Awesome Mops of China

Wang Yiren couldn’t wait until their business license...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 14:32:34 +0800

Wang Yiren couldn’t wait until their business license was finally granted. Well, he certainly hoped it would be granted. He’d been plastering appropriately respectful rictus grins across his face for months now, toasting various governme (via Wang Yiren)

Wang Shalong and her friends exited the KTV and immediately...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 14:31:57 +0800

Wang Shalong and her friends exited the KTV and immediately collapsed in a heap en masse. They’d gone in at 4pm for ‘a couple of songs’, but two and a half beers and four hours later, Shalong was exhausted and happy, and seriously (via Wang Shalong)

Wu Meihua tried to look nonchalant, pretending to take a...

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:59:57 +0800

Wu Meihua tried to look nonchalant, pretending to take a carefree afternoon nap on the back of her Hello Kitty e-bike, parked outside the university. Directly behind her, spread out on his e-bike, snoring gently, was Cao Dayu, the handsomest b (via Wu Meihua)

Wu Yi’s friends didn’t believe him when he told them...

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 13:32:58 +0800

Wu Yi’s friends didn’t believe him when he told them all about what his laowai English teacher at school had told him. Sure, they had heard rumours about Christmas Old Man— fat foreign guy with a lot of white facial hair and a red outfit like yo (via Wu Yi explains the concept of Santa Claus)

Ao Lubo woke up on the sidewalk with a terrible headache. His...

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 18:02:01 +0800

Ao Lubo woke up on the sidewalk with a terrible headache. His skull felt like it was neatly cleaved. He had been sleeping, it seemed, on a hunk of wood. Apparently the apocalypse had come early. Surely that hunk of wood was part of the falling d (via Ao Lubo battles the Apocalypse)

Leaf Yao’s parents had told her to wait until she had...

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 19:49:28 +0800

Leaf Yao’s parents had told her to wait until she had graduated from university before starting to date any boys. It hadn’t been a problem in high school because her 15 hour long days spent with a stack of text books three feet high meant she n (via Leaf Yao and Kobe Wu)

The girls’ bathroom was so cold! The open window next to...

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 10:54:53 +0800

The girls’ bathroom was so cold! The open window next to the squat loo stalls was flung wide open for fresh air and the cold water taps were even more finger numbing than usual. The sink countertop felt like ice. Sparkle Yan shivered and took (via Sparkle Yan and Echo Mu)

Cai Murong wondered if it might be a good idea to save up a...

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:07:18 +0800

Cai Murong wondered if it might be a good idea to save up a little longer so she could afford to go to a better salon to get her hair done. Although her current salon only charged 15 kuai for a wash and trim, she had to admit she didn’t find the (via Cai Murong)

Cui Changying knew that little Shanshan was going to remain an...

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 09:46:44 +0800

Cui Changying knew that little Shanshan was going to remain an only child. His constant demands for a new iPad and new iPhone and Louis Vuitton onesies had already dried up their Second Child Bribe account. Even so, she felt overwhelmed! (via Cui Changying)

‘I must be the only kid in Changchun not excited about the...

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:38:53 +0800

‘I must be the only kid in Changchun not excited about the snow day,’ muttered Li Ming Hao to himself. He knew he should be down in the park below, building snowmen with all the other children. It was just that Tian Xue had said hi to him at that party on Singles Day, and then yesterday she’d smiled at him across the library. He couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing her, not even for one day.

Totally awesome submission by Emma in Dalian

He couldn’t believe his eyes. Cuo Yifan was shaking with...

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 13:38:30 +0800

He couldn’t believe his eyes. Cuo Yifan was shaking with excitement, his collarbones marbling with creeping blush. There, in the men’s toilets at the railway station, was Yao Ming! His hero! Of course, Yao Ming denied he was Yao Ming- after all (via Cuo Yifan meets Yao Ming)

Chou Xilai leant on the fence pensively as he watched a...

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:10:14 +0800

Chou Xilai leant on the fence pensively as he watched a bulldozer clear the last few baobab trees. He’d been excited when he first took this job: so few of his geologist classmates would even leave their province, and here he was in Zimbabwe! He wiped the October sweat from his brow and tried to shake off the feeling that there might be something wrong with discarding 1000 year old trees for the sake of a few pieces of compressed carbon.

Totally Awesome Mop submitted by Emma in Dalian

The neighbours were definitely talking about them. Chen Guofang...

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 21:48:43 +0800

The neighbours were definitely talking about them. Chen Guofang leaned further out from his window, hoping to catch what they were saying. His wife carefully held onto his ankles as he balanced his ample midsection on the window ledge. He was qu (via Chen Guofang)

Getting her hair done for her birthday party had been a bad...

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 16:44:22 +0800

Getting her hair done for her birthday party had been a bad idea. Su Kuaihua realized this now. Shanghai hairdressers were meticulous and even the simplest job usually took up half the afternoon. It was half past seven in the evening already. She (via Su Kuaihua)

Niamh wasn’t ready to go back to Ireland just yet. Her...

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 21:54:03 +0800

Niamh wasn’t ready to go back to Ireland just yet. Her Chinese course was nearly finished and her parents were sending her long emails detailing all the handsome young Clare farmers they had lined up to meet her when she came home, as well (via Niamh)

Qian Jiefang and her friends from the neighbourhood senior...

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 07:14:15 +0800

Qian Jiefang and her friends from the neighbourhood senior citizens’ association gathered every morning at 5:55am at the park on Xianyang lu to do exercises. It was a good idea to keep themselves limber and to ensure that their qi flowed correctly (via Qian Jiefang)

Gao Mingna hated going clothes shopping with her friends....

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 07:13:42 +0800

Gao Mingna hated going clothes shopping with her friends. While they were all busily trying on sparkly snakeskin hotpants with the circumference of her left arm, she was left standing around, self-consciously searching with a discreet ga (via Gao Mingna)

Wu Lina and her assistant, Tang Mei, paused for a quick...

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 09:34:04 +0800

Wu Lina and her assistant, Tang Mei, paused for a quick cigarette break, their fifth that morning alone. It had been a very busy morning and Wu’s feet were killing her. Her parents had told her she was taking on too much when she fir (via Wu Lina)

Wang Chao had only been away for a week. The Mid-Autumn Festival...

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 16:13:02 +0800

Wang Chao had only been away for a week. The Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day joint holiday was his only chance during the year to get away. He had gone to Beijing to see the Great Wall at Badaling, along with 3.7 million fellow tourists, and (via Wang Chao)

Dong Xia was bored with village life. It was so quiet, so...

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 19:53:58 +0800

Dong Xia was bored with village life. It was so quiet, so unchanging, so dull. He wanted thrills, excitement, noise, something, anything. Unfortunately, his solidly peasant hukou didn’t give him much geographic leeway. As it was, all there was t (via Dong Xia)