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Top Obscura
21 Amazing Bangalore Breakfast Dishes 
The Creepiest Amusement Park of All Time? 
China’s all-time favorite (and all-time darkest?) comic book: Sanmao 
Why Chinese People Eat Sea Horse 
Classic Chinese Torture Methods (and their cute names) 
Amazing Old Bollywood Poster Shops 
Beijing’s incredible (and completely fake) Disneyland 
India’s Incredibly Cool Hand-Drawn Movie Posters 
The 38th Reich: Korean Nazi Cosplay 
Prosthetic Noses, Red Wigs, and Whiteface… American Characters in Chinese Films 
Why Chinese People Eat Ants 
This Hindu God has 1,000 Vaginas! 
Castration Classes at the Beijing Eunuch Culture Exhibition Hall 
Nazi Fashion in China 
One Ghostly Cambodian Ruin 
What the Fortune Teller Told Me (Hong Kong) 
Why Chinese People Eat Deer Penis 
About Andy Deemer & AsiaObscura 
Beijing’s Single Most Horrific Meal 
The Sick Collector and His 1000 Pairs of Shoes 
Learn How to Speak North Korean 
The Insane Monkey Bar in Tokyo 
Whoring in Chiang Mai 
A Huge Pile of Gorgeous Old Thai Movie Posters 
Those Creepy Japanese Videos, Finally Explained 
Why Chinese People Eat Snake as Medicine 
Philadelphia CheeseSteak Ice Cream 
The Best Place to Eat and Poop, Together! 
A Huge New Horde of Hand-drawn Indian Movie Posters 
Pyongyang Too: A Tribute to Guy Delisle - Awesomely Steampunk Portable Corn Roaster
Red Onion-Flavored Red Wine 
The New iOS Game From the Creators of AsiaObscura 
Gorgeously Gory Paintings in a Burmese Temple 
18 Terrible Moments from a Taoist Hell 
American Imperialist Bastards in a North Korean Comic Book 
Outrageously Cute Korean Cosplay: The 21 Favorites 
Sweet gruesome statue asking for donations 
The Taj Mahal… Murder, Incest, and Fratricide 
Beijing’s Dongyue Temple and Their 19 Incredible Taoist Gods 
A Postcard from Erenhot 
On Horse Meat Sashimi - Why Chinese People Eat Fried Worms
Small Children Feeding Live Animals to Tigers in a Chinese Zoo 
Another Diana Pose at the Taj Mahal 
A Sweet New Batch of Indian Movie Posters 
Antilia: The Most Gratuitous House in Mumbai 
Porn, Rats, and Antique Projectors at Sri Lanka’s Classic Cinemas 
The Eko Nugroho Flower Suit Lives On 
Mad Costumes Across Asia
Tag Archives: China
Modern Ruins
Creepy Statue in an Abandoned School (in a neighborhood that’s almost gone)
Last week, DK and I stumbled on a strange abandoned school in northern Beijing. We were looking for the city's largest recycling center, but this mad statue was a far tastier find. Seven demonic babes, lounging, suckling, emerging from the concrete. "Can you imagine seeing this every day? As a kid?" It was strange. But ...
Consumerism, Lost in Translation
Black Friday Special: Four Products You Shouldn’t Live Without
Trauma Relieving Spray Krack Clit A Free Shart
Sweet Movies and Wild Books
The Disastrous Fall of Sanmao
Remember the last time we visited that wretched and bruised little street urchin, Sanmao? Oh, what dark laughs we shared. Well, the other day I found two new Sanmao books. From 1980 and 1985, they were full of strips I'd never seen. I leapt with joy and overpaid for them -- they were antiques, the ...
Historical Wonders
Classic Chinese Torture Methods (and their cute names)
From the strange reign of Empress Wu Zetian (690-705): "Inviting the Gentleman into the Jug" - Place the victim in a large vat, and heat it to roasting temperature with fires around its base. "The Phoenix Suns Her Wings" - Hang the prisoner by his arms and legs from a beam, and spin him. "The Fairy Maid Presents ...
Copyright Carelessness
Chisney & Koreansney: Local Disney Knockoffs
We already have a Beijing ChineDisneyland, and the abandoned WonderDisneyLand. But what about these Disney knockoffs... Government-published Travel in Chinese language books... Papa Daniel Koreatalian diners.... Yes Madam (It's My Choice) Body Lotion, at every local pharmacy.... My favorite, though, is this Disney toy I found in with other toys at the market down the ...
Other Obscura
Starbucks: The Newest Chinese Snooze Spot
Curled up, cuddled up, under a coat -- that's the right way to sleep at the Gongti Beilu Starbucks. These aren't homeless winos, but students, fashionistas, men in suits. And these aren't all naps. One woman, below, slept for four hours. People sat down, got janked up, left, and she kept ...
Shameless Promotion
Bizarre Beijing: CityWeekend’s Tribute to AsiaObscura
Maybe you missed it, but fresh on the heels of their coverage of our taxidermy efforts, the the October issue of CityWeekend was devoted to Bizarre Beijing! Of course their research ended in the pages of AsiaObscura. Heh heh. They recommend - the unmissably gory Daoist statues of Dongyue Temple - the quirk in miniature of ...
Sweet Movies and Wild Books
The Goriest, Raunchiest Chinese Classic of All Time
"Have you ever heard of Leonard Cohen?" Sidney shouts. He's trying to be heard over the album that's blasting through his hutong apartment. "Someone gave me this CD. It's great for doing taichi!" Sidney Shapiro's 90-something years old. He moved to Shanghai looking for a job in 1947. And he's lived in ...
Holy Curiosities
Creepy Mianshan Devotional Statues
One of them even looks a little like Ving Rhames...
Sweet Movies and Wild Books
Prosthetic Noses, Red Wigs, and Whiteface… American Characters in Chinese Films
Hollywood's never been too subtle when it comes to Asia. Mickey Rooney, yellow-skinned, buck-toothed and slanty-eyed, howling "Horry Gorightry!!!" down the staircase yet again. Warner Oland, carefully quoting his ancient proverbs before smacking Number Two Son yet again. And what was that Long Duck Dong quote? Oh yes, of course, "No more yankie my ...
Offbeat Museums
The Incredible Dollhouse Explosion of Xi’an
Dark and modern and ultra-creepy, the Hanyangling Museum of Xi'an is empty of tourists, but crammed with pits of naked, two-foot-tall men. It's something like an explosion in a doll factory, or a scene of marionette massacre. Their silk robes and wooden swords and wooden arms rotted away centuries ago, leaving them unarmed and armless, ...
Our Weird Projects, Strange Tourism
Mad Costumes Across Asia
As regular readers know, we at AsiaObscura love costumes. We've captured some incredible cosplay adventures here, here, here, here and even here. But it goes deeper. Almost every tourist hotspot across north-east Asia has a rack of costumes, a dramatic backdrop or two, and a whole boatload of awesomeness to dive into. Be ...
Lost in Translation
A Slightly Unfortunate Sign Mishap
Seen at Xian's Hong Kong Star Restaurant. Or ratS tnaruatseR, as it is.
Extraordinary Eats
Awesomely Steampunk Portable Corn Roaster
Found this fellow in an alleyway behind my house the other day, roasting corn on the side of the road. "What's this machine called?" I asked. I was amazed, watching him flip the cobs from one tube to another, moving them closer and further from the flame below. Constantly he was rolling the tubes, handling ...
Historical Wonders, Lost in Translation, Sweet Movies and Wild Books
Cute Little Cultural Revolution “Learn Chinese” Booklet
The cultural revolution-era "Learning English" book blew my mind, but when I stumbled on this little "Learn Chinese" booklet the other day, I was touched. It represented such a different side of the Cultural Revolution. Instead of war/hate/fear of the "Learn English" book, this one radiates with the hope, promise, and togetherness that ...
Extraordinary Eats, Lost in Translation
Another Mind-Blowingly Incredible Menu
After the insane Cultural Revolution restaurant menu, I didn't think I'd ever be impressed by mistranslated food titles again. Boy, was I wrong. Below are some of my new favorite dishes from our local duck restaurant. One dish wasn't mistranslated at all. And it's my favorite... spicy, awesome, and a weird unexpected ...
Other Obscura
Our Six Best China Stories!
Happy 61st 62nd birthday, China! (And happy 39th birthday, me!) In honor of this grand celebration of the founding of the People's Republic of China, today we decided to sift through the AsiaObscura archives, and return to our wildest, most popular China stories of 2011! And so, in order of pageviews.... 6. The Sick Collector ...
Historical Wonders, Lost in Translation, Sweet Movies and Wild Books
Pages from an Amazing English Textbook
Back in the cultural revolution, China was in turmoil. Almost anything could get you in trouble. Han Xin, a blacklisted artist, told me that painting the sun the wrong shade of red would mean jail time. Absolutely everything had to be in unquestionable service to Mao and a Maoist China. The only plays were ...
Holy Curiosities, Theme Parks
15 More Pictures from weirdoid Tiger Balm Park
AsiaObscura friend Dawn Xiana Moon (dawnxianamoon.com) sent over a pile more pix from the absolutely incredible statues and terrifying dioramas at Tiger Balm Park aka Har Paw Villa. See our original story here, or click on her pix below for full-sized versions....
Consumerism, Cute & Kawaii
Mr. Chiizu: Great New Photobooth App
I stumbled into an old karaoke pal on twitter this weekend. He's now developing iPhone apps. His latest? A stickerbooth app for the iPhone, called Mr. Chiizu. A thing of wonder. Okay, okay, there are no stickers. But also no wading through incomprehensible directions while a Gangnam shopkeeper mocks you in sprawling Korean. No frantically ...
Extraordinary Eats, Lost in Translation
Possibly the Best Menu of All Time
Beijing's Cultural Revolution Restaurant has one of the most bizarre stage shows (video here) and some entirely inappropriate fashion statements, too, but it also has one of the worst best menus I've yet seen. Here are some of my favorite dishes... Classic, eh?
Extraordinary Eats
On Horse Meat Sashimi
It finally happened. We ordered the horse sashimi. "You want what?" said the waiter, unsure. "Horse meat," I slurred in Chinese, that last bottle of sake harming my already-poor pronunciation. "Raw horse meat." The waiter looked at WooLand, who wasn't listening, and then at me, and he finally shrugged and wrote it down. Clearly ...
Somewhat Perverted, Strange Tourism
A Postcard from Erenhot
Two small dogs are attacking a homeless man, while I'm nursing my lingering fever with sidewalk kebabs and a bottle of Yanjing beer. One of them bites at his ankle, and he hobbles away, cursing while diners beside me laugh, and the wind picks up again. I shield my face from the sand. This ...
Historical Wonders, Life in Miniature, Offbeat Museums, Somewhat Perverted
The Sick Collector and His 1000 Pairs of Shoes
Yang Shaorong lives in a small Shanghai apartment. He collects women's shoes. Tiny shoes. Shoes for bound feet. "That's horrible," said the publisher of my magazine, when I mentioned Yang the collector to him. "It's a disturbing part of Chinese history." I was confused. I didn't really know much about them, or why he was so upset. ...
Historical Wonders
A Noble Slave and an Imperial Cannibal
Two and a half thousand years ago, Prince Zhong'er was hungry. He was in exile. His state was in turmoil. He'd lost his castle, his kitchen and surely his chef as well. So what else was there to do but start eating his followers? That's what I discovered on Mianshan Mountain in Shanxi Province, in the ...
Strange Tourism
Hey! It’s a Foreigner!
Yesterday I wrote about Mr Li, the English teacher stuttering he was so excited to meet a foreigner. But this is China. Passerby, seeing me, will loudly announce, “foreigner!" Strangers stare and point, kids sometimes cry out in horror. Once, on seeing me, a migrant worker dropped everything he was carrying. Wide eyes (his, I mean ...
Historical Wonders, Offbeat Museums
America started the war, and lost it, too.
"Look at that soldier," said a burly Dongbei redneck, shoving past me to get a better look at the painting. "He's on fire. He's a real man." His sweaty pal leaned in, and laughed. The torched soldier was still letting loose a volley of bullets from his machine gun, mowing down a row of terrified ...
Historical Wonders, Sweet Movies and Wild Books
Inspector Black Cat: China’s Gore-Soaked Answer to Tom & Jerry
Cute baby bunnies, frolicking in a field. Identical twin monkeys, playing hide and seek. A sweet baby panda, serving soup to his sickly mother. This is how the 1986 mainland cartoon for kids, Inspector Black Cat (黑猫警长), always starts. But then... well, let's just say it's Tarantino time. Plenty of cartoons are violent, but in Inspector ...
Lost in Translation
Sign from a Beijing Supermarket
We haven't seen this Jingkelong supermarket sign ourselves, but reader Randi sent it in, adding, "Apparently, their marketing strategy is to appeal to customers at two different ends of the spectrum -- or maybe this is a brilliant plan to encourage people with a bad habit to try to offset its effects." Classic. ...
Offbeat Museums, Sweet Movies and Wild Books
Fascinating Old Handbook for Chinese Heading Overseas
In Chinese, hello is 你好。 What? Can't read characters? Just say knee-how (or nǐhǎo1, nixao2 or niihao3). What about the reverse, though? How do Chinese learn English if they can't read Latin alphabets? Can you use characters, instead? Can "Hello" be written as 河罗 （héluō4). Can "Who is he?" be spelled out as "夫，衣寺，希" (fu ...