Trending in Beijing: A (Perilous) Sign From Above, Face Masks at Work, and an Aborted Flight
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.
Woman injured by falling sign at Chaowai Soho
During the strong winds that buffeted the capital on Oct 28, one unfortunate woman was seriously injured by an unlodged sign outside of Chaowai Soho. The woman was struck in the head by the sign before being taken to hospital where she was reported to be in a stable condition. The incident occurred during morning rush hour, so more than one gory photo of the scene quickly found its way onto the internet.
In response to the accident, Soho China launched an emergency audit to check the condition of all signs and billboards on the premises. It was reported that a number of signs have already been removed after they were found to have rusty and damaged foundations.
This is not the first time such an incident has occurred in Beijing. Just last year, a sign fell down from an Our Hours convenience store south of Sanlitun, injuring a passerby. Curiously enough, both of the incidents are related to large reputable businesses, rather than obscure brands, leading to questions about the quality control methods employed by such companies.
Media company provides daily facial masks
In a time when China's powers are trying to scan, analyze, and extract every byte of possible data from our precious mugs, news of a company helping people to cover their faces instead of unveil them is sure to garner media attention. One Beijing-based company, Focus Media, is doing just that and has recently received the praise of netizens (especially, we are guessing, from burnt-out office employees) for their new and unusual autumn tradition.
According to an internal email, female employees are encouraged to apply a facial mask provided by the company every day at 5pm. Given how much Chinese women love sheet masks (seriously, whether it's in gym changing rooms or on flights or buses, they are everywhere) and how dry the air is in fall and winter, the gesture has been generally well-received.
However, some netizens suspect an ulterior motive. "This means you can't leave work until 9pm," wrote one, although she didn't clarify why exactly the mask would have to stay on for four entire hours. Another complained, "I would have to take my makeup off for this, how troublesome." So the question on everybody's (moisturized) lips is: are male employees also entitled to this luxurious treat? Unfortunately, the email does not specify.
China is no stranger to awarding employees "special" treatment according to their gender. Women are often given extra time off or gifts during International Women's Day on Mar 8, and stories about overzealous (mostly male) bosses forcing female employees into compromising situations are not unheard of. Netizens are following news of the mask-friendly media company under #带薪敷面膜# (Paid masks).
Air France flight forced to return to Beijing
Paris-bound Air France flight AF125 was forced to return to Beijing Capital airport on Oct 25 after a fire alarm was triggered onboard. The Boeing 777 aircraft sent out the general emergency signal 7700 and dumped all its fuel prior to landing in Beijing Capital Airport at 12.04pm, about 2.5 hours after takeoff. The 7700 signal can either signal mechanical failure or an onboard medical emergency but does not necessarily indicate that the aircraft was in any imminent danger.
It is not yet known how or why the fire alarm was triggered, but all 352 passengers were reported to have touched down safely. Weibo users are following the news under #法航北京飞巴黎客机因火警返航# (Paris-bound Air France flight turns back due to fire emergency).
READ: Flying Further: How Daxing Airport is Holding Up One Month On
Images: Weibo, Foreo
