then scan/extract the QR code above to visit our Classified Ads.
Do you have what it takes to be a True Runner?
Scan/Extract the QR code above to check out our current job openings.
Always something fresh
Scan/Extract the QR code above to follow us!
Tap on the cover to access the latest print issue