You read that right. Social media is lighting up with photos of inflatable penguins among exhibits of  geese, roosters and a tortoise in a tank sprinkled by money. And while the fake Happy Feet raised some smiles and a couple of laughs, some paying customers were not too happy.

The stunt got a mixed reaction on the popular social media site Sina Weibo. One user posted, “I can’t stop laughing. This is obviously deceiving the consumer. Don’t tell me the management were sleeping. This is making fun of our intelligence.” Another user posted it’s an “insult to our IQ.”

But the subject of animals is not always a laughing matter in China, as the country is known for having a dismal animal-rights record. And despite its title of having among the most censored media in the country, animal abuse is very well documented. Back In June 2017, video clips of zoo investors feeding a live donkey to tigers at a location in Changzhou city went viral on Chinese social media.

Footage of a bloodied endangered whale being dragged along the road by a pickup truck through the streets of China’s Xiapu County also went viral.

But on the bright side, China’s social media is also filled with stories like a cop’s retirement home for dogs. A video of that has been viewed millions of times.

As for the inflatable penguins, the odd attraction can be found in Yulin, Guangxi province.

Gruesome footage spread across the Internet showed that same shark being hacked to pieces by a group of men. But on Wednesday, the local government of Xiapu County announced it had made an arrest in connection to the incident. The people driving the truck had reportedly planned to sell the animal to a local hotel before management turned down the offer on the count of the shark being too “smelly.”

Authorities said the man in question had been charged with selling endangered animal parts. The whale shark is technically a nationally-protected animal, but endangered-animal laws are known for being loosely enforced in the country.

On multiple occasions, fisherman who were caught after capturing the shark had received less than a slap on the wrist. Some claimed to have been unaware of the law including a Fujian fisherman who caught one in 2014. He brought the carcass back to town to earn a profit. When authorities caught him, he claimed he did not know it was a whale shark. Police told him he could not sell the animal for profit. So, they auctioned off the meat instead.

According to online reports, a bride grabbed a coil of chains and went out looking for her runaway, would-be husband. This real Bridezilla then wrapped the chains around his wrists and dragged him across the streets while “gently” asking him to come back to his senses and to their wedding.

But while there is video proof that these actions took place, the reasoning behind it is shrouded in mystery. Netizens were not slow to devise some conspiracy theories.

Could these two be actors trying to promote a new product or film? Could this be some elaborate prank? Is it some form of “stage art”? Or did the poor guy just forget his safe word during an S&M session gone wrong – or more wrong, depending on how you look at it.

But whatever lesson this guy was being taught, let’s hope he learned it.

According to China’s state-run news agency, Xinhua, the statue’s head was first sighted a month ago in east China’s Jiangxi Province by a local villager when the water levels fell by more than 10 meters (32 feet) during the renovation.

The Buddha, which stands roughly 12.5 feet (3.8 meters) and carved into a cliff, is an archeological dream. Experts said that the regal statue could date back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

“A preliminary study of the statue suggests it was probably built during early Ming Dynasty, maybe even earlier as the Yuan Dynasty,” Xu Changqing, director of the Research Institute of Archaeology of Jiangxi province, told CNN via phone interview.

The Buddha is not only a wonder for archaeologists; tourists and villagers alike have flocked to marvel at the site, believing the statue to be a good omen.

Mr. Xu commented that being submerged in the water could have helped preserve the Buddha, which he explained has surprisingly intricate carvings. “If the statue wasn’t preserved in the water, it could have suffered weathering, oxidation or other risks, we reckon,” he said. An underwater archaeology team is investigating and coming up with a preservation plan, Mr. Xu added.

This incredible Buddha was covered by water in 1960 when the Hongmen reservoir was built. Local authorities at the time were unaware of what ‘heritage protection’ is, Mr. Xu told CNN.

Local Jiangxi Province officer told Xinhua News that the Buddha was carved into the cliff by ancient people “as a spiritual protector to calm the rapid-flowing current where two rivers converge”.

The ruling Communist Party’s top media watch dog has officially put Pikachu to sleep, saying the augmented reality game will never see the light of day there. The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) announced Pokémon Go and similar games won’t get approved for release.

It cited a threat to “geographic information security,” a threat not to be taken lightly by China’s heads of state.

Some locations, particularly those housing secret Chinese military bases, don’t even show up on Chinese mapping systems. Whether they are home to a real-life Mewtwo is up for debate, but some social media chatter even suggests Pokémon Go is an elaborate American conspiracy to harness Chinese military secrets.

On a more credible front, a Chinese expert in artificial intelligence told the Global Times that Pokémon Go could very well be used to steal military secrets if someone intended. That claim was made back in July when the rest of the world took a plunge into the frenzy that became Pokémon Go. A time that saw headlines about Snorlax stampedes in Taipei, 349 would-be Pokémon masters fined for driving while playing the game, and even a Hong Kong teen falling into a river while playing. What a summer – China never got to see it. Perhaps, high-ranking Communist Party officials did though. One can only wonder.

In a new stunt to “teach” the world that the waters and islands in the South China Sea have always belonged to China, the government pulled out the big guns (not literally, thank goodness). The Chinese Communist Party has debuted a 3 minute 13 second video in the world’s most famous city: New York City.

The video is displayed on massive screens in NYC’s bustling hub of sensory overload, Times Square. Not only is China shoving the “truth” down the throats of visitors just wanting to experience the Big Apple with the sheer size of the video, but the government has also set the video to play an excessive 120 times a day.

How much does an antic like this cost? A lot. State-run media agency Xinhua began leasing a large block of screens in Times Square back in 2011 to air advertisements promoting itself and China’s attractions. Shanghaiist reports that at that time, the precious ad space cost an estimated $300,000 (2 million RMB) to $400,000 (2.6 million RMB) a month. Now that is a pretty penny.

The video, which has been called “Boring AF” by Buzzfeed, tells the story of a China that has been, is, and always will have the rights to the South China Sea. The ad is set to catchy music and shows beautiful footage of the picturesque subtropical waters and various Chinese cultural images as texts of propaganda fill the screen. Through the use of a variety of foreign officials and “experts”, the video emphasizes the historical and cultural importance of the South China Sea.

“China is the only true owner of the Nansha Islands,” Wu Shicun, President of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, is seen saying.

“China is the first to have discovered, named, and explored and exploited Nanhai Zhudao (the South China Sea Islands) and other relevant waters,” another text from the video reads.

The video is being played July 23rd until August 3rd. So if you’re headed to Times Square for the day, chances are, you’ll see it – almost certainly more than once.

Yes, you read that correctly. KFC. As in the Colonel Sanders’ finger-licking fried chicken joint. The American fast-food chain has over 4,000 branches in China and is “often seen as a symbol of US influence in the country,” BBC news reported.

In the past few days, small crowds of people have gathered outside KFCs in Hebei, Changsha, and Hangzhou, shouting anti-US slogans and holding up banners reading “Get out of China, KFC and McDonalds.”

Although the protests have yet to reach gargantuan proportion, the peculiar (and frankly absurd) nature of them have drawn criticism from Chinese state media.

“This is not the way to express patriotism,” said state-run Xinhua news.

The China Daily newspaper wrote: “Instead of being patriotic, it is their jingoism that does a disservice to the spirit of devotion to the nation.

“Those who organize such activities without going through the necessary procedures and unlawfully harass others in the name of patriotism should be held accountable according to the law.”

In China, protesting without obtaining permission from the government is against the law.

According to BBC news, both China Daily and People’s Daily newspapers said both authorities and state media were “calling for rational patriotism.”

Chinese citizens took it upon themselves to express their anger in, well, a nonconventional way. No, they didn’t riot down the streets, they didn’t raise signs or posters, and they didn’t create controversial “expressive” art displays.

To show their outrage over the ruling, Chinese citizens smashed iPhones. I reiterate: they are deliberately crushing and destroying hundreds of dollars of smart technology. Most people – myself included – walk around fearing dropping our precious phones. And Chinese people are doing just that on purpose!

So, to show their resentment toward countries that support the tribunal’s decision, people in China have decided to boycott products – mainly American and Filipino products. Profits from those sales could go to “enemy” armies, citizens wrote on social media.

“Let’s all start boycotting today. Do not buy goods from South Korea, Japan, America and the Philippines. Do not travel there. I cannot fight on the front lines, but I will not be the foolish citizen who provides bullets for the enemy,” reads one popular post on social media site Weibo.

Some dubious citizens, in trying to call out those outspoken netizens, challenged them to show their determination by smashing their iPhones. Challenge accepted. Photos of shattered phones popped up on the internet.

Some, however, did not take the bait. This group said they had already paid for the phones, so there was no point in crashing them. They promised, however, that they will not purchase the iPhone 7 when it comes out.

On the Filipino front, many Chinese are boycotting the buying of mangoes coming from the island nation. Several Taobao shops began advertising that their produce comes from Thailand or China instead of from the Philippines. And for the shops that used to carry Filipino mangoes? Well, they put up signs telling customers to boycott the product. One very zealous owner even went as far to write the family of anyone who buys the mangoes would die.

No Filipino mangoes. Destroy iPhones. Yeah, that’ll show ‘em.

State broadcaster CCTV released a rare undercover report Tuesday which revealed that industrial waste is being used in the manufacturing of running tracks.

The incidents of children affected – who have suffered nosebleeds, headaches, and coughing – have been reported in the provinces of Jiangsu, Guangdong, and at least 15 other Chinese cities.

China’s Ministry of Education announced that inspections will take place nationwide this summer.

Students in Beijing have been hit by this case of toxic tracks as well. When children began experiencing health issues, the local government ordered the inspection of all sports tracks and fields in the province, BBC News reports.

These inspections, in many instances, revealed high levels of potentially carcinogenic chemicals in new synthetic turfs, including the extremely poisonous compound, formaldehyde.

The Chinese undercover television investigation into multiple track manufacturers exposed that as a means to reduce the production cost, the companies used substandard waste, including discarded tyres.

The Ministry of Education has now said it will send environmental protection and quality watchdogs to inspect running tracks and fields across the country, and will remove any of which do not live up to safety standards.

The ministry claims that it is taking the problem “very seriously.” Those responsible for the negligence will “face resolute and serious punishment with no mercy given,” it added.

Construction of any new tracks has been suspended, and an increase in oversight of officials involved in the production and building of running tracks has been implemented, according to the ministry.  

At least one school in Beijing has already begun tearing up its track.

However, parents of Beijing schoolchildren took to protest last week against inexcusable safety standards, complaining that in numerous cases, the noxious tracks have not yet been removed.

New research, however, suggests that Chinese drinkers may have been brewing beer as many as 5,000 years ago. Who knew?

A study published in the U.S. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences states that Chinese and U.S. researchers found traces of barley, millet, grain, and tubers used in fermentation.  

The components were found on pottery discovered in an archeological dig in Shaanxi province in northern China that occurred ten years ago.

This would be the earliest known instance of beer-making in the country, the study observed. It also suggested a sophisticated method, the article continued.

A fun fact for beer-fans: the research indicates that barley may have been used for making booze before it was ever used for food. What a concept!

The research findings are significant, for it reveals that Chinese drinkers may have developed a taste for the alcoholic drink around the same time as people in ancient Egypt and Iran – from where barley originated.

“The discovery of barley is a surprise,” lead author Jiajing Wang of Stanford University told the BBC in an email. It was previously thought to have arrived in China a whopping 1,000 years later than this, the new research unveiled.

Although the pottery fragments discovered were from an archeological dig a decade ago, they only had their residue analyzed in 2015. Late last year, a team of researchers from Stanford University confirmed earlier speculation that the pottery’s reside may have been used for brewing.

The dig uncovered pots and pottery funnels, coated with a residue of broomcorn millet, barley, a chewy substance known as Job’s tears, and tubers. Also included in the find were stoves that could have been used to heat and mash grains, and underground spaces that would have kept the brew at a cool, consistent fermentation temperature.

“This beer recipe indicates a mix of Chinese and Western traditions – barley from the West; millet, Job’s tears and tubers from China,” Mr. Jiajing wrote.

Bad news for history-buffs with a propensity for slugging back beers, though: while the scientists and researchers do know the ingredients used for making the ancient beer, they don’t know the specific quantities used. The exact taste of the 5,000 year old brew will remain a mystery.