Legend of the Grass Mud Horse 草泥马

So, the latest craze sweeping the internet is the legend of the 草泥马 / cao ni ma ('grass mud horse'), an alpaca like creature, fighting censorship in China. I have been keeping myself amused reading all about Male and Gebi...

Growing up, I didn't hear my parents swear a great deal but even when they did I didn't know they were. I mean, I didn't know the literal meaning of the words they were saying and it wasn't till much much later that I did! so when I read this (Modern Chinese profanity) I was very shocked and surprised... (warning: not for the easily offended or prudish). It also explains why there is a Canon G7 and G9 (and now G10) camera but no G8.

Anyway back to the 草泥马 / cao ni ma (which sounds like another phrase I heard my father say when he was driving (but that's another story)) I think the plushies are adorable... pity it's not a real animal, but that's not the point, is it? Of course the YouTube videos/songs are much funnier if you understand Mandarin and the double meanings of the words but the China Digital Times site explains it well. I have re-posted the lyrics and video (second video here) from their site.

There is a herd of Grass Mud Horses
In the wild and beautiful Ma Le Desert
They are lively and intelligent
they are fun-loving and nimble
They live freely in the Ma Le Desert
They are courageous, tenacious, and overcome the difficult environment

Oh lying down Grass Mud Horse
Oh running wild Grass Mud Horse
They defeated river crabs in order to protect their grass land
River crabs forever disappeared from Ma Le Desert

在那荒茫美丽马勒戈壁
有一群草泥马，
他们活泼又聪明，
他们调皮又灵敏，
他们自由自在生活在那草泥马戈壁，
他们顽强勇敢克服艰苦环境。

噢，卧槽的草泥马！
噢，狂槽的草泥马！
他们为了卧草不被吃掉 打败了河蟹，
河蟹从此消失草泥马戈壁

Read more about it here:

New York Times

International Herald Tribune

China Digital Times

Male and Gebi who happen to come from the desert called Malegebi 马勒和歌碧

Shanghaiist

DanWei

Dan Wei 2

Wikipedia entry about the 10 Mythical Chinese creatures, including the Fa Ke You, a squid.

Chinese Description of the cao ni ma

Olympic torch in Shanghai

In less than 2 weeks the Olympic torch will make its way into Shanghai, and I'm excited! (and all the China haters can go and get stuffed =D When I go home I'll try to find and scan and upload my torch relay pic from the 2000 Sydney Olympics when they passed through my suburb and I got up at some ungodly hour to wait for them to come through).

Link

You can track the torch's journey here

Shanghai will hold a torch-lighting ceremony on Donghai Bridge in Nanhui District on May 20 when the torch arrives from Zhejiang Province, Eastday.com said.

Torch bearers will relay the torch across Fengxian, Jinshan, Songjiang, Qingpu, Minhang and Changning and Xuhui districts. They will then take it to Century Avenue and Bingjiang Boulevard in Pudong New Area via the Nanpu Bridge in Xuhui District.

After that, the torch will be taken to the former Shiliupu pier in Huangpu District by ferry. It will then pass Zhongshan No.1 Road E. of Huangpu District.

Another ceremony will be held in Century Square on Nanjing Road E. at the end of the first day, the report added.

On May 21, the torch will be lit near the Memorial Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Luwan District, and then relayed to Jing'an, Putuo, Zhabei, Hongkou and Yangpu districts. It will be ferried to Chongming Island from Baoyang Road pier and then ferried to Baoshan District from Shidongkou pier.

The torch will then move into Jiangsu Province after a ceremony in Anting Motor City in Jiading District.

The journey, which begun on March 24, will cover 137,000 kilometers, the longest in history, and last 130 days and involve 22,000 torch bearers worldwide.

Unfortunately I can't find a close-up actual map of its path in Shanghai. If anyone has seen one I'd love to know, thanks!

Shanghai - 10th most densely populated city in the world

According to Forbes Shanghai is the 10th most densely populated city in the world.

The others are:

1. Mumbai (Bombay), India
2. Kolkata (Calcutta), India
3. Karachi, Pakistan
4. Lagos, Nigeria
5. Shenzhen, China
6. Seoul/Incheon, South Korea
7. Taipei, Taiwan
8. Chennai, India
9. Bogata, Columbia
10. Shanghai, China

Density: 13,400 people per square kilometer
Land area: 746 square kilometers

A population of 10 million makes Shanghai the largest city in China. It's also the country's economic powerhouse, with financial, industrial, transportation and communication industries all growing. The city boasts the largest container port in the world.

11. Lima, Peru
12. Beijing, China
13. Delhi, India
14. Konsaha, Congo
15. Manila, Philippines
16. Tehran, Iran
17. Jakarta, Indonesia
18. Tianjin, China
19. Bangalore, India
20. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Exciting stuff!

I have some deliciously exciting news but it's not related to Shanghai and won't interest anyone so I'll just keep it to myself for the time being. :)