The last time we saw Higher Brothers they were teasing a more polished sound and warming up big crowds overseas on their US tour with Forbes cover boy Rich Brian. As the Chengdu rap quartet’s label 88rising garners comparisons to Disney, Higher Brothers have drifted further in the direction of mainstream appeal, two days ago releasing a new remix by Grammy-nominated EDM producer DJ Snake.
Best known for collaborations with Major Lazer and Lil Jon, the Parisian DJ Snake — who is set to perform at the Chengdu outpost of Creamfields Festival this weekend — reminds one of a young Diplo, trotting the globe in search of new sounds to commandeer. Cue the zither that opens his remix of Higher Brothers’ breakout single “Made in China”, which now comes with slick new cover art (below) and an almost comically steep trap drop:
Meanwhile, back in China, Higher Brothers are preparing to board the SOLARSHIP (link in Chinese), an international luxury cruise that is billing itself as “China’s first maritime music carnival,” and boasts a “cross-border music festival, party, avant-garde art, social and other elements.”
Higher Brothers is headlining the music portion of the cruise, joined by Shanghai-based rapper Al Rocco, LA producer Mike Gao, and more than a dozen additional acts all falling near the middle of the trap/EDM spectrum. Entertainment on SOLARSHIP also includes, no shit, a team of seven Cirque du Soleil performers, an exhibition by Chengdu street artist Fansack, a spa, a gym, a “battle pod,” a “finger coaster,” and something called “XD Dark Ride.”
The nearly week-long carnival departs from the port of Guangzhou on July 1 and docks in Okinawa on July 6. Tickets start at 15,000 RMB (about $2,400 USD) for a 1-2 person room and get way more expensive from there. Book your joint by scanning the QR code above if you so wish.
Two blips on the radar as China aims to up its scientific and medical research game on the international stage.
First up: Scientific Americanrecently reported on a major new brain-science center in the works in Beijing:
The Chinese Institute for Brain Research was officially established in Beijing on 22 March, with an agreement signed by representatives of the Beijing municipality and seven research organizations based in the capital. The agreement named two neuroscientists—Peking University’s Rao Yi and Luo Minmin of the National Institute of Biological Sciences in Beijing—as co-directors.
This is a major step for China’s brain research efforts, following years of discussion. With this new Institute, the country’s top neuroscientists are looking to create an organization that can remain competitive with similar projects put into motion by Barack Obama in the United States and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne in 2013.
According to Scientific American, Beijing’s venture — which will draw together organizations including the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Peking University, and Tsinghua University — seeks to leverage a “rapidly growing cadre of top neuroscientists, abundant supplies of research monkeys, the country’s heavy burden of people with neurological diseases and its big investments in brain-imaging facilities.”
Meanwhile, down south, a new facility funded by China’s CheerLand Investment Group is seeking to gain instant credibility by tacking the name of one of the world’s greatest living scientists on to its building.
The Cheerland-Watson Center for Life Sciences and Technology, writes Science magazine, is “intended to rival prestigious biomedical research centers in the West,” and was announced at an event in Shenzhen last month.
The “Watson” in the name is James Watson, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA. According to Science‘s article, a biochemist attached to the project named Fu Xinyuan roped Watson into the operation, in part, by appealing to the esteemed biologist’s vanity:
Fu jokes he pointed out to Watson that there was no institute bearing his name, even though one in London is dedicated to Francis Crick, Watson’s partner in the discovery of the helical structure of DNA.
Watson visited Shenzhen earlier this month to “see possible sites for the laboratory,” and attended the opening ceremony of a related facility, the SUSTech-Cheerland Institute of Precision Medicine. His relations with the CheerLand group seem to have frayed a bit since then, however:
Watson thought the center would focus on cancer drug discovery. But an announcement on the website of Shenzhen’s Dapeng New District, where the center is located, makes one mention of cancer cell immunotherapy, while identifying “precision medicine” as a main focus. Aside from the land, Watson says his name “hasn’t drawn any money from Shenzhen.” […]
“I wish these people luck,” says Watson, who will keep working with CheerLand for the time being. But “I don’t think this particular effort is going to happen unless somebody comes forward with a lot of money.”
As China “rails at [the recent] theme park boom“, with officials criticizing what they see as “unclear concepts, blind construction, imitations and plagiarism, low-standard duplication and other issues” in the industry, our photo theme this week is Theme Park Dream — a look at some of the weirder and whackier theme parks to have cropped up in the country in recent years.
Today’s image is of Nanchang Wanda Park in Jiangxi province, which was Dalian Wanda’s first theme park when it opened just weeks before Shanghai Disneyland in the spring of 2016. Wang Jianlin, Wanda’s chairman, famously criticized Disney for entering China’s theme park market, and seemed intent on driving the company out of the country with his plans to open 15 parks by 2020. But in July last year Wanda sold their theme park arm to Sunac China for a reported $9.3 billion and exited the sector.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Zhibo is a weekly column in which Beijing-based American Taylor Hartwell documents his journey down the rabbit hole of Chinese livestreaming app YingKe (Inke). If you know nothing about the livestreaming (直播; “zhibo”) phenomenon in China, start here.
Usually, what I do here is curate a little “best of” collection – the funniest/dumbest/most interesting things I’ve seen in the world of Chinese livestreaming over the past week or so. But today, I’d like to just present you with a single comment that’s really stuck with me:
if I were u I probably already gone crazy long time ago
He might have a point.
But this is of particular interest to me – and hopefully, you – because I’ve recently become fascinated with the benefits of constantly exposing yourself to a barrage of petty irritations.
See, when I first got to China, all I did was complain. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it here or actively wanted to leave – it was more of a love-to-hate kinda thing that’s quite popular (infamous?) in the world of Chinese expats. There are SO many things to get annoyed at: everyone cuts in line, there’s no personal space bubble, people spit and snort and smack their lips, they stare at you on the subway, cab drivers try to rip you off and can’t read maps, those guys keep yelling “FUWUYUANRRR” even though the waiter is right there, and seriously, guys, what is that smell?
And I’m not – how best to put this? – a naturally shining beacon of optimism. Ok, let’s be real: I haven’t been able to let something go since my 5th grade English teacher wrongfully accused me of reading ahead in The Giver even though the foreshadowing is super obvious and MAYBE YOU SHOULD LEARN TO ASK SUBTLER QUESTIONS IF TRIPPING UP TEN YEAR OLDS IS TOO TOUGH FOR YOU, MR. WILLIAMS.
Ahem… the point is, I’m naturally negative, nitpicky, and combative. I get way too indignant way too quickly and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve shot myself in the foot socially because I couldn’t just shut up and enjoy life without criticizing someone or something.
[If you’re the kind of Zen master who has already transcended the need to find fault with others, you’re probably all set and don’t need to keep reading. If you’re a standard-issue mortal, however, I feel you might be able to identify with a bit of this]
So China naturally feeds my worst instincts. Every day here, you run into a dozen situations where not only do you feel the need to get mad about something, but most rational people would agree that you were right to get mad. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s the justified indignation that’s probably the most dangerous. The other day, I spent five minutes grinding a new layer of enamel straight off my teeth as a woman behind me in line just bumped her cart into my back over and over and over again for absolutely no perceivable reason.
And if you’re wondering what on earth this has to do with Chinese livestreaming, you’re obviously new to the internet – in which case, welcome! Pull up a chair and watch these cat videos while I get your Netflix account set up. It’s a weird and wonderful place, but as you’ll find out as soon as you scroll down that youtube page, there’s no shortage of petty irritations to be found.
Don’t get me wrong: I love the Inke community. I’ve learned more useful terms, slang, cultural references, and idioms in the past year than I did in four years of in-class studying. It’s a great way to build confidence in communication and language skills and I still maintain that you oughta give it a try if you have any interest in helping to build cultural bridges.
See, someone agrees!
But nonetheless, petty irritations abound. Imagine being asked a hundred times a day why your hair is yellow, or that you need to stop drinking cold water because it’s bad for your health, or that the reason you’re so [pick a trait, any trait] is because that’s how *foreign culture* is.
Or forget the vaguely racist stuff and just imagine being asked why you don’t have a girlfriend for the thousandth time in an hour. And then, whenever the audience doesn’t get your reply or disagrees with you, they whip out the old classic, “ah, your foreign logic is quite different than our Chinese logic, you see?”
And yet, I consider this silly streaming thing one of the most important parts of my day – and the annoying nonsense a big part of what makes it so valuable.
See, when the lady in the supermarket bumps her cart up against me, the annoyance feels good. I grind my teeth and mutter under my breath and beg the world to look at me and all my righteous indignation. The more blatantly rude or annoying or stupid a person is being in real life, the more justified it feels to openly roll your eyes, shake your head, and let yourself go to that cathartic place where you’re the lone bastion of civility and sanity in an insane world.
But on Inke, it doesn’t work that way. There’s no one to roll my eyes at. There’s no one to direct anger at. There’s no one whose eye I can catch in the hopes of getting that little “can you believe this f@#kin’ guy” moment when someone is being an idiot. And unlike Twitter/Facebook/other social media, it’s all real-time. Every comment comes and goes in seconds, and I can’t get that hit of dopamine that comes from clicking “share” and writing an ever-so-clever takedown on my wall/feed/whatever.
It’s not fun or satisfying to get annoyed – it just raises my blood pressure and detracts from the stream overall. All I can do, to my intense horror, is take a breath and let it go (and then maybe build myself an ice palace).
You might consider that joke old and outdated, but remember, ’90s pop is still fresh over here
And as a result, I’ve found myself not only voicing fewer irritated complaints while doing livestreaming, but finding myself less annoyed by things in real life. I haven’t reached enlightenment just yet – that lady with the shopping cart the other day certainly reminded me of that – but there’s something magical about taking something incredibly annoying and just chuckling at the ridiculousness of it rather than getting frustrated.
And I don’t just mean pushing the reaction down to the subbasement where you can’t feel feelings – I mean really just dropping the heavy burden of irritation.
It’s definitely true that foreigners in China love to hate things. We’re somewhat famous for it. But it would be silly – and arrogant – to assume that I’ve somehow stumbled upon the most uniquely annoying part of the world. People everywhere are annoyed and angry all the time.
I’m not climbing up on some soapbox to tell you that I’ve transcended pettiness – just that leaning into or even embracing whatever stream (get it?) of inconsequential annoyances you encounter on a daily basis might be worth your while.
More from the wonderful world of livestreaming in China:
Last year, we went to the biggest annual drag show in China, held at Lucca 390. There, we saw performances from Frozen Lolita, a “futuristic androgyny”-themed drag queen from Beijing, and Krystal de Canteur, who performed a fiery operatic number. This past weekend we saw them again — but this time on the big screen. The two are now leading characters in a new documentary, Becoming a Drag Queen, which was produced by VICEChina and released yesterday.
The documentary follows Frozen Lolita and Krystal, showing how they create and prepare their clothing, make-up, and performances, and trailing them all the way to the Shanghai competition and party. In the film, the two protagonists also share their insights into drag fashion and gender identity, revealing what lies behind the glittery eyeshadow, colorful wigs, and blinged-out dresses.
Frozen Lolita performing at Modernista in Beijing (photo by Fan Shuhong)
“Drag is not only for gay people, but a combination of art, cosmetics, fashion, and performance that everyone can do,” said Frozen Lolita at the film release party on April 7 in Beijing. “I always have a strong desire for expression. In drag, I can perform as another person.”
Speaking on which aspects of drag culture have been major personal influences, Frozen Lolita said, “It helps the community to draw more attention [to itself], and teaches some people how to be LGBT.”
Frozen Lolita andKrystal de Canteur performing at Modernista in Beijing (photo by Fan Shuhong)
Krystal de Canteur, who currently lives in China but plans to soon return to Sweden after getting married, said at the Beijing release party, “Drag [culture] gives us a space to express ourselves. It makes people more accepting that they are LGBT.”
Answering an audience member’s question, she said, “The difference between transgender and drag is: transgender is who you are, while drag is what you do. When I’m performing in drag, we are not really able to feel like a woman, because it’s acting.” Frozen Lolita seconded this, adding, “I don’t feel that I’m a woman, but I’m acting out a part of me in a woman’s image.”
How did VICE China choose drag culture as a subject? Sybil Liang, the producer of the documentary, explains to RADII:
We have an editor, Alex, who is interested in gender and marginalized people’s lives. She offered a lot of contacts of active drag queens in Beijing and Shanghai. I always wanted to tell [stories of] people’s lives that have never been heard or seen, to let people know about and understand their existence. Don’t insult people before you really know them. We also want to tell good stories.
For the film’s trailer, VICE China also invited the two queens to dress up a straight staff member of the magazine, making him into a Chinese Lana Del Ray in a trailer entitled “How to Drag.”
Watch the film right here — it’s Mandarin only for now, but you can still enjoy the amazing beauties!
This week’s photo theme is, well, it’s death. Not because we’re trying to be overly morbid, but because Thursday 5 April is Qingming Festival in China, a day where families traditionally tend to the graves of their ancestors and an occasion often referred to as “Tomb Sweeping Day”.
And really, how could we let this photo theme pass without featuring one of the more bizarre funeral rituals found in China, that of the casket-side pole dances. Earlier this year, we wrote that
The Ministry of Culture last month announced a crackdown on “obscene, pornographic and vulgar performances” at funerals and weddings after stories of wild send-offs involving naked women groping mourners and pole dancing at rural gatherings made headlines.
