One of the most important and auspicious years in the Chinese calendar: the Year of the Dragon. This year the unexpected was predicted, and true to form there were many strange and downright odd news items that came out of China. A look back on 2012 reveals drama, (bad) luck, enterprise and surprise. Here’s our round up of the year’s top 10 weird stories:

1) Ferocious stamps (January 2012)
As unpredictable as the mythical animal itself, the stamp issued by the Chinese postal service commemorating the Year of the Dragon was not well received. Deemed too scary, ferocious and “incomparably ugly” by critics, the dragon drawing was a far cry from the previous cutesy wide-eyed bunny of 2011. The designer argued, however, that the revered dragon should “never be rendered a mere cartoon”.

2) Your child’s future is in their hands (February 2012)
There are many features bestowed upon children born during the Year of the Dragon suggesting their future personalities and career prospects. However, the use of palm reading to predict Chinese children’s future musical, mathematical and language skills was banned in Kindergartens this year. Parents in three privately run kindergartens in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, reportedly paid 1,200 RMB each to know the future prospects of their toddlers. However, after a series of complaints, city authorities have criticised the practice and placed a ban on these fortune-telling activities.

3) Kidney for iPhones (April 2012)
The year of the dragon didn’t bring much luck to one teenager who was so desperate for an iPhone that he sold his kidney. The 17-year-old received 22,000 Yuan from the illegal organ trade, which he used to purchase an iPhone and iPad. Sadly, he now suffers from renal deficiency, something that no ‘app’ can fix. Five others involved, including the surgeon, have been charged with intentional injury.

4) Bridge over troubled water (May 2012)
Bad luck also hampered efforts to show off a brand new luxury cruise ship, the Pearl No. 7, when she tried to sneak under a bridge in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. There was a reported miscommunication about the ship’s height as four tugs dragged her up river, ripping the chimney from its stack as they passed under a bridge. No casualties were reported.

5) Got a spare 1001 mattresses? (July 2012)
Take 1001 mattresses, 1001 humans, and an empty shopping mall and you have a recipe for the world’s biggest human mattress domino rally. The gathering in Shanghai in July broke the previous record set in USA of 850 human domino mattresses. The event required time, patience and, like the dragon, fearlessness (well maybe a bit extreme, they are only falling on mattresses after all).

6) Chinese Noah’s Ark (August 2012)
“Expect the unexpected” was the advice for the Year of the Dragon. What better way to be prepared for the totally unexpected than by purchasing a six ton stainless steel globe able to withstand a volcanic eruption, tsunami, flood, earthquake or nuclear reaction. Entrepreneur and businessman, Yang Zongfu designed the capsule with enough food and water to survive in for up to one year. Luxury models also come with LCD televisions, Internet (?) and air-conditioning. Crash tests revealed some glitches though, including the door unexpectedly coming open—probably not ideal during an extinction level event.

7) When rivers run red (September 2012)
Water supposedly has a calming effect on the Dragon’s fiery temper, but in the Year of the Water Dragon, the Yangtze River instead turned a flaming red. Members of the public started noticing the unusual color of the water in Chongqing near the junction of the Yangtze and Jialin Rivers. Experts ruled out an algal bloom as the culprit, instead suggesting that some sort of pollutant such as dyes being discharged into the river.

8) Holidaying to a bomb site? (October 2012)
Staying on the fiery theme, China is investing six million RMB to upgrade the site where the first Chinese atomic bomb was tested in Malan, Xinjiang Province—not to continue with the atomic bomb program but to allow for tourism. Once completed, visitors will be able to explore the laboratories, dormitories, and 300m anti-air strike tunnel where over 40 nuclear tests were allegedly carried out from 1964-1996.

9) Child bikini models…enough said (November 2012)
In what can only be described as totally inappropriate and distasteful, preteen girls were dressed in bikinis and paraded around vehicles at the Chutian Automobile Culture Festival in Wuhan. Alongside the scantily adult clad models, the young girls (some only 5 years old whose parents gave consent), struck “sexy” poses while cameras snapped away. The event organizer, 7-Wind Model Costume Company, defended its position by suggesting it would help to boost the children’s courage and self-confidence.

10) Heart-throb of North Korea (November 2012)
If you believe the dragon was once a real animal, then you, like The Peoples Daily, may also have been duped by the article published in The Onion declaring North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-Un, as “The Sexiest Man Alive in 2012”. Seemingly convinced by the spoof article, The Peoples Daily published a 55-page photo spread showcasing the leader riding horses and greeting army officers. The Chinese article even quoted The Onion as saying “this Pyongyang-born heart-throb is every woman’s dream come true”. The Peoples Daily spread was soon removed.

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Keywords: China 2012 year-end round up Weird Chinese news stories