A hilarious video of popular Chengdu "cop-reality" TV program Tan's Traffic Talk Show with English subtitles by the To Rise From Ashes blog. In it, teasing traffic policeman Tan lectures a 'feizhuliu' hairdresser on hair styles and road safety. The blog also explains key cultural terms. Viewing the blog requires a proxy, but you can see it on Tudou here.

Residents in Kunming protest the death of a tricycle driver at the hands of chengguan, the "city management" law enforcers. Translation and the usual comments railing against chengguan at ChinaSMACK.

After the black-Asian Oriental Angel Lou Jing controversy, China Sports Today clears up misinformation about African-Chinese volleyball player Ding Hui and underscores sport's potential as an avenue to greater tolerance toward mixed-heritage Chinese.

Peking University student Tom shares his and his classmates' thoughts on China's growing role as a "responsible stakeholder" in international affairs over at Six blog.

China Beat looks at how the writings of Lu Xun, hugely influential author, essayist, poet, editor and critic and textbook staple in Chinese schools, have been appropriated and over-simplified by the Communist Party.

Mao statues tend to feature the great helmsman hailing a taxi in a long overcoat, as at Tianfu Square, but it doesn't have to be so. Danwei reports on a new, youthful, long-locked Mao statue in Changsha, capital of his native Hunan province.

And have you ever wondered what a sex festival is like in China? Adam Minter from Shanghai Scrap stumbles upon one in Guangzhou and calls it a "seriously cold shower."

Fran likes surfing the China blogosphere, and every Sunday she shares her picks of the week with GoKunming readers.

Pu'er tea starting to catch on in the West?
Roughly a year after the bottom dropped out of the out-of-control pu'er tea market, this specialty tea is starting to get more attention overseas, particularly in the West, where Silicon Valley's tea-obsessed techies are tweeting and blogging about its virtues while frighteningly skinny Victoria Beckham is touting its weight-loss properties.

Time has published an article in which it compares the city of Pu'er (previously known as Simao) in Yunnan to other places around the world whose names have become synonymous with foods or beverages such as France's Champagne, Mexico's Tequila and Italy's Parma. The big question is whether Western palates can learn to love pu'er's earthy bouquet – we're not betting on it.

Stone Forest tickets to increase to 260 yuan
It appears all but certain that tickets for Kunming's only UNESCO World Heritage site, the Stone Forest will rise in price from their current 200 yuan to 260 yuan (US$38). In recent hearings held by the Stone Forest Scenic District Management Bureau, 95 percent of representatives were in favor of the 30 percent price hike, according to local media reports.

At 260 yuan per person, Stone Forest tickets would be one of the most expensive tickets among China's World Heritage sites, more than Fujian's Wuyi Mountain (250 yuan), Yellow Mountain in Anhui, Sichuan's Jiuzhaigou (220 yuan) and Zhangjiajie in Hunan (245 yuan).

Kunming bus passengers ask for help with pickpockets
Kunming public bus system is a cheap, convenient way to get around the city, but city buses are also popular places for pickpockets to practice their trade. Kunming bus passengers have suggested to local bus operators that they broadcast short video clips about how to prevent becoming another theft statistic, according to a Kunming Information Hub report.

Passengers also shared their strategies for minimizing the risk of pickpockets, including:

• Keeping an eye on people who move after the bus starts moving
• Moving to less crowded parts of the bus, should they exist
• Staying aware of one's pockets and bag

According to the Kunming Public Security Bureau, pickpockets tend to operate between 9 and 11 am and 5 and 8 pm. Bus routes with the highest rates of pickpocket activity include 107, 26, 61, 90, 118, 2, 10, 161, 31, K1 and 84.

More than 200 children in Kunming's Dongchuan district have been found to have unsafe levels of lead in their blood, the third major case of child lead poisoning in China this month.

During routine blood testing in Dongchuan's Tongdu county, more than 200 out of 1,000 children tested were found to have blood lead levels of more than 100 micrograms per liter.

Children are particularly susceptible to the effects of lead poisoning. Blood lead levels of more than 100 micrograms per liter have been found to impede normal behavior and cognitive development in children under the age of six years.

Hospital management at Tongdu's Healthcare Center for Women and Children said that the high blood lead levels among children in the area were likely due to car exhaust. Some local parents dismissed the hospital explanation, saying that a nearby industrial park was to blame.

China Daily quoted a mother from Yingpan village (营盘村), where the industrial park, which has been in operation since 2004, is located:


Local environmental officials are investigating the source of the lead poisoning. Management of Yingpan's industrial park declined to discuss the lead poisonings with China Daily reporters, the paper said.

On August 13, the Wugang Manganese Smelting Plant in Hunan province was closed by local officials after more than 1,300 children living near the plant were found to have unsafe blood lead levels. Four days later on August 17, hundreds of villagers attacked a lead and zinc smelting facility in Changqing, Shaanxi province after 851 children were found to have high blood lead levels.

The three high-profile lead poisoning cases in the last month have put pressure on national and local officials to close facilities that do not meet basic environmental protection regulations. Some analysts have also suggested the lead poisoning scandal could lead to industry consolidation in addition to plant shutdowns.

The China Daily reported that the national environmental ministry ratified a new Implementation Plan on Controlling Heavy Metal Pollution, which is still waiting approval from the Cabinet-level State Council. The regulation prescribes better cooperation between government departments to avoid further pollution by heavy metal smelting industries.

Update: The Associated Press has information about a recent government study in which it was found that up to 60 percent of children in mining areas in Yunnan are suffering from lead poisoning.

Bus accident leaves 21 dead
The highway between Kunming and Chuxiong was the scene of a fatal collision between a tourist bus and a truck full of watermelons on Saturday. Nineteen people died on Saturday and two more on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 21, according to a Xinhua report.

The watermelon truck reportedly crashed into the back of a tour bus carrying tourists from Beijing, Shanxi and Hunan at 6:40 Saturday morning. Both vehicles lost control and veered off the road. Twenty people were also injured in the accident, all of whom are no longer in critical condition, according to a Yunnan government spokesperson.

Bangladesh, Yunnan discussing rail link
Bangladesh Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain met with Yunnan government officials last Thursday to discuss a proposed rail line between Kunming and its sister city in Bangladesh, the port city of Chittagong, according to Bangladeshi media reports.

In recent years the Yunnan government and China's central government have expressed their desire to have transport links to Chittagong, which lies on the Bay of Bengal. Port access in the Bay of Bengal would reduce Chinese reliance upon the Malacca Strait, which occasionally has piracy problems. The Malacca Strait is also patrolled by the US and its allies, which adds to Beijing's uneasiness.

A rail line connecting Chittagong with Kunming would pass through mountainous northern Myanmar. In his visit to China, Hossain also met with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to seek technical and financial assistance for the project.

Kunming Nanchang rail line to launch tomorrow
Yunnan and Jiangxi provinces will finally be connected directly by rail with tomorrow's launch of the 1235/6 train between Kunming and Jiangxi provincial capital Nanchang, according to a Sohu report citing Jiangxi railway officials.

The new line will feature 20 stops between Kunming and Nanchang. In addition to stops in Yunnan and Jiangxi, the line will also pass through cities in Guizhou and Hunan provinces.

Accident image: news.xinhuanet.com

A feasibility study is underway for a new high-speed rail line between Shanghai and Kunming, construction of which is expected to begin in 2009, according to Kunming media reports.

The new rail line, which is scheduled to be completed in 2015 – around the same time that the rail network linking Kunming and Singapore is hoped to be completed – will shorten the travel time between Shanghai and Kunming from 37 hours to less than nine hours.

The Shanghai-Kunming passenger line (沪昆客运专线) will connect Shanghai and Kunming via the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan, passing through the major cities of Hangzhou, Nanchang and Changsha. Its target speed is reportedly 350 km/hr – compare to France's TGV and Japan's Shinkansen aka 'Bullet Train' which currently operate at 320 and 300 km/hr, respectively.

The cross-country line is part of a nationwide rail upgrade that has allocated 500 million yuan (US$73.2 million) in funds for Yunnan province alone.

According to China Rail Ministry plans, Yunnan will not only be on the receiving end of improved rail connectivity with central and eastern China over the next six to seven years, it will also improve its regional and internal rail network. Kunming Rail Ministry officials told local media that the following projects have also been approved:

• Lijiang to Shangri-la (Zhongdian): schedule yet to be made public

• Yunnan to Guilin – construction to start next year and finish in 2015

• A rail line around Dianchi Lake: scheduled for completion in 2010

• Guangtong to Dali: schedule yet to be made public

• Kunming to Yuxi: construction to start next year and finish in 2015

First came the great winter storm of 2008, then the devastating Wenchuan earthquake, whose official death toll now stands at nearly 70,000. Now China is coping with its third major natural disaster of the year as heavy rains and floods batter the country's south.

Continuing heavy rains in Yunnan and across southern China since June 6 have led to 57 deaths and 1.27 million people fleeing their homes, with more rain expected throughout the region over the coming days. According to Xinhua reports more than 17 million people have been affected by the flooding with more than 10.6 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) in damage incurred so far.

The rains have led to the swelling of rivers in China's south, with key manufacturing province Guangdong experiencing its worst flooding in 50 years. On Monday, Guangdong's provincial flood control bureau ordered local governments in Guangzhou and eight other cities to reinforce river embankments and make evacuation preparations.

Although damage in Yunnan has been relatively light compared to Guangdong and other lower-lying areas including Jiangxi, Guizhou and Hunan provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, rains here are a major concern as many of the flooding rivers – including Guangdong's Pearl River – have their headwaters in Yunnan.

China's National Meteorological Center is forecasting more rains in southern parts of the country - including Yunnan - over the next few days.

Image: Xinhua