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Shiny Big Eyelids, Pouty Red Lips? You Might Have Been to the Wrong Terracotta Army

Thought you visited the Terracotta Army, one of the great wonders of the world? You might have been tricked.

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Thought you visited the Terracotta Army, one of the great wonders of the world? You might have been tricked into a cheap replica of the famous tourist site. The complaints of people visiting Xi’an who are tricked by “tour guides” are growing louder.

Recently, one Chinese travel review attracted many readers on Douban, a Chinese social media network. In the blog, titled “Xi’an is a fun city: both its tourist sites and its scammers,” the writer tells how he went through a challenging game of outwitting cunning “tour guides” during his travels in Xi’an.

The netizen shared how he painstakingly defeated all the ‘bosses’ and finally managed to see the REAL Terracotta Army instead of its poor replica.

The ‘game’ began once the blogger had stepped out of the train at Xi’an station, where a fake policeman lured him to the wrong bus. A man in black then tried to convince him that the Terracotta Army pits were so far that he had to take another bus, and a free shuttle bus offered to take him to the real pit.

If it is your first time in Xi’an, and you haven’t done much preparation before the trip, you might fall into the trap and be guided to the “famous sites”: a Terracotta Army pit, an “Eight Wonders of the World” museum, and some other sites where famous historical events supposedly took place.

Here is what you will be seeing when you go to the “famous sites”:

• Shiny terracotta warriors with pouty red lips. Their color, despite what archaeologists say about the paint fading in open air, is vividly preserved. Sometimes they even have a modern-looking girl in their company. [Site: Underground Place of Qin, 秦陵地宫]

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terracotta3

• The “Eight Wonders of the World,” where you will see things such as the tomb of Tutankhamen, Egyptian pyramids, or the three goddesses of ancient Greece. [Site: Eight Wonders of the World Museum, 世界八大奇迹馆]

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egypt

• Or paintings and wax figures depicting people’s lives in the past. [Site: Eight Wonders of the World Museum; Relics of Feast at Hong Gate, 鸿门宴遗址]

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Portrait of Liu Bang, a king in the Three Kingdoms Period (You can also click on the video to experience the trip).

Portrait of Liu Bang, a king in the Three Kingdoms Period
(You can also click on the video to experience the trip).

Although visitors might feel confused and disappointed after such a trip, they often do not not dwell on it for too long; after all, the above three places are officially recognized tourist sites by the Shaanxi Tourism Administration (陕西旅游政务), and have existed for decades.

But since last year, tourists’ complaints have grown louder, especially after the October Golden Week holiday when millions of people came to Xi’an to see the historical wonders of the city. Many were angered that they got to see cheap replicas instead.

The problem is that replica attractions used to be officially recognized tourist spots in the same way as real historical sites were. According to Mr. Zhang, an insider interviewed by Pear Video, the tourist sites with poorly replicated relics were constructed in the 1980s, when tourist resources were still scarce.

The ‘fake’ sites were used to satisfy the curiosity of visitors, so that they could see ‘historical relics’ they would otherwise never have a chance to see.

Although these replicas might have been of acceptable quality 30 years ago, they now seem crude, cheap, and very much outdated.

But more importantly, many historical sites have now become much more accessible to visitors than they were in the 1980s. On one single day in October 2016 alone, the Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum had 120,000 visitors. Now that the ‘real’ sites are open for visitors, tourists no longer want to see replicas.

Nevertheless, tourists are still lured to go to these replica sites, only later finding out that they are at the wrong place. According to Mr. Zhang, the operators of these ‘fake’ sites spare no means to cooperate with illegal travel agencies to bring more visitors to their premises.

As a result of the rising complaints, the Xi’an Tourism Board has disqualified the above-mentioned three sites as of September 2016.

Yet according to Chinese netizens and daily newspaper Dushi Kuaibao (@都市快报), the scamming “travel guides” are still ubiquitous in Xi’an, tricking ignorant visitors every day.

Despite all the controversies, Xi’an is still worth a visit. Take this kind advice of a Xi’an netizen who warns travelers not to waste money on cheap scams:

We always welcome guests to Xi’an. If your budget is low, prepare your trip in advance. If your budget is high, stay at a 5-star hotel and rent a car. As long as you do not travel on the cheap, you won’t be cheated. The point of traveling is spending money for enjoyment. If you spend your money at the right place, you will get the most out of it.

-By Diandian Guo
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©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

Diandian Guo is a China-born Master student of transdisciplinary and global society, politics & culture at the University of Groningen with a special interest for new media in China. She has a BA in International Relations from Beijing Foreign Language University, and is specialized in China's cultural memory.

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  1. Avatar

    Yapa

    July 25, 2017 at 3:55 am

    Thanks for going to the Museum and take pics.

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China Local News

Chinese Female Homeowner Slapped in Altercation with Nanchang Office Worker

This viral video has exposed the violent actions of Yang, an office worker who initially provoked the anger of local residents and has now ignited fury on Chinese social media as well.

Manya Koetse

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An incident that happened on September 27th in Jiangxi’s Nanchang has become a major topic of discussion on Chinese social media over the past two days, and all revolves around a viral video that shows a man suddenly striking a Chinese female homeowner across the face.

The backstory of the video revolves around a dispute between the local homeowners and the man, who holds a higher position at the office building situated within the residential area’s property.

Upon discovering that an iron fence, which separated the residential area from the office area, had been cut open without notifying the local homeowners, the woman entered the office building to seek an explanation for why the fence was damaged and breached without the consent of the residential area’s residents. Apparently, employees at the company wanted to create a shortcut.

During the confrontation, the man told the woman: “If you want to talk, go to the community meeting room.” Just as the woman asked him why the fence was cut open with a cutting machine, the man suddenly and forcefully slapped her in the face.

After the incident, the woman was taken to a local hospital for a medical examination, and the police initially intervened in the case as mediators. However, the latest updates on the case reveal that the man is now detained for ten days. Apart from slapping the female homeowner, a 32-year-old woman named Wang, the 43-year-old office worker Mr. Yang reportedly also struck another woman, a 37-year-old local named Cheng.

The video has captured the attention of netizens not just because of the man’s actions towards a woman but also because it seemed to occur out of nowhere. One moment, the man was engaged in conversation with the woman, and the next moment, he suddenly slapped her across the face.

Recently, there have also been other ‘slapping moments’ that went viral on Chinese social media. Earlier this year, the “high-speed train slapping incident”, involving two women arguing on a train and slapping each other in the face, garnering widespread attention (read here). Another recent incident involves the ‘Subway Judge,’ a young man who intervened in a subway argument and suddenly slapped an older man in the face (read here).

As is often the case, a short video may not capture the full context of a situation, and some Chinese netizens who claim to have more information about the incident suggest that multiple office workers were actually involved in the confrontation with the women.

Another video provides additional footage of the altercation, revealing that Yang threatened one of the women with a cutting machine. It also shows how he brought Ms. Wang to the ground after the initial slapping incident.

Local residents and Yang, who is believed to oversee the office department, have been in a longstanding conflict. According to a homeowner’s post on Weibo, when the residents bought their apartments, they were not informed about the nearby office building. They only discovered it when they received their keys.

Initially, Evergrande, the property developer, had promised separate management for the residential and office areas, but due to apparent financial difficulties, this plan was never finalized. The homeowners therefore erected the iron fence to separate the residential and commercial areas, leading to continuous arguments and intimidation between the office workers and the residents.

Mr. Yang on the office side of the fence. He has now reportedly been detained for ten days.

Some Weibo commenters are suggesting that the man’s behavior makes him seem more like a gang member than a typical office worker. In addition to the legal consequences that Yang is facing from local authorities, his reputation is undoubtedly taking a hit.

As of now, Chinese netizens have already exposed his identity, and the internet is never forgiving when it comes to these kinds of incidents, leaving a lasting mark on one’s public image.

By Manya Koetse

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©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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China Local News

Changsha Restaurant Employee Pays the Price after Protecting Abused Child

A Changsha restaurant employee who intervened when a mother beat her child ended up paying the price for it.

Manya Koetse

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The story of a restaurant employee who had to pay the price for sharing a video of a mother beating her child has triggered anger on Chinese social media.

The incident happened on September 14, when Mr. Jiang (江), an employee at the ‘Peng Shu’ Western-style restaurant in Changsha, stopped a mother from beating her young daughter at the shopping mall where the restaurant is located.

As reported by the Guizhou media channel People’s Focus (@百姓关注), a mother and daughter at the restaurant drew the staff’s attention when the mother began physically assaulting her daughter.

The mother, clearly overwhelmed by her emotions, resorted to kicking, hitting, yelling, and even attempting to strike her child with a chair, allegedly in response to the child accidentally spilling ice cream on her clothing.

During this distressing incident, which was captured on video, Mr. Jiang and another colleague intervened to protect the child and immediately alerted the police to the situation.

But the one who was punished in the end was not the mother.

The video of this incident was shared online, leading the woman to repeatedly visit the restaurant in frustration over her unblurred face in the video. The police had to mediate in this dispute.

To the dismay of many netizens, the employee ended up being forced to pay the woman 10,000 yuan ($1369) in compensation for “moral damages.” He has since resigned from his job and has left Changsha. A related hashtag was viewed over 110 million times on Weibo (#餐厅员工发顾客打娃视频后赔1万离职#) and also became a hot topic on Douyin.

The majority of commenters expressed their anger at the unjust outcome where a restaurant employee, who had attempted to protect the child, faced repercussions while the mother appeared to avoid any legal consequences for her actions.

“Where is the All-China Women’s Federation when you need them?” some wondered, while others wanted to know why the incident was not followed up with an immediate investigation into the child abuse. Others suggested that if it were a man who had beaten his child, authorities would have been quicker to intervene.

The issue of corporal punishment for children often comes up in Chinese social media discussions. While many people find it unacceptable to beat children, using violence to discipline children is also commonplace in many families.

When China’s first national law against domestic violence came into effect on 1 March 2016, article 5 and 12 specifically addressed the special legal protection of children and made family violence against children against the law.

By Manya Koetse

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©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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