My Heart Will Not Go On: 25 Years Later, China Still Loves ‘Titanic’

The 1997 film Titanic, about a romance aboard the doomed RMS Titanic, remains one of the Chinese web’s most-searched-for films almost 25 years after its initial release, according to a list of the 30 most popular films compiled by search engine Baidu.


The film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, is the oldest on the list, where it ranks 15th.


promotional poster for titanic in china

The Chinese poster for Titanic (1997)


Evidence of the hit film’s continued popularity in China abounds: There are still new posts about Titanic going up daily on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo and review aggregator Douban, where the film holds a rating of 9.4/10.


Additionally, the 2012 3-D version of the film grossed a then-record-breaking 67 million USD at the Chinese box office after merely six days of screening.


the sinking rms titanic in the film titanic

The film’s depiction of the sinking of the RMS Titanic


A life-sized replica of the titular ship has also been under construction at a Southwest China amusement park since 2016, reportedly costing 1 billion RMB (more than 138 million USD) so far. The project’s main backer was allegedly inspired by the Oscar-winning movie.


Titanic director James Cameron even worked with director Arthur Jones and producer Luo Tong to create the 2021 documentary The Six, which chronicles the stories of six Chinese survivors of the tragedy.


promotional poster for the documentary the six

A promotional poster for the documentary The Six


The original Titanic is a classic in the U.S., where about 85% of people reported having watched it. However, the film is slightly less enduring in the general Western psyche than it is among Chinese citizens. Case in point: All the films on Rotten Tomatoes’ current list of the 30 most popular movies are from the past two years, with the only exception being Halloween from 2018.


Suo Yabin at the Chinese newspaper People’s Daily theorized in 2012 that the popularity of Titanic was due to the tried-and-true trope of “a poor young man and a rich girl… [which] has a long history in the popular culture of China.”


This sentiment is echoed by some Weibo users, one of whom wrote, “Titanic makes me believe in love forever.”


jack and rose in titanic

Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack and Kate Winslet as Rose in Titanic


The film’s theme of sacrifice may also register with many Chinese viewers. Ethnographer James Watson believes that some viewers subconsciously identify Jack’s sacrifice and Rose’s subsequent loss of innocence with the upheaval of the Cultural Revolution.


Notably, Titanic is Communist Party of China-approved: In 2012, former Party Chief Jiang Zemin said he had been moved by the film and recommended it to other members of the Politburo.


a scene onboard the titanic in the film titanic

A scene onboard the ship from the movie


Titanic also kick-started Celine Dion’s fame in China. Memorably, she sang the film’s theme song, ‘My Heart Will Go On,’ at the 2013 CCTV New Year’s Gala.


Whether because of its romance, heart-wrenching sacrifice, or Dion’s dulcet tones, one thing remains true: Titanic has found a lasting place for itself in the hearts of Chinese people.


All images via IMDb

McDonald’s Potato Head Toys Transform into Star Wars Actor Jiang Wen

Thanks to a new promotion, those purchasing a McDonald’s Happy Meal in China will receive a complimentary Potato Head-inspired toy with their order. And while the iconic toy may remind Western readers of childhood days and Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story franchise, in China, it is drawing comparisons to a well-known celebrity — actor, screenwriter, and director Jiang Wen.


mcdonalds-potato-head-toys-jiang-wen

The full set of McDonald’s Potato Head toys


The set of eight toys is a crossover between Potato Head and a seemingly random duo of IPs: Transformers and My Little Pony. The release didn’t generate much buzz online until some netizens discovered similarities between the toys and Jiang. Some even undertook DIY projects to transform Mr. Potato Head into the award-winning director and actor.


McDonald’s Potato Head Toys


“OMG, the more I look at the toys, the more they remind me of Jiang Wen, especially those with a broad grin,” one netizen posted under McDonald’s promotional campaign on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo.


The hashtag for the Happy Meal package has been trending on Weibo and had received 260 million views at the time of writing. Many netizens even retitled the McDonald’s toy line with names like “My Little Pony Jiang Wen” or “Pink Bandit,” the latter moniker referring to Jiang’s role in his self-directed action comedy Let the Bullets Fly (2010).


A netizen transformed Mr. Potato Head to Bandit Zhang, Jiang’s role in his film Let the Bullets Fly

A person transforms Mr. Potato Head into ‘Bandit Zhang,’ Jiang’s character in his film Let the Bullets Fly


Invented and manufactured by George Lerner in 1949, Mr. Potato Head was first distributed by Hasbro in 1952. Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head characters famously appeared in the Toy Story franchise, and Mr. Potato Head even got his own show in 1998, although it was shortlived, being canceled after its first season. In 2021, Hasbro renamed the brand to simply Potato Head.


Jiang, on the other hand, is slightly younger than the tuber-inspired toy. Born in 1963 in North China’s Hebei province, Jiang is often listed among the ‘sixth-generation directors’ that emerged in the 1990s. He is internationally known for his roles in Zhang Yimou’s debut film Red Sorghum (1986) and Disney’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).


All images via Weibo, cover image designed by Beatrice Tamagno

Cafe Culture Is Seeping Into Rural China

Nine times out of 10, hitting the road hard means giving up on certain creature comforts. For instance, it’d be silly for an adventurer to expect bacon and eggs at every bed and breakfast in the Chinese countryside or insist on Wi-Fi amidst mountainous ranges. Such material indulgences are what make one’s return home even sweeter.


Nevertheless, the burgeoning food industry and rising rural tourism sector make it even easier to cop decent bites and beverages in bucolic destinations. WildChina’s latest project in East China’s Zhejiang province is concrete proof of this.


wildchina studio songyang rural China travel


wildchina china travel


wildchina studio songyang rural China


A blueprint for slow-paced living, WildChina Studio transforms the austerity of the Chinese countryside into a new kind of luxury. Instead of razing a ramshackle folk home, Beijing-based MDDM Studio used minimal intervention to turn it into a coffeehouse and multipurpose space.


“The new space called Studio is in a beautiful, far-flung region of China,” enthused Haena Seongsin Kim, director of WildChina Education. “It’s a cafe, but it’s also an art gallery, a gathering space, and a pitstop for independent travelers who happen to stumble upon this hidden location that is Songyang in Lishui, Zhejiang province.”


rural china travel


Since being named a pilot location for the Chinese government’s rural revitalization push in 2020, Lishui has been spotlighted by travelers, especially the artistically inclined. Songyang, one of Lishui’s nine counties, even served as a source of inspiration to two Shanghai-based photographers in November 2021; the resulting works were displayed at an exhibition titled Songyang’s Once Young at the Sinan Mansions in Shanghai.


As RADII has explored on more than one occasion, creative Chinese youth are increasingly drawn to the great outdoors and slower-paced lifestyles in second- or third-tier cities, which circles back to WildChina Studio’s primary mission.


wildchina studio songyang


Less a lifeline for Starbucks-reliant tourists (you know the type) and more a community hub, WildChina Studio was designed with Songyang’s shifting populace in mind.


According to Kendra Tombolato, marketing manager of WildChina, “The goal of the WildChina Studio space in Songyang is to create a community where locals and visitors can interact, learn and share experiences. So far we’ve been very successful in this mission, attracting a varied clientele, from cultured, artistic youth to traveling retirees, and local, lifelong residents.”


wildchina studio songyang


In fact, it is the very community members they serve who are helping to determine WildChina Studio’s events, which include a recurring movie night complete with cocktails. While this might sound run-of-the-mill in Shanghai, where such events occur on a weekly basis, it’s a real treat for the Zhejiang community. Affordable — think two cocktails and a film for the price of 49 RMB (about 6.79 USD) — and accessible to all, the artsy event has become a highly anticipated occasion on the local calendar.


“I think it’s safe to say we are leading this bespoke movie night push in the Zhejiang countryside,” beamed Tombolato. “We conduct regular surveys to gather feedback. When we received a local suggestion that we try a movie and cocktail night, we thought it was a great idea.”


Interestingly, WildChina Studio receives almost as many requests for skill improvement workshops (photography lessons, makeup classes) as entertainment programs (board game nights, film screenings).


“We are finding that rural residents are often seeking the same entertainment and social escapes that residents of larger cities enjoy, so the key is to provide access to these experiences for them,” added Tombolato.


No. 9 Magic Water

No. 9 Magic Water, a seasonal coffee beverage at WildChina Studio


WildChina’s new cafe also serves to enlighten travelers about the surrounding region, and what better way to communicate this than by way of comestibles?


“We work to incorporate Songyang’s local flavors and ingredients into our menu, which is tweaked seasonally based on what’s being harvested locally,” said store manager Zhang Yin.


Putting freshness and flavor at the forefront of their menu creation, Zhang and team sweetened their summertime beverages with local peach jam (“It’s produced just down the road — true farm-to-cup!”) and have just concocted a new libation using the first bloom of autumn (“No. 9 Magic Water is coffee infused with locally-sourced and harvested sour plums and osmanthus flowers.”).


Some claim the spread of coffee chains dilutes local traditions, but independent coffeehouses built around eco-tourism may have the opposite effect. Rural revitalization can be executed tastefully if the community is treated as the beating heart of a project.


Follow WildChina Studio on WeChat by scanning the QR code here.


All images courtesy of WildChina

Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila Flops in China

Kendall Jenner’s award-winning liquor brand, 818 Tequila, made its China debut in August, but it has yet to gain significant traction in the country. On the Chinese ecommerce platform Taobao, bottles of Jenner’s liquor have been purchased fewer than 500 times in the past month.


taobao 818 tequila kendall jenner china sales

818 Tequila being sold on Taobao. Image via Taobao


The brand partnered with leading importer ChinaBev to bring its tequila to the Chinese market. ChinaBev planned both nationwide ecommerce distribution and local sales in large cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Shenzhen.


On the promotional front, 818 Tequila hosted a launch party at 1 Oak Shanghai on September 30 and partnered with other nightclubs like PH Chengdu to sell its liquor. However, some of the recent promotional events may have been hindered by a range of Covid-19-related shutdowns in Shanghai beginning in October.

Bottles of 818 — which come in añejo, blanco, and reposado variations — are sold on Taobao by ChinaBev and other liquor stores for prices ranging from 419 RMB (about 60 USD) to 745 RMB (about 103 USD).


The brand’s own Taobao storefront, Drink818, only sells sets of tequila shooters for 268 RMB, along with branded products such as tote bags and custom Nike Air Force 1s. Some products, including an oversized button-up, have not been purchased a single time in the past month.


kendall jenner 818 tequila

The Drink818 storefront. Image via Taobao


Jenner’s brand may be suffering from limited social media marketing. Even with ChinaBev promoting the brand on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo, the hashtag #818Tequila# has a little over 5,000 views.


The brand is slightly more popular on Xiaohongshu, a Chinese lifestyle platform, where the promotional tag has 571,000 views. However, the number pales compared to the tag for Kendall Jenner herself, which has more than 46 million views.


kendall jenner 818 tequila

Three varieties of 818 are available in China — añejo, blanco, and reposado. Image via Xiaohongshu


The overall lack of traction for Jenner’s brand can possibly be attributed to Chinese consumers’ relative disinterest in tequila.


Daxue Consulting reported that tequila was the least popular and least sold among the seven major kinds of spirits available in the Chinese market — baijiu, whisky, brandy, vodka, rum, and gin being the others. In comparison, Don Julio 1942 Tequila is the third-most-popular liquor brand in the U.S. market.


According to the same report, in March 2019, only 1.68 million bottles of tequila were sold on Chinese ecommerce platforms, while the most popular spirit, baijiu, sold 119 million bottles.


It remains to be seen whether the popularity of Kendall Jenner, who graced the cover of Vogue China in June, can overcome the Chinese market’s distaste for tequila. But for now, it seems celebrity power can’t sell everything.


Cover image via Instagram

‘Convenience Store Cocktails’ Are All the Rage in China Right Now

In light of rising unemployment and unpredictable lockdowns, which have been disrupting nightlife throughout China, what’s safer and cheaper than sourcing your cocktails directly from local convenience stores?


Recently, Chinese youth have done just that — taking to social media platforms to share creative drink ideas that only require ingredients from China’s ubiquitous convenience stores.


On the Instagram-like platform Xiaohongshu, a hashtag related to convenience store cocktails has racked up nearly 15 million views, while a similar hashtag on Douyin, China’s answer to TikTok, has amassed over 370 million views at the time of writing.


convenience store cocktails

Some creative cocktail recipes by netizens. Image via Xiaohongshu


In addition to uploading tutorials on how to recreate classic cocktails like the Long Island iced tea, netizens have been sharing ideas for unusual and tasty pairings — Jägermeister and lemon tea, anyone?


On October 16, 7-Eleven, an American convenience store chain with more than 71,000 outlets in China, hopped on the bandwagon by inaugurating the first DIY cocktail machine at its storefront in Beijing’s Dongzhimen area.


Customers can purchase a cup of ice for 7 RMB (about 1 USD) and choose from four spirits: whiskey, white rum, coffee liquor, or Malibu, before adding their mixer of choice, which, according to pictures on the internet, includes primarily soft drinks, ice tea, coconut milk, and coffee.


convenience store cocktails

The DIY cocktail machine in a 7-Eleven in Dongzhimen, Beijing. Image via Xiaohongshu


Craft cocktail bars have mushroomed in China’s first-tier cities in recent years to meet growing demand, a phenomenon that award-winning bartender Faye Chen called “China’s cocktail revolution.” Now, convenience store cocktails are part of a rising trend that sees Chinese youth reinventing their drinking culture — an exciting new chapter in said revolution.


Cover image designed by Zhuohan Shao and Beatrice Tamagno

Chinese Consumers Are Not Impressed With Apple’s New iPads

On October 18, Apple announced the next generation of iPads. Some Apple fans, or guo fen (果粉), as they call themselves in China, stayed up late for the unveiling but were disappointed by the new products and their pricing.


“‘Shocking’ is the only word I can find to describe [the new launch],” wrote a user on Zhihu, a Chinese social media platform similar to Quora. “To sum it up in one sentence: Apple is truly letting it rot (Chinese internet lexicon for ‘throwing in the towel’) and has no shame.”


The new iPad 10 is priced from 3,599 RMB (about 499 USD), while the new iPad Pro starts at 6,799 RMB (around 943 USD). Compared to the last generation’s models, both cost around 1,000 RMB (about 139 USD) more.


However, the higher prices don’t justify any significant technological advances in either of the gadgets. While the new iPad 10 has simply been redesigned, making it look more like the Air and Pro models with USB Type-C connectors, the new iPad Pro has an upgraded M2 chip, giving it a 20% speed boost.


iPad 10 Apple China

The new iPad 10. Image via Apple


Based on the online chatter, Chinese netizens are clearly not satisfied with the limited upgrades. Some have even gone as far as to call the design of the new iPad 10 “moronic.”


The new model only supports the first-generation Apple Pencil, which requires a Lightning connector. Potential customers asking Apple how to charge their Apple Pencils using their iPad have been told they’ll need to buy a separate adapter for 67 RMB (around 9.3 USD).


iPad 10

A Weibo user’s illustration explains how to charge the Apple Pencil using the iPad 10. Image via Weibo


Some citizens with limited financial resources have waited a long time for the new models to drop, as they had hoped to buy the older ones at a lower price. But their dreams were dashed last night, as Apple has also raised the prices of its earlier models.


The 256-gigabyte Wi-Fi+Cellular model of the iPad Air 5, launched in March, sees the steepest price increase — it now costs 600 RMB (approximately 83 USD) more.


Some users on the Chinese micro-blogging platform Weibo have jokingly called their iPad Air 5 a successful investment product. The hashtag ‘iPad prices rising significantly across the board’ (#iPad全线大涨价#) had amassed over 100 million views at the time of writing.


apple China

Apple’s splash screen ad for its new iPads. Screenshot via Weibo


Apple has been relatively successful in the Chinese mainland since it entered the market, with customers forming long lines outside their flagship stores ahead of new product drops. Some privileged customers even pay professional queuers to stand in line for them.


How will Apple’s newest tablets fair with Chinese consumers? We’ll find out when the iPad 10 and the new Pro model hit store shelves on October 26.


Cover image via Apple’s press release