Chinese law makes independent mapmaking a crime (you may not document "the shapes, sizes, space positions, attributes, etc. of man-made surface installations") and requires tech companies to randomly vary the locations of all landmarks by 100-500m.
My friend Kevin Kelly wandered down the Silk Road (the one in China) and took many stupendous photos. He wrote, "Technically this region is called Xinjiang (New Province), also once known as East Turkestan. This area has more in common with the culture of Turkey than with Beijing. — Read the rest
On 28 June 1914, Gavrilo Princip assassinated in Sarajevo the Austrian Archiduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (heir to the throne) and his wife Sofia. This act allegedly triggered the World War One.
"In a spectacle designed to show their resolve against terrorism, Chinese authorities held a public sentencing in a football stadium in the northwestern Xinjiang region of 55 people convicted of violent crimes," reports the LA Times.
"The sentencing follows the car bombing last week in the northwestern city of Urumqi in which 43 people died, the deadliest attack in China in nearly five years." — Read the rest
More than half of China's donated organs come from executed prisoners. The Chinese government now says it will begin phasing out that practice, starting in November. All new organ donors must volunteer. Of course, there's good reason to be skeptical of this announcement. — Read the rest
Peng Peng (below), a cloned sheep, is seen on a video display at the Beijing Genomics Institute in Shenzhen, southern China April 23, 2012. Chinese scientists have cloned a genetically modified sheep containing a "good" type of fat found naturally in nuts, seeds, fish and leafy greens that helps reduce the risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular disease. — Read the rest
Mike sez, "Newsweek posted a gallery portraying the growing hordes of college educated Chinese young people forced to cram into slums near the IT districts in Shanghai and Beijing. Here's an excerpt from the intro: The new aspiring professionals are known as "ants" because of both their eagerness to work and a willingness to cram together in poor living conditions. — Read the rest
A cache of particularly mysterious mummies has been discovered in a desert north of Tibet. The remains are of persons who died some 4,000 years ago. They lie beneath a forest of bare, phallic wooden poles. "The cemetery lies in what is now China's northwest autonomous region of Xinjiang, yet the people have European features, with brown hair and long noses."
A fascinating piece by Ed Wong in today's NYT on the role archaeology — specifically, a set of mummified human remains — plays in the conflict over independence for one of China's ethnic minorities. Snip:
— Read the rest"Xinjiang has been an inalienable part of the territory of China," says one prominent sign.
Last week here on BoingBoing, we watched Tibetan independence activist Lhadon Tethong (president of Students for a Free Tibet) liveblog her way through Beijing. At one point, she and others were arrested in an investigation around who unfurled a "Free Tibet" banner on the Great Wall of China. — Read the rest
This photo of the frozen-over, 20m-high Flame Mountain in Turufan, XinJiang province, China is very striking — I'd love to see a time-lapse of the thaw.
(via Neatorama)
Update: John's faked up a nice time-lapse video
It's nice to know that, in China, you will never find yourself short of dead falcons, seahorses, and flattened lizards, if this detail from a Flickr photo is any indication of what's available from Xinjiang street vendors. Link (Thanks, Healthbolt!) — Read the rest
