Trending in Beijing: China's First Cloned Cat, Universal Studios Update, and 5G for Everyone
The fun, the strange, and the what-on-earth-is-this? Trending in Beijing is a wrap-up of top stories in Beijing as told by the trending hashtags, local press, and general power of the internet.
China's first commercially cloned cat is born in Beijing
Are you looking to copy-paste your pet? Well, now you can! On Aug 19, Chinese biotech company Sinogene presented their first successfully cloned house cat to the world. The British shorthair named Garlic was cloned after owner Huang Yu lost the original pet to a urinary tract infection, as reported by Sixth Tone. Little Garlic was born naturally on Jul 21, using a surrogate mother of a different breed.
Sinogene first successfully cloned a dog back in 2017 and started commercial cloning in 2018. It now charges RMB 380,000 to clone a dog and RMB 250,000 for a cat. They hope to clone approximately 500 dogs per year.
The owner admitted he was slightly disappointed with the clone since the original Garlic had a distinctive mark on his chin that is missing from the new Garlic. Netizens, on the other hand, are impressed and in awe of the technology as well as with the cuteness of the little cat itself. Follow the story over at #国内首例克隆猫主人回应# (owner's response to the first cloned cat in China).
Universal Studios park construction moves forward
Weibo users are calling Beijing's new Universal Studios park "practically finished" after the steel structures of roller coasters were spotted and reportedly completed. Excited fans are rejoicing over the soon-to-be-finished rollercoaster project as well as the adjoining Harry Potter castle.
Upon completion, this Universal Studio park will be the largest of its kind in the world and will include attractions from Kung Fu Panda, Transformers, and Jurassic Park, among others. The park is estimated to be ready for rides in 2021, however, as we have previously reported, the opening date has already been pushed a few times.
Additionally, some users are already requesting that the park's rides will use the original language recordings instead of dubbing them in Mandarin. "In Japan, I heard Harry Potter speak Japanese and felt like fainting," wrote one user. Others are already moaning about the likely "people mountain, people sea" problem that will likely engulf the park once it's open to the public.
You can follow all of the construction action under #北京环球影城钢结构搭建基本完成# (Beijing Universal Studio steel construction is basically finished).
Operators to roll out 5G network starting Sep 1
Until just recently, 5G was reserved for science fiction stories and creepy police videos, but starting Sep 1, you can be a part of the grand scheme too! That's because China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom have announced that they will make the 5G network available commercially as of next month.
Unfortunately for Chinese consumers, it appears that there will not be any subsidies for 5G phones, unlike in South Korea for example, where companies use this feature to attract new customers. This is in part because reporters have argued that 5G phones in mainland China are already affordable. For example, the ZTE AXON 10 Pro 5G is RMB 4,999 whereas the Huawei Mate 20X 5G starts at RMB 6,199. Compare that to South Korea's Samsung Galaxy 5G, which launched at RMB 13,000, and you start to see their point.
Despite the upgrade to Internet speeds, not all Weibo users are smitten with the idea of 5G. Some are asking whether there will be a way for them to stay on 4G in the long-term, while others are complaining that their 4G network has been much slower recently, a problem that should be addressed first.
Are you getting a 5G phone come September? Join the debate at #三大运营商9月1日5G商用# (Three major operators launch commercial 5G network on Sep 1), which currently has over 54 million readers.
READ: Here Are 3 5G Phones to Get You Ready for Beijing's Super-Speed Network
Images: Weibo
