:: one of my all-time favorite online / offline social phenomenons is the “flash mob.” Check out this one from Xi’an in tribute to Michael Jackson. Very funny how the faux-”bao an” (public security official) gets into the fun. Not sure if this was actually digitally organized, but, it’s done very much in that style. Enjoy.  // AjS

:: there is a great exhibition opening in Shanghai at Art Labor this weekend, running through July 10. Link here for more details. See below for some sample pieces from the artist, 26 year old Xian-based Ying Yefu (also know as Kodyo and Ren Qianyi).  // AjS

:: I have always been a fan of parkour and free-running, so I was thrilled to (literally) crash into a group of local teenagers / 20-somethings yesterday parkour’ing near People’s Square in Shanghai – it was great. I tried stopping one of them to find out more information, etc. but all of them were too busy jumping over stuff to talk to me…fair enough.

Later in the evening I got online to see what more I could learn about parkour in China, and, to my surprise, I came across several online Chinese parkour groups / communities / forums – they all start linking to each other after a while, but if you’re interested, start with these: City Monkey (Beijing based), Love Parkour (爱跑酷, national), China Parkour & Freerunning (national), Guangxi Parkour, Parkour Jilin, Ningxia Street Culture Union, Fujian Parkour, TNT Parkour Club (Nanjing based), etc.

Also, see below for a series of superb parkour videos from practically every corner of China. I have to admit, I was entirely unaware of the depth and breadth of parkour culture in China – it’s exciting to see how Chinese youth have taken to it. From what I gather, it’s only been around in China for a few years. Either way, very cool. Oh, and get this, parkour is translated in Chinese as 跑酷 (pao2 ku4), how great is that?! It’s perhaps my new favorite word.

Lastly, the marketer in me notices that there is zero brand presence (maybe that’s a good thing?) in any of this content; seems like a massively missed opportunity to connect with an edgy, emerging (i.e. trendsetting and influential) subculture in China. // AjS

in Xinjiang…

in Beijing…

in Hunan (inside a dorm room at the Hunan Industrial University), H/T to Youku Buzz…

in Xian…

in Shanxi (maybe also Xian)…

in Nanjing…

in Chengdu…

not sure where, looks to be in Western China and appears to be a soldier or police officer of some sort…

location unknown…

in multiple locations (Beijing, Nanjing, Qinhuangdao, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Fujian, Xian, etc.)

in Shenyang…

in Guangxi…

in Wuhan…

in Jinan…

in Yunnan…

in Yangquan…

in Tianjin…

in Wushan…

in Hangzhou…