Strange things are happening this year in China
Throughout this whole year, strange and unusual things have been happening in and around China.
January / February – An incredible winter storm overwhelmed the nation’s transportation infrastructure. Shanghai had more snow than most natives had seen in their lifetime.
Starting from March – Foreigners are unable to renew visas, or were using back channels and paying lots of extra money to renew
March 15 – Crackdown on protests in Tibet
April – The visa situation gets even worse, maximum of 1-month visa or extension
April – Anger over pro-Tibet supporters and Torch Relay in France & USA spark waves of outrage, violence across China and overseas Chinese communities
April 22 – Crowd of protesters shows hostility toward American outside Carrefour in Hunan province
May 5 – Bus explodes in Shanghai, killing 3 people, whispered rumors start about terrorism, later reported to be accidental
May 6 – Outside my 16th floor office at about 10pm, there’s a large explosion of which we could see the bright flash and which makes us all jump (and me scream) before every single car alarm for 2 blocks starts going off
May 12 – One of the strongest and deadliest earthquakes in decades hits Sichuan province, exactly 88 days before the start of the Olympics. Note: 88 is considered a very lucky number in China, so people start asking what will happen 44days before the Olympics. 44 is a very UNlucky number to Chinese as it sounds like double death.
May 15 – Rumors of a bombing on the Shanghai subway
May – Police presence in Shanghai subway stations increases. Police allowed to perform random checks of baggage as a security measure.
May – More and more foreigners are leaving the country as visas expire and can’t be renewed. Now, only 15-day L (tourist) visas are available.
What unusual thing will happen next?
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