7 Crazy Things that only happen in China 2014

Cute kids get replaced by cuter kids.

 

China lied about the little girl who sang "Ode to the motherland" at the Beijing Olympics. Yang Peiyi, the real singer, wasn't considered cute enough and Lin Miaoke was brought in to lip sync the song. The music director Chen Qigang told the AP: “The audience will understand that it’s in the national interest.”

Local governments sponsor burials at sea.

 

Land prices have surged in China making graveyards expensive. With that in mind, some Chinese local governments give families financial incentives to scatter the ashes of their relatives at sea. Guangzhou offered $160, while it was reported that in Wenzhou families were offered as much as $1,290.

Entire Apple stores get counterfeited.

 

As Chinese cities develop across the country fake stores have become increasingly prevalent. Arguably the most famous fake store was the fake Apple store in Kunming, southern China.

Nail houses and graves pop up to protest land grabs.

YouTube Screenshot

Land grabs are all too common in China, where local governments often seize land without adequately compensating the owner. While most families cave to government pressure, some refuse and developers continue to build around a stand alone home or grave, leading to "nail houses" and "nail graves." 

People build houses on top of apartment buildings.

 

Land is at a premium in China, especially in big cities. And the wealthy have taken to building elaborate homes on top of apartment buildings in China. While some of these are sanctioned, many like the mountain villa were not and the owner was asked to tear it down.

Couples divorce to avoid property taxes.

 

The Chinese government announced a 20 percent tax on profits from home sales. But couples with more than one home have been getting divorced, taking one property each, and then selling one of the homes tax free, to take advantage of loopholes.

Wealthy people have stand-ins at their trials

In China the extremely wealthy are believed to hire body doubles to appear as them in court and serve out prison sentences.