Born without arms, Liu Jianming has learned to sew using her feet, ever since she was a teenager. and still creates beautifully embroidered works of art.

The old seamstress could never afford to rent or buy a shop, to work in, so she spends her days working on a street corner, in the Chinese city of Kunming, Yunnan province. What other seamstresses struggle to do with their hands, she accomplishes with only her feet, and while there are those who doubt her abilities, they become believers, once they see her at work.

But as she’s getting older, her job becomes more and more difficult. Her feet are just as nimble as they’ve always been, but her eyesight isn’t what it used to be. Still, Liu Jianming continues to sew, as it’s her only way of supporting herself.

Photos by europics via austriantimes

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It’s official, China is trying to get this cooking thing completely automated. A week after a retired engineer presented his DIY robot cook, another springs up .

The students of Yangzhou University, in Yangzhou, China partnered up with an enterprise from Shenzen, to create a fully automated robotic cook. Their result is nothing short of impressive, considering the machine can cook over 600 dishes from Chinese cuisine. All anyone has to do is put in the necessary ingredints, program the robot and weight for the dish to be served.

Bad news for Liu Changfa, the retired engineer who presented his own patented robot cook. Iguess hi dream of selling one to every restaurant in China, won’t be coming true, after all.

Photos by Zhao Jun/Xinhua

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Dolphins are smart, talented creatures,no doubt about that, but I had no ides painting was one of their skills.

Xiaoqiang, a dolphin from Qingdao, in China’s Shandong Province has learned to paint, under the guidance of his trainer. Looking at his work, I’d say he still has a long way to go before becoming the second Rembrandt, but he’s well on his way. Surprisingly enough, Xiaoqiang is not the world’s first painting mammal, the painting elephants of Thailand and Cholla the painting horse have been doing it for years.

Photos by Xinhua/REUTERS via Xinhua

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An old lady, in her 70s, has taken China by storm, after some photos of her appeared on a Chinese forum.

It might seem unusual for a lady of her age to act all goofy like that, but according to Sun Linchong, the woman’s grandson, and the man behind the camera, this adorable granny is very open and cool with new things. Together they set up some props and take funny photos, just for laughs.

When he uploaded the first set of photos, Sun Linchong had no idea his grandmother would become a Chinese internet sensation, but people who’ve seen were instantly mesmerized. Now the duo regularly upload funny photos that apparently remind viewers of their beloved grannies. Take a look at this cool gal:

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Ms Liu, a 90-years-old woman from China is the current record holder for the smallest feet in the world.

Foot binding was an important tradition in China until the early 20th century. There are several theories regarding how a gruesome custom like foot binding became so popular, but regardless of which one is true, the outcome is still the same: women suffer excruciating pain, infections and disabilities.

Basically, young girls’ toes and foot arches were brutally broken, without any pain relief, and then bound in tiny shoes that prevented the feet from growing normally. Women with bound feet were actually considered “intensely erotic”. One of these women was Ms. Liu, a 90-year old woman, from Yunnan province, China. Her feet were bound when she was just 5 years old, and she has been living like this for the past 85 years.

Although foot binding was banned in China, and she doesn’t need to wear her tiny shoes anymore, Ms. Liu finds it makes her feet aesthetically pleasing. She may be 90-years-old, but her feet are the size of a 10-year-old girl.

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A Chinese hospital has released images of a 6-year-old boy who was born with 15 fingers and 16 toes. Since more isn’t always better, he’ll soon undergo surgery to have the extras removed.

With a total of 31 fingers and toes, the boy, who’s identity hasn’t been revealed, has beaten the previous record of 25. According to scientists, the excess of fingers and toes is a result of gene mutation.

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Liu Changfa, a retired automation engineer,from China, needed only one year to create a robot cook, using only rudimentary tools, like hammer and axe.

The Chinese inventor connected his robot cook to a laptop computer and a cellphone that allow to choose preset menus, or program it to cook certain dishes. Vinegar, salt, sugar and all other seasoning is stored in the robot’s chest, and the cooking takes place in its belly, where an induction cooker is installed. With the help of some dedicated software, the dedicated robot can be programmed to add a certain amount of seasoning, or stir a dish a certain number of times.

All Liu Changfa has to do is put the raw ingredients into the pot, and wait for the beeping sound, made by the robot. He has already contacted a Chinese restaurant, which will test the robot cook in its kitchen, and add robot dishes on its menu. More restaurants will shortly follow, says Liu Changfa.

Well, I’d wait a while before adding cooking to the list of automated fields, but this is definitely a step in that direction.

Photos via CNS Photo

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I know there’s nothing weird about babes stripping for husbands, but the title can be a bit misleading.

On a drizzling morning, a group of eight young girls, from Guangzhou, China, showed up near a local metro station, and started handing out fliers to male passers-by. There was nothing overly odd about them, apart from the masks covering their faces.

All of a sudden, music began playing, and the girls started dancing while holding signs that read stuff like “Marry me, please!” or “My mum’s been pestering me to get married. Marry me, please!” Their dance quickly turned into a striptease act, with the girls tossing off their clothes, all the way to their underwear.

The unusual even attracted over 100 curious onlookers, as well as several vehicles stopping by to check out what was going on. People were cheering, clapping or taken pictures, but their joy was short-lived, as the metro station staff quickly crashed the party.

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Young Zhang Mengqian, a university student from China, got more than she bargained for when her “boyfriend-wanted” card caused a stir among her male colleagues.

On March 8, to celebrate Women’s Day, the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, in Chengdu, gave every girl student a bland piece of paper, and asked each of them to put down their wish and post it on a wishing wall.

Here’s what freshman Zhang Mengqian wrote on her card: “My name is Zhang Mengqian, a grade one student, and I think I am attractive, but strangely I can’t find a boyfriend. However I believe in destiny. If you have the same wish, please come under my dormitory building and shout for my name in between 12:30 to 12:50 on March 11th, and I will observe you secretly up on the building. If you’re my type, I’ll come down to meet you.”Combine that with a ratio of male and female students of 25:1, and yo have a real horn-fest on your hands.

Zhang Mengqian message became so popular that on noon of March 11, over 2,000 male students gathered in front of her dorm building. Not all of them were brave enough to shout out her name, though, but that’s maybe because none of those who did had any luck.

So i hope you learned your lesson Zhang Mengqian, NEVER ask for a boyfrind in a country with over one billion inhabitants. That’s a big “no-no”!

via Quirky China

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Zhang Ruifang, a 100-year old woman, from China’s Henan Province, has a strange horn coming out of the left side of her forehead.

This reminds me so much of the horned lady, but Zhang’s horn is much more…horn-like. The 1-century-old woman says her bizarre horn started growing last year, and now measures between 5 and 6 cm in length. Although the horn causes her no pain, I can only imagine how unhappy this poor woman is with her situation. Read More »

Huang Cheng-nan, a ceramic master from China, has created a series of beautiful ceramic bowls, thinner than China’s Jingdae bowl, the thinnest ceramic in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records.

Huang Cheng-nan’s ceramic bowls range from 12 cm to 20 cm in diameter, weigh between 4 and 8 grams, and are between 0.15 and 0.18 mm thick. His works are so light they can easily be supported by a cobweb. These fragile works of art are on display in Taipei, and will soon be acknowledged as the thinnest ceramic bowls on Earth.

Photos by REUTERS via Daylife

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The Pig Contest of Guanshan Village, Guangdong Province, China, is a centuries old tradition dating back to the Qing Dinasty.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists, from all over China, travel to Guanshan, every year, to take a look at the hundreds of pigs on display at the Pig Contest. This year, around 500 oinkers were sacrificed, cleaned up and set on display to be admired by passers-by.

After the most handsome pig is allected, the festivities end in a gargantuan feast, when the tasty participants are sliced up and served to the public. Read More »

Born at a normal weight, little Pang Ya now tips the scales at 41.5 kilograms, which is about as much as an adult Chinese woman.

Pang Ya weighed around 4 kilograms, when she was born, but reached 20 pounds in just 8 months, and ever since then she kept piling on the pounds. Now her worried parents are seeking medical help. They admit the toddler has a very healthy appetite, but claim doctors have no idea what is wrong with their daughter.

Pang Ya, from Taocun town, Shanxi province, is just one of over 60 million obese people in China. The numbers doubled between 1992 and 2002. That may have something to do with the opening of several fast-food chains in China.

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Apparently, one of the globe’s biggest polluters has found an environment friendly alternative to plastic keyboards and mice.

Bamboo keyboards and mice are not exactly new on the market, and I’m sure you’ve come across all sorts of wooden peripheral concepts online. Jiangxi Bamboo Technology Development Co. Ltd., the only bamboo peripherals manufacturer in China, says their products have become increasingly popular at a national level, after they’ve been successfully exported to markets in Europe and America.

Production of bamboo keyboards and mice began in 2008, but until early 2009, they’ve only been shipped to foreign countries. But ever since franchised stores opened in Shanghai and Ningbo, China can’t get enough of its environment-friendly peripherals.

Judging from the photos, the Chinese aren’t stopping at just bamboo keyboards and mice, they’re taking it a step further, with bamboo encased LCD displays.

via Gadgetonian (photos by ImagineChina)

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To welcome the Lantern Festival that marks the end of the Chinese Lunar Year festivities, authorities have covered an entire building in brightly colored paper lanterns. Around 2,000 traditional lanterns were used to cover the facade.

The Lantern Festival is one of China’s most important celebrations, and this year it will be celebrated on February 28.

via ImagineChina

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