upe that’s affiliated to the cultural center where Yi works. Currently, there are about 30 members in the opera troupe, with ages r
Imax shatters Chinese New Year opening box office record
Imax box offices set a new record over the Chinese New Year period starting on Feb 5, grossing 217 million yuan ($32.3 million) across its 599 theaters in China.
Imax Corporation and Imax China said in a news release on Feb 11 that the results were driven by the
strong performances of three local-language films – The Wandering Earth, Crazy Alien and Peg
asus. The sales figures marked Imax China’s best Chinese New Year performance ever, up 40 percent year-on-year.
The Wandering Earth, China’s first big-budget sci-fi film, led the pack by grossing more than
185 million yuan in Imax theaters to become the highest grossing local-language film in Imax hi
story, surpassing Mojin: The Lost Legend. Imax screenings accounted for more than 9 percent of the film’s gross ov
erall takings. The film also set new Imax records for the biggest opening week, surpassing Avengers: Infinity War, as
well as the biggest single day and best three-day performance for a local-language title.
“We are very pleased with these record-breaking Chinese New Year results, which are particularly significant when com
pared to 2018’s record performance that was up 80 percent over the previous year,” said Imax CEO Richard L. Gelfond.
Meanwhile, mobile payment is no longer confined to res
of major Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Smaller cities and even townships are capturing the fastest growth, findings from both payment providers showed.
According to Alipay, the quickest expansion rate in per capita overseas spending was logged in
Zhoushan, a port city in East China’s Zhejiang province, which surged 55 percent year-on-year. It wa
s followed by 50 percent in Weifang, Shandong province, and 44 percent in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province.
In contrast, the growth rate in relatively affluent Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou r
eached 27 percent, 30 percent and 24 percent respectively, although they accounted for the greatest outbound spending by volume.
These trends “really highlight how mobile payment is taking root in China’s outbound t
ourism market”, said Chen Jiayi, Alipay’s head of business operation on cross-border business.
WeChat also saw a notable surge in the use of mobile payment in lower-tier cities, with over 40 percent transactions ma
de by residents who work in bigger cities but returned to hometowns for the weeklong annual gathering.
Suning to acquire 37 Wanda department stores
Suning.com, the retail unit of Suning Holdings Group Ltd, announced on Feb 12 that it will ac
quire a total of 37 department stores of Wanda Department Store Co Ltd, to enhance its online-and-offline retail businesses.
Considered a key move for Suning to map its retail layout in the country, the acquisition is expect
ed to quickly improve Suning’s offline, or brick-and-mortar, resources and strengthen its mer
chandise supply chain to increase profits of its retail businesses, according to Suning’s statement.
The 37 Wanda Department Store locations, which have a total of more than 4 million registe
red customers, are mainly situated in central business areas in first- and second-tier cities.
The statement said the revenue of Wanda Department Store has seen a steady rise, with a continuous growth in net profits.
The new business unit will add department stores to Suning’s retail empire, which has been focusing mainly o
n home appliances and has now expanded to fast-moving consumer goods as well as maternity and baby products.
Through the deal, Suning.com is also hoping to bring its digital strengths in areas such as big data and artificial intellige
nce to Wanda, in an effort to further update the digital transformation of traditional department stores and enhance shoppers’ experiences.
High-end Chinese restaurants in London celebrates Year of the Pig
In celebration of Chinese New Year, from 28th January to 24th February Hakkasan Hanway Place and Hakkasan Mayfair will reinvent the
classic fortune cookie, commissioning renowned author Will Self to pen the fortunes.
The fortunes will be written on a ribbon and placed around the Hakkasan m
acarons, to create the fortune macaron. Instead of housing a traditional fortune, each macaro
n will feature one of Will Self’s 88 witty, satirical and sometimes dark musings on the topics most relevant to m
odern day life in London. The fortune macarons will be available as part of the Chinese New Year set menu and also a la carte.
Will Self is an English novelist and journalist, was a food critic for The Observer, and h
as written for titles including The Guardian, Harper’s and The London Review. Self writes to as
tonish people with his fantastical style, and wrote ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Prawn Cracker’, a collection of no
n-traditional restaurant reviews for the New Statesmen. His 2002 novel ‘Dorian, an Imitation’ was long listed for th
e Booker Prize and his novel ‘Umbrella’ shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. He is known for his unique style and tone of voi
ce, which will be a defining feature of the Hakkasan fortune macarons. Speaking about the partnership he said。
“I’ve always regarded myself as a writer who can… well, write an
ything – and I cut my teeth (an appropriate pun, perhaps) composing jokes and one-liners, so this commission from Hakkasan was
an absolute joy for me: I loved having the opportunity to create a subtle interplay between the different fortunes, hoping that at the end of
the meal the diners would open one… then another, share the fortunes, laugh – perhaps grimace a little as well! – and th
at this would make the ever-memorable experience of dining at these superb restaurants, yet more noteworthy.”
As the number 8 represents prosperity in Chinese tradition, a total of 88 different fortunes penned by Self will be featured in the f
ortune macaron conceived by Hakkasan Group’s Global Executive Pastry Chef Dale DeSimone. The gold fortune macaron will be wrapped with a d
elicate red paper ribbon featuring a golden Hakkasan logo, the interior of which will be typed the fortune in gold.
Both Hakkasan restaurants in London will be also celebrating the Year of the Pig with the wishing tree tradition inspired by the Lam Tseu
n trees in Hong Kong. Hakkasan will be inviting guests to write their wishes for the year ahead on s
pecially designed ribbons which will then be hung on the wooden cages in the restaurant. There will be an 8 course Ch
inese New Year set menu available for £88 per person for a minimum of two people in which the fortune macarons will feature.
With more and more people gathering at the lake, it became over
run with fences and nets used to trap fish. Pollutants discharged by residents liv
ing in the area went directly into the lake, and water quality went from bad to worse.
“We could drink directly from the lake at the beginning, but a few years lat
er, the water began to stink, and we had to buy bottled water onshore” Chen recalled.
Overfishing and other human activities put the lake in crisis.
Realizing the need to clean up the lake, the local government took a series of protec
tive measures including relocating all the fishermen and getting rid of all the fences and nets.
Under the government policy on relocation of fishermen, Chen got 170,000 yuan (around 25,368 U.S. dollars) of
subsidy after moving onshore. Using the subsidy, the 110,000 yuan he got from selling his boat to the g
overnment and his own savings, he bought a nice apartment not far from his workplace.
Chinese contemporary dramas to debut in New York for China Frin
The China Fringe Theater Festival will be held in New York City on Feb 8-16, featuring the prem
iere of three Chinese plays in the United States at the La MaMa Experimental Theater Club (La MaMa).
The international event will give young Chinese artists and China’s contemporary arts more exposure ov
erseas, as one show Two Dogs to be staged is a typical work of contemporary Chinese avant-garde plays, which has enj
oyed high popularity in China especially among the young generation since its premiere in 2007.
Featuring physical comedy and improvisation combined with double act and roc
k music, the drama tells a thought-provoking story of two dogs journeying to a big city to pursue their dreams.
Directed by Meng Jinghui, one of China’s most influential playwrights and theater directors, T
wo Dogs has been performed more than 2,000 times throughout China and at international venues and festivals.
Renowned for his experimental dramas, Chinese director Li Ning and his troupe, the Physical Guerrillas, will bring The Dictionary
of Soul to the festival, a pioneering work of physical theater, which highlights storytelling primarily through physical movements.
Drink only oil for 11 days! Zhong Liti was questioned by netizens
According to Taiwanese media reports, Zhong Liti recently exposed the beautiful scenery of Samui Island in Thailand, but the con
tent of the text has caused controversy. She said that she took her father and mother-in-law to Sumei Island for 11 d
ays of detoxification treatment, during which she only drank oil, and many toxins were discharged from her body, w
hich made her feel relaxed and comfortable. She also said that diabetes, hypertension, cirrhosis and other diseases could be discharged through this cour
se, hoping that more people would come to Sumei Island to detoxify. Enthusiastic solicitation reminds netiz
ens of Yi Nengjing, who recently shared spiritual lessons and was bombarded by cults and pyramids.
Zhong Liti and her parents-in-law had a bottle of oil. They only drank oil for 11 days. It’s really incr
edible to call directly, “I hope more friends can come to Sumei Island to detoxify and work together to mak
e their health healthier and healthier.” Some netizens asked, “How is it so like Ying Nengjing’s deceived mind cou
rse”, “Is there any scientific basis? If you don’t have the best, don’t recommend it casually. Others jumped out and said they were in the de
toxification camp. “It’s actually a little useful,” and Po came out to take photos with Zhong Liti.
It is reported that Miranda Kerr, a famous model, used coconut oil to lose weight after c
hildbirth. She added coconut oil to salads, cooking and even green tea. At least 4 tablespoons of coc
onut oil a day, which claimed to be able to maintain her figure and beauty, aroused many doubts.
