Nanfang TV

The Nanfang has talent! Our own Kevin McGeary sings Mandarin break-up song

Posted: 06/13/2013 2:00 pm

The group of contributors at The Nanfang do a great job of bringing interesting stories to our readers each day, but they do far more than just that.

Our Senior Editor, Kevin McGeary, is a great example: Kevin has become well-known in Shenzhen for singing songs in Putonghua during open-mic nights around the city. His shtick? Singing songs in Putonghua using words that, shall we say, would probably ensure he’s never played on mainstream radio.

Kevin’s exploits earned him a feature article recently in the Shenzhen Daily:

McGeary, a 29-year-old man from Northern Ireland and a former teacher with Shenzhen Polytechnic, garnered considerable attention in the city over the past two years by writing and singing Chinese-language songs that humorously reflected on social phenomena in China.

Some people found McGeary’s music a lot of fun, but others said the lyrics were a little too radical and sometimes offensive. As a man who takes pride in his satire, the mixed reactions were probably just what McGeary was looking for.

With the help of noted Shenzhen-based photographer Jesse Warren, Kevin has finally transformed one of his songs into a music video. It’s a break-up song called “Crossroads” starring Casse Zong.

Check it out.

Nanfang TV: Incredible time-lapse video of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai

Posted: 11/16/2012 9:06 am

We *really do* live in the most awesome part of China, and this video showcases the PRD (and, well, Shanghai) in all its glory.

Random Wire (via Beijing Cream) has brought our attention to this stunning time lapse video of three of China’s most dynamic and fast-paced cities. All three boast huge migrant and foreign populations and continue to grow and evolve at a breakneck pace. The video is shot on a Canon 5D MII.

Random Wire is a photographer based in Hong Kong, but previously lived in Mainland China (you can check out his highly-recommended photo blog here). He had this to say about the video:

Living inside one of China’s behemoth cities is a humbling experience, such is the enormity of their size and the human endeavours taking place there. The timelapse video above by zweizwei brings back fond memories of my time spent in mainland China and captures everyday life in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Shanghai extremely well – sunshine and smog included. Despite the endless sea of people streaming in from all over the country for the opportunities they provide, these cities can be strangely impersonal and isolating…

Enjoy.

Tagged: GuangzhourandomwireShanghaiShenzhentime lapsevideovimeo

Nanfang TV: Forget the Singapore baby-making video, it’s all about Guangzhou Fire

Posted: 08/14/2012 2:14 pm

Singapore has been in the news over the last few days over a video that encourages Singaporeans to get a bit naughty. The island nation is facing a declining birthrate and thinks it has found a novel way to tackle the problem: by producing a video that encourages Singaporeans to celebrate National Day by “making a baby, baby.” (You can watch it here, if you have a VPN.)

The video is noteworthy for its uniqueness (read: hilarity), but also because the sultry male voice in the video is none other than Roshan Gidwani. Gidwani’s family lived for several years in Guangzhou prior to his move to Singapore, and this is where his rap career initially got off the ground.

The Singapore baby-making video reminded us of one particular rap Rosh did years ago, so we dug deep into The Nanfang archives and uncovered this gem: the Guangzhou Fire video. The video, we think, was shot in 2007, and Rosh looks much younger back in those days. It was done with the full support of the then-Guangzhou English Channel.

Guangzhou Fire is the latest installment of Nanfang TV. You can watch the video below, on Youtube, or Youku.

Tagged: GuangzhouGuangzhou FireMentosNational DayPRDRapRosh GidwaniSingapore

Nanfang TV: Suicidal man leaps from Shenzhen metro station, lands on air cushion

Posted: 08/2/2012 1:00 pm

China’s suicide rate is among the highest in the world. Moreover, it may well lead the world in bizzarre suicides. Earlier this year, two school girls in Fujian Province drowned themselves believing that they were set to go time travelling.

At one point, spectacular and public suicides became so common that Beijing stepped in.

A Shenzhen man has failed to become part of that tradition, but got lots of publicity along the way.

The man climbed the arched ceiling of Shenzhen’s Mumianwan subway station and tried to commit suicide by jumping off on July 29th, causing the service of Metro line 3 from Yitian to Shuanglong to shut down for an hour, according to local media.

After police spent four hours trying to talk him down, the man dressed in a pink t-shirt, finally jumped off at 7:30 in the evening and fell onto an air-cushion that the fireman had laid down. Upon landing, he was quicky seized by police.

From around 4 p.m. that day, passengers were complaining on Weibo that metro line 3 was not moving and somebody had even passed out aboard a train. A large amount of passengers were forced to get off and got held up in stations.

The Longgang metro line resumed normal operation at 5:07 p.m.

Outside the station there was also chaos. The rescuers laid out a huge life-saving air-cushion at 4 p.m., which occupied three of the four lanes on the section outside the Mumianwan station, causing the air to be filled with the sound of beeping horns for miles around.

Up above, the man began to do some dangerous moves on the roof, walking back and forth, stretching and crouching. At 5:30 p.m., he sat down and started twiddling with his thumbs. According to a witness, the guy entered the railway track area at around 3 p.m. and initially tried to throw himself in front of a train.

At around 6:30 p.m., two firemen took a scalding ladder up there but their attempts to take him down proved fruitless. At 7:30 p.m., four hours after he had ascended the roof, the man suddenly jumped backward in a Y shape with his arms overhead. He landed on the edge of the air-cushion and rolled over onto the street.

The cause of why he did what he did is still being investigated.

You can watch the incident in the latest Nanfang TV.

Tagged: Fujian ProvinceMetro Line 3MumianwanShuanglongSubway StationSuicide RateYitian

Nanfang TV: Guangdong TV’s plan to have bikini-clad weather girls didn’t work out so well

Posted: 06/14/2012 10:19 am

There is a perception that only attractive people are being chosen to appear on television these days, even in serious journalism roles. One peek at Fox News seems to confirm this (do they have a factory churning out blonde talking heads?). But if it’s all about propping up pretty girls on TV, why not take it to its logical conclusion?

Guangdong TV has done that, and has consequently found itself in some hot water. The station has hired bikini models to give weather forecasts for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, which is being held in Ukraine and Poland.

The girls were trotted out for the first time on Saturday night, and immediately the Chinese interwebs lit up with reaction, according to Xinhua.

The women were the topic of more than 100,000 posts on Sina Weibo, the country’s most popular microblogging site, as of Tuesday afternoon. Some of the comments were positive, such as that of Liu Lai, a manager for computer manufacturer Lenovo.

“A brave breathrough. Bravo for Guangdong TV,” Liu wrote.

Other users, however, were incensed.

“I did not see any beauty in them. If female anchors all dress like this, I would rather turn off the TV,” wrote netizen “Listening to nature.”

An opinion piece published in the Tuesday edition of the People’s Daily said “inviting bikini girls to deliver weather reports is simply an unwise stunt.”

An opinion poll on the newspaper’s website, people.com, showed that 58.5 percent of 3,645 respondents believe hiring the models was a “vulgar” decision and demonstrates a lack of social responsibility.

Another 37.4 percent, however, said there is no need to be offended by the incident.

After the online ruckus, Guangdong TV backed down and is now having the girls appear with t-shirts on.

CCTV has inadvertently become a victim of Guangdong TV’s decision to hire the models. CCTV itself brought Li Yundi on board, a renowned Chinese pianist, for its coverage of the UEFA Cup. Sadly for the venerable national state-run broadcaster, it’s decision was vastly overshadowed by Guangdong TV’s scantily-clad models.

Beijing Cream, which alerted us to the story, said the girls were chosen through a contest, according to Guangdong TV’s website:

They’re apparently also around to give live commentary of the games on Guangdong Sports Channel, which just seems like overuse of their, ahem, skills. Don’t want to risk overexposing them, you know?

You can catch a video of the “weather forecast” below in this edition of Nanfang TV.

Tagged: Bikini ModelsBroadcastFootballGuangdong TVSoccerTelevisionUEFAWeather

Nanfang TV: Guangzhou holds private party for billionaires seeking wives

Posted: 05/24/2012 7:00 am

For many people in China, the naked pursuit of money and power is nothing to be ashamed of. After all, practicality and money trumps outdated concepts like love and courtship, right?

That is definitely the case for 28,000 women who painstakingly filled out application forms in an attempt to bag one of 11 billionaires who are seeking wives. A private party was held at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou last Sunday (May 20) featuring 320 of the finalists – those whose applications were deemed sufficient for closer inspection. The billionaires themselves weren’t apparently in attendance; rather, their minions had the task of sorting the wheat from the chaff, so to speak.

Free More News reports the average age of the women applying was 28, with the youngest being only 19:

Among all the applicants, a lot of them have received higher educations. Some have studies abroad and hold master’s degrees. One of the billionaire claimed to have over ten billions yuan of assets. He said he was under 50, divorced, and looking for a beautiful woman who must be a virgin around 20 to 26 years old.

We present the long-song filled footage from the private party in today’s Nanfang TV.

Tagged: BillionairesDatingGarden HotelGuangzhouRelationships

Nanfang TV: A closer look at a Dongguan nightlife institution

Posted: 02/28/2012 9:50 am

We took our Nanfang TV cameras and crew out to Dongguan last weekend, where we sat down with Jason, one of the four owners of well-known pub One for the Road.

OFTR, as it’s known by locals, has earned itself a place at the heart of the expat scene in the city. As such, it’s become a bit of a lightning rod – some ask why bother coming to China just to hang out at an expat British pub, while others say it’s a badly needed taste of home.

OFTR has earned a reputation of delivering hearty meals (the portions are huge) and ice cold beer, which is even more important than ever in these largely tropical climes.

Jason hails from South Africa and opened the bar in 1996. Nanfang TV host Paul James sampled the Mac & Cheese and a few pints of beer before having a chat with Jason about the pub, its origins, and future plans.

We hope you enjoy it.

Nanfang TV: Guangzhou lit up to ring in the Year of the Dragon

Posted: 01/26/2012 11:40 am

Guangzhou is known to put on a spectacular fireworks show each year to ring in the new year, but it topped itself on Monday night.

It’s estimated that 288,000 fireworks were set off on the first day of the Year of the Dragon, easily beating last year’s total of 180,000 explosives. As usual, the Pearl River provided a spectacular backdrop to the show.

You can watch news coverage and highlights of the fireworks performance below.

Tagged: Chinese New YearCNYFireworksGuangzhouPearl RiverSpring FestivalZhujiang

Nanfang TV: Road rage, Guangdong style

Posted: 01/3/2012 5:04 pm

We’ve all witnessed road range in some form or another, but this guy takes the cake.

Police tried to stop a vehicle in Meizhou, Guangdong but the driver eluded the check. The police officer banged on the car with his fists as the car drove off. Unfortunately for the driver, traffic ahead was heavy, and chaos ensued as he destroyed everything in sight in an effort to escape.

(H/t to Shanghaiist)

Tagged: CarsDriverGuangdongMeizhouRoad Rage

Nanfang TV: Guangzhou sped up and in HD

Posted: 12/18/2011 12:23 pm

Check out this great time-lapse video of Guangzhou from Sina Weibo user @akashin989, as it takes you through the sights and lights of the city from the daytime into night, and the part around 4:00 that makes the downtown core look like a pinball game: