This document provides an overview of news and events in China from June to July, focusing on the Gaokao national college entrance exams and China's participation in the World Cup. Over 9 million students took the highly competitive Gaokao in June. Meanwhile, many Chinese fans followed the World Cup matches, which often took place very late or early due to the time difference with Brazil. Various topics are discussed, including pep rallies and intense exam preparation for Gaokao students, controversies over sick leave during the World Cup, and new business opportunities related to the events.

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SCREEN
PLEASE!

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…to the summer issue of Luan Dun!
June and July have been an interesting 2 months for
China. 9.4 million high school seniors took the Gaokao
the rest of China moved on to join in on the World Cup
craze.
meticulously designed this issue based on the terrifying
journey one goes through to prepare for the Gaokao.
We hope you enjoy it!

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POPCHINA
CHINA
SNAPSHOT NEW
TERMS
OF
THE
MONTH
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CHINA
SNAPSHOT

6. PEP RALLY
Prior to the Gaokao, which was
held on June 7 and 8, a few notable
high schools across the country held
military-style mass rallies to help
Students gather in large groups,
rehearse for days, and finally get
together to parade through school
grounds while chanting slogans like
“I will succeed!” and “For college,
for honor, for parents, for teachers,
fight, fight, fight!”.
out of their classrooms for some
exercise, and perhaps, some fresh air.
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7. "The world belongs to
you only after you stand
up. Please choose your
own angle and write
about your thoughts on
this sentence."
"In the old days, there were
many old rules and codes of
conduct, like speaking in a
quiet and gentle voice,
greeting elder people on
sight, and standing or sitting
up straight. Recently, some
people online shared these
"old rules" that parents used
to require them to obey, a
topic which became widely
discussed among Chinese
netizens. Plan and write
your understanding on this
phenomena.”
"You can choose your
own road and method
to make it across the
desert, which means you
are free; you have no
choice but finding a way
to make it across the
desert, which makes you
not free. Choose your
own angle and title to
write an article that is not
less than 800 words.”
UP FOR
A CHALLENGE ?
SHANGHAI
BEIJING
JIANGSU
PROVINCE
Writing essay is the most
challenging part of the
Gaokao. Each province has it’s
own questions and we were
excited when we found a list
of what these questions were
(thanks to Shanghaiist). We’ve
selected a few that will surely
twist your mind.
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8. BOYS
EXPERIMENT
There is a rising concern
that men are losing their
masculinity, especially in a
society where the only son
of the family is smothered
with love rather than being
given tough love. To solve
this issue Shanghai No.8
High School recruited 60
boys for two-boys only
class. The hope is that
they will flourish in an
all-male environment.
They are required to run
1,000 meters every morning
and go to the gym once a
week, and they are trained
with more “manly” courses
such as martial arts, Chinese
chess and electronic
music(?!).
This experiment received
mixed reviews. A mother
expresses her interest in this
class as she expects this to
help change her timid and shy
son to be more masculine.
While some still question this
to communicate with girls.
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9. To encourage students to
maintain a healthy lifestyle,
the University of Zhengzhou
launched a campaign.
Students who run 800 meters
before 8:00 in the morning
are eligible for free breakfast
coupons, worthy of 1 RMB
(0.15USD).
The campaign encouraged
over 6,000 students to wake
up early and complete the
run, and received positive
comments. There is nothing
pictures from Chinanews.
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10. ONE PERSON’S
NIGHTMAREIS ANOTHER
PERSON’S
DREAM
picture from Xinhuanet
While students complain about the
pressure of the Gaokao, Peng Chao,
an armless boy from Sichuan Province
has become an internet inspiration.
He dreams of participating in the exam
as it is his one-way ticket of hope.
Refused to go to a special school,
he goes to a public school like his friends,
and have trained himself to write like any
ordinary person, but with his foot.
His hard work has helped him become
a top student in school and he hopes
that his scores will get him into his
dream college.
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11. caught leaking questions prior to the exam,
you will face some serious jail time.
To avoid cheating, selected high school
teachers and college professors were sent
to a remote and distant mountain area to
work intensively on putting together the
papers. Even they themselves are not sure
where they are. Communication to the
outside world is forbidden and digital
devices are not allowed.
They are only granted freedom after the
Gaokao has ended.
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12. photo adapted from UPROXX
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13. With an 11 hour difference between Brazil
and China, most matches start at 12am,
3am and 6am China time.
Football fans suffer from lack of sleep and
excuse not to go to work the next day?
eBay) for 25rmb (4USD) a piece.
One online shop have sold over 400 sick
leave notes within a week. For the entire
duration of the World Cup, fake sick leave
has been a lucrative business.
WORLD CUP-
INSPIRED
BUSINESS
OPPORTUNITY
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14. photo from CRI Online
IN SEARCH OF
A HUMANE
BOSS
A young football fan went on sick leave to
watch the match between Portugal and
Germany during the elimination period.
Throughout the 3 day sick leave, he would
post his excitement for his German team
on social media.
His posts were later seen by the managers
of his company who then fired him for
lying. He now sits in front of a train station
in Beijing protesting against injustice and
inhumane bosses.
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15. CHINA’S
PAUL
THE OCTOPUS
Last year, Rachel Liu was deemed as the
most beautiful anchorwoman of CCTV 5,
she is deemed as the doom of World Cup
for bringing bad luck to countries that
would eventually lose based on the jersey
she wears during the broadcast. The first
country she picked was unfortunately, Spain.
Soon enough she earned the nickname
“The Octopus Liu”, inspired by last World
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NEW
TERMS
OF THE
MONTH

17. A popular Chinese TV and movie star
Wen Zhang, was caught cheating
media. His wife, Ma Yili, also a celebrity,
“Being in love is easy being married is
not. It is to be cherished.”
The term soon become a meme, serving
as a reminder that people should not
forget how to cherish moments in life
It can be heard on Radio broadcasts,
TV news broadcasts, online discussions,
and even school teachers and parents.
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18. – the act of snubbing someone in favor of
a mobile phone. In Chinese, they are
categorized as the “lowering head tribe”,
people who lower their heads to look at
their phones during social situations.
Phubbing
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POP
CHINA

20. The top Hong Kong singer
Eason Chan launched his newest
album Rice & Shine in May. In this
new album, he invited various
talents from different countries,
including the famous Singaporean
singer J.J Lin and mainland China Radio
Mars to help produce a few tracks.
The concept of Rice & Shine comes from the
term rise and shine which indicates a restart
from depression to find a way to shine.
This album intents to supply positive power to
listeners to cope with life pressures and find a way
to be a happier with themselves.
EASON
CHAN
MUSIC
RICE
&
SHINE
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21. MUSIC
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22. COMING
HOME
MOVIE
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23. A Bite of China is a series of
Central Television) on the history of food,
eating and cooking. Oliver Thring of The
Guardian praised it as "the best TV show I've
ever seen about food. I'd hazard it's the best
one ever made.”
Liu Wen, director of CCTV-9, said the
point of the documentary (Season 1) is
to let foreigners admire Chinese food
and learn about cultural traditions and
social changes, in season 2, we can see
more emotional connection between Chinese
families and food, something more rooted
Chinese hearts and culture.
Season 1 gained high
ratings and more than 100
million views. Now, Season
2 are is back, introducing the
history and stories behind foods
of various kinds in more than 60
locations in mainland China,
Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
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24. Ye Shan, a successful professional female
(played by Chen Shu), met a male Marriage
broker Fang Jun (played by Huang Lei) at
found out she was cheated during her
previous marriage.
Since the wedding, Fang convinced Ye to
be his client to find an ideal husband, who
become the love expert and supervisor for
Ye. They became best friends and went
though various difficulties, finally falling in
love with each other.
This TV drama received over 200 million
views, ensuring No. 1 audience rating.
HONEY
BEE MAN
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25. TALK SHOW
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26. TV SHOW：
DIVAS
HIT
THE
ROAD
7 celebrities from
different age groups
join together to go on a
trip to Spain and Italy. They
are Zheng Peipei (actress),
Kelly (actress), Xu Qing (actress),
and actress), Hua Chenyu (singer) and
Zhang Han (actor).
During this 15-day trip, they are without
assistants, without smart phones and without
professional guides. They do everything themselves
and with a budget of 120 euros per person per day. They
meet various difficulties and conflicts but they also end up
having the best times of their lives.
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27. Lian Meng, also known as MYOTee, is a cartoon
character profile app that became a hit overnight.
Users can select facial features – hair, face, eyes,
nose, mouth - to create a profile that resembles
them the most. Within a short period of time the app
received 36 million downloads and cartoon profile
pictures can be seen across Weibo, Wechat and QQ.
APP
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28. Name: Charlie Liu
Age: 17
School: High School Affiliated to
Fudan University
INTERVIEW
FROM HIGH SCHOOL
STUDENTS
I am worried about Gaokao reform, there
will be chaos, schools will no longer teach
what will be tested. It will have its benefits
in the long term, but I am worried of the
I believe the benefit of Gaokao is that it
is an equal and fair way to judge people
based on their efforts. And is also a
good way for universities to select the
right talents that they need.
“There have been changes around
Gaokao throughout the year.
Students in the city have the right to
choose not to take the Gaokao and
study abroad. But for me, I insist to
stay in China and take the Gaokao.
S
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Editor
Charinee Chairasmisak
Kate Lu
Mavis Sha
Designer
Tiffany Wong
W+K Shanghai
YOU HAVE FOUND THE EXIT!