3 curious facts that make China amazing (10 photos)

The East, as we know, is a delicate matter. And these unexpected interesting facts from the lives of the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire will help you better understand their mysterious soul.





1. Fake work



For the Chinese, especially the young, lack of work is tantamount to shame. The pressure comes from the public, and elderly relatives are not far behind, demanding that young men and women find a job somewhere immediately.

And until something suitable comes along, anyone can take advantage of an unusual service – the opportunity to pretend to be a working person for a fee.

Companies in China are offering a “Pretend to Work” service, which includes office space and lunch for 30 yuan a day, to help people hide the fact that they are unemployed from their families.





In northern China's Hebei province, one netizen shared a video of an office space, advertising it as the perfect solution for people embarrassed to be unemployed.

Another anonymous netizen advertised a similar service, charging 50 yuan for customers to pose as "the boss" in a leather chair and take pictures to appease their loved ones.

Experts say "pretending to work" is a "temporary, isolated phenomenon" in China. But, as we know, there is nothing more permanent than temporary.

2. Imitation of pregnancy



It is believed that pregnancy beautifies a woman. After all, in anticipation of the birth of a child, she literally glows from within. Of course, this magical state wants to be captured for history.



But side effects often include swelling, excess weight, stretch marks, pigmentation, acne and other unpleasant things. That's why in China, a trend quickly became fashionable among young women who are not even planning to have children - to have a photo shoot with a fake belly.

This trend was popularized at the beginning of last year, including by the influential representative of Generation Z, Maisie Gege. The Z-er, whose life is followed by almost 6 million subscribers, said that she wants to take "pregnant" photos while she is in perfect shape.



Other Chinese women followed his example, and sales of fake bellies on marketplaces went through the roof. Against this background, other similar trends have also become more active, for example, fake wedding photos.

Among the commentators were citizens with a healthy sense of humor and cynicism, who said they would find time to take cool funeral photos before they die.



Meanwhile, this trend is causing concern among some in China, as the country's marriage and birth rates are declining.

3. A cemetery next door



You can imagine a private kindergarten, a student dorm, and even a porn studio next door, but what about a cemetery? This is a fairly common practice among the Chinese due to the high cost of cemetery space.

In China, the ashes of the deceased are often stored in columbaria. This is convenient and very profitable given the price of land in the cemetery. The Chinese often buy apartments as investments. And so that real estate does not sit idle, it began to be turned into tombs, or, as they are delicately called, "ash plots".



Moreover, if you buy out several neighboring apartments at once so that the tombs can be freely visited by all the numerous relatives who wish, then in some houses there are fewer living than dead.

A regular burial place in a remote cemetery in Beijing costs more than 100,000 yuan. Not all Chinese can afford this. Plus, this is not a purchase, but a lease for 20 years. After which you will have to pay the cemetery administration for each subsequent year.



Usually neighbors are not informed that there will soon be a columbarium here to avoid scandals and quarrels. From a legal point of view, such use of residential premises is illegal. Therefore, such neighbors can be sued. Yes, but what's the point?

Firstly, there is one legal loophole: in China, a homeowner is not prohibited from storing the ashes of their deceased relatives in their home and paying tribute to them, if these actions do not affect the normal life of other homeowners. That is, if the ashes of at least one of the ancestors are stored in the premises, no one will prohibit setting up a memorial room inside.

And secondly, such neighbors will definitely not organize drinking parties, rowdy behavior, and listen to Rammstein at five in the morning.