| Top Videos from the Year of the Rat |
 Trailer: Mad about EnglishFrom the time that Beijing won its bid to host the 2008 Summer Games, China's citizens have been stricken with what they call "Ying Wen Re" (英文热): English Fever! If you haven't witnessed the spectacle of 10,000 students all learning English from one teacher at the same time, check out Mad About English, a documentary by Singaporean director Lian Pek. |
 Mourning in Tiananmen Square for Sichuan Earthquake victimsFlags flew at half-mast in a nationwide minute of silence exactly one week after the tragic 7.9 magnitude Beichuan Earthquake devastated areas throughout Sichuan Province. China's central government declared a three-day mourning period during which frivolous entertainments were banned. This video of the solemn occasion was captured by a Youku user and received more than 3 million video views. During the disaster, Chinese netizens played an essential role in the media landscape. On this search result page, you can find how they made the history. |
 Beijing Welcomes You by Aged People in Heze, ShandongLove it or hate it, six months after the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, Beijing Welcomes You (北京欢迎你) still clings tenaciously to the top of Karaoke charts in mainland China. As the most popular Chinese song of 2008, many homegrown versions of Beijing Welcomes You could be found online. Here's one of the more better-known renditions, from some elderly people in Heze, Shandong. |
 Shanzhai HelicopterOn our Youku Buzz blog, we list the category called "shanzhai" (山寨). Literally meaning "mountain redoubt" and referring originally to the strongholds of rebels and bandits, it's come to mean ersatz, but in a pathetic kind of way, or "ghetto." Shanzhai celebrities, products, television shows -- nothing is safe. But there's real innovation sometimes in Shanzhai: a DIY-attitude that a lot of industrious Chinese people have embraced. Check out this shanzhai Hummer, this shanzhai iPhone , and even a shanzhai street -- though this was erroneously reported in the British press to have been a real shopping center when in fact these are place-holder storefronts. The top prize goes to this shanzhai helicopter made by a Chinese farmer: easily one of the most stunning masterpieces of 2008. |
 A TV Talk Show Descends into ChaosIf you've watched American talk shows like Jerry Springer, you're accustomed to watching people shamelessly air their dirty laundry to national television audiences and occasionally go at each other violently. It's far more rare in China. In this Hunan Entertainment Station show called "I Disagree" (我不同意) -- this episode evidently was never broadcast -- a discussion on the culpability of the media in spreading bad information descends into a highly personal shouting match. |
 Counter-Strike Comes to LifeThis one's a personal favorite that we never get tired of watching. The creators of this video, who call themselves "Ugly Old Duck," have taken their appreciation for the game to an entirely new level with this brilliantly executed video, shot in Beijing's Jianwai Soho. Nice to see that a kid who obviously spends a lot of time peering down gun sights still has a sense of humor. |
 Live Action Street FighterThis very amusing stop-motion homage to the classic video game Street Fighter was shot by students at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts. Some real imagination -- and evidently a lot of time -- went into making it. |
 In The EndYou remember the Backdorm Boys, with their boy-band lip-sync videos that were such a big hit on YouTube a few years back, right? I personally find this to be far more amusing. Linkin Park may not have made it to China like they were supposed to this last fall, but if you need your fix, check out this staggering work of “Origenal [sic] Genius.” |
 Oh Say Can You Sing...We were afraid there would be no successor to Red Laowai after 2007. Thank God, a Canadian netizen named Chris uploaded a video of his singing The Star Spangled Banner in Chinese. If this isn't evidence that Sino-(North) American relations are improving, what is? |
 Jackass, China EditionAfter this quite literally stunning performance, the genius in this video—he goes by the alias Fengshui Bujingyun—says he was unconscious for six hours, and still has a burn on his hand. Considering that he claims (no doubt with considerable exaggeration) that the electro shock weapon he used is rated at 5000 kilovolts, it's a wonder he survived. However, he confessed that the video was a fake. |
 Bruce Lee Viral Videos from Nokia A. B.These two clips represent what was probably the most successful viral campaign for the Chinese market released in 2008. In November, Nokia put out these two viral videos featuring the late martial arts master Bruce Lee. In the first one, he shows off his nunchaku chops in a game of pingpong. In the second one, he lights matches with the same weapon. Unbelievable visual effects! |
 Arm-Swinging ManAt first, we thought this video was shot by a Youku user serendipitously at the Dazhongsi subway station in Beijing, and the phone which was thrown out of the train was an iPhone. Two days later, it turned out that the video was made for Sony Ericsson F305c. Definitely one of the more clever viral ads I’ve seen, though arguably it’s just a wee bit too subtle. One might actually wonder whether Sony Ericsson inadvertently did a bit of viral advertising for Apple in this case… |
 The CCTV North Tower FireHopes that the Year of the Ox would usher in some better luck for China was dashed on the night of February, 9th, when a fireworks display on Yuanxiaojie -- the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the lunar new year, and the traditional end of the Spring Festival holiday -- seems to have set off a horrible blaze in the north tower of the new CCTV complex in Beijing's Central Business District. The building, which was to house a Mandarin Oriental hotel, was designed along with its more famously iconic neighbor to the south, by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhas. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, and the fate of the charred remains of the building hasn't yet been determined. See loads of videos uploaded by Youku users at this search results page. |
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