Latest news with #southwesternChina
South China Morning Post
13-07-2025
- South China Morning Post
China hotel's use of red pandas for visitors causes concerns
A five-star hotel in China has sparked controversy by using a red panda to deliver morning wake-up calls. Lehe Ledu Liangjiang Hotel is located in Chongqing, in southwestern China. Several guests at the hotel shared videos of morning calls delivered by an adorable red panda. In the videos, the animal climbs onto beds and desks in hotel rooms. Guests were invited to pet and feed it. The hotel opened in 2010. It is part of a tourist resort that includes a wildlife park and more than 100 rooms. One of its services is allowing visitors to get close to animals. The rooms that featured red panda visits cost between 2,000 and 3,000 yuan (HK$2,186 to HK$3,280) per night. The hotel has temporarily suspended this service while an investigation takes place. The hotel has stated that their red pandas are fully vaccinated. There are currently around 6,000 to 7,000 red pandas in China. They are a protected species.
South China Morning Post
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
From rocket ballet to space fireworks: China's aerospace innovators push boundaries
A start-up company in southwestern China has revealed its latest innovations in rocket technology , highlighting how the country's cutting-edge aerospace capabilities are expanding into the civilian sector. Lingkong Tianxing Technology unveiled its self-developed reusable liquid rocket with an animated video simulation posted to its official website on Tuesday. The clip showcased advanced flight control technologies, including mid-air flips and in-flight reignition. The clip shows the VTVL (vertical take-off and vertical landing) rocket igniting and ascending to an altitude of nearly 2km (1.2 miles), where control surfaces on both sides of the nose shift angles, transitioning the rocket from vertical ascent to an upwards-slanting trajectory in a ballet-like motion. After around 30 seconds, the engine shuts down upon reaching peak altitude and the rocket executes its first flip. The rocket then begins to descend nose-first, slowing down at a high 'angle of attack' – a term referring to the angle between the rocket's 'longitudinal axis' or nose direction and its direction of motion through the air. A high angle helps to generate aerodynamic drag for slowing down. About 10 seconds later, the engine reignites as the wings adjust their angles, enabling the rocket to perform a second flip and return to a nose-up position.
South China Morning Post
26-06-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
China's pig-intestine latte, a swallowed toothbrush is removed: 5 trending stories
We have selected five Trending in China stories from the past seven days that resonated with our readers. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing A cafe in southwestern China has been thrust into the limelight thanks to its newly launched coffee, which is made with cooked pork intestines. A 64-year-old man in China who swallowed a toothbrush when he was 12 years old has finally had it removed from his stomach in an 80-minute surgical procedure. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/Douyin A 64-year-old Chinese man who felt a strange sensation in his stomach and went to the doctor was shocked to discover that a toothbrush had been stuck in his intestines for 52 years. The man, surnamed Yang, from eastern China's Anhui province, said he remembered swallowing it at the age of 12 and was too scared to tell his parents about it.
South China Morning Post
18-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China's coffee revolution sees youth swapping tea for lattes
At a cafe on a mountainside in southwestern China, Liao Shihao makes coffee using locally grown beans, bringing a modern twist to the area's traditional beverages. For a long time, Pu'er in Yunnan has been famous for its fermented tea. However, younger Chinese people now favour strong espressos, creamy lattes, and flat whites. Every year, Pu'er's plantations sell tens of thousands of tonnes of coffee to big cities in China, according to government data. Liao's family has run the Xiaowazi, or Little Hollow, coffee plantation for three generations. Little Hollow produces around 500 tonnes of raw coffee fruit each year. China's coffee production has significantly increased in recent years. However, it is still much lower than that of major producers like Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia. Yunnan produces almost all of China's coffee, mainly in Pu'er. Officials are keen to expand the sector further. Answer: coffee made with locally grown beans
South China Morning Post
18-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China shop owner live-streams feather-plucking chicken butts to promote delicacy
A shop owner in southwestern China has gone viral for live streaming herself plucking feathers from the bottoms of chickens, drawing tens of thousands of people seeking stress relief. Advertisement Wang Yuxian, a snack vendor in her early 30s from Leshan, Sichuan province, runs a small eatery with her friend Yang Yanli. The shop specialises in local delicacies like chicken behinds, rabbit meat and duck tongues. However, business had slumped since early 2025, with profits dipping. Wang Yuxian, left, carefully plucks away at piles of chicken pieces during a live-stream. Photo: In March, Wang posted a video of herself plucking feathers from the rear end of chickens.
