Hey YouTube, Jim here! Welcome to Top 10 Archive! China, a place where things are counterfeit,
but also the ban capital of the world. From banning Winnie The Pooh, the show Big Bang
Theory, to even Justin Bieber himself, there's no telling what will be banned next, and for
what reason. If you think your local bans are ridiculous, wait until we dive into the
Top 10 Weird Things Banned in China! 10. Strange Company Names
The people of China like their strange and long names, and for proof of that, we have,
"Shenyang Prehistoric Powers Hotel Management Limited Company.” And then there was “Beijing
Afraid of Wife Technology.”, "What You Look At Technology", and, let's not forget, “Hangzhou
No Trouble Looking for Trouble Internet Technology.” One restaurant in Beijing is named “Smart
Noshery Makes You Slobber.” The State Administration for Industry and Commerce said, "Aight, we
had enough!" I may be paraphrasing there.. But they wanted to put an end to the bizarre
naming nonsense and announced in 2017 a ban on all long-sounding, weird and strange names.
Names that played on English wording were also banned and many companies were made to
change their unbelievably long names. Moreover, it has also banned all politically incorrect
names that have references to persecuted religious groups like the Falun Gong.
9. Weird looking Buildings China is home to some of the world’s tallest
skyscrapers, and some of them feature the most breathtaking architecture in the world.
Shanghai alone has several stunning skyscrapers that have redefined the city’s skyline as
one of the most beautiful in the world today. Then you have a building looking like a pair
of pants - which left the authorities in Suzhou fuming. To add fuel to the fire, another building
in the city of Wuxi was shaped like a teapot. Putting their foot down, the Chinese government
has now banned all bizarre architecture after criticizing the crazy ideas sprouting up all
over the country. The new directive states that only “economical, functional, aesthetically
pleasing and environmentally friendly” designs would be allowed.
8. The Big Bang Theory Yes, you heard that right. The Big Bang Theory
became The Big Banned Theory when the show was removed from screens in China in 2014.
It's hard to believe, especially since Chinese viewers love American sitcoms. But yes, they
banned the show from all streaming websites in China, citing a plethora of different reasons.
The Chinese broadcasting authorities said the show went against policies, violated China’s
constitution, endangers Chinese sovereignty, provokes troubles in society, promotes an
illegal religion, triggers ethnic hatred, amongst many other things. Chinese viewers
took it to heart, and after a year, the authorities had no option but to give in to the public
demand and brought back the show. 7. Justin Beiber
Well, it gets weirder, folks, but somehow this isn’t surprising, if you know what
I mean. But yes, Beijing’s Culture Bureau gave the thumbs down to future concerts of
Beiber/ banning him completely from the country, citing the star as highly disrespectful of
Chinese culture. It so happened that during a musical tour of the country in 2013, Bieber
apparently did several things that offended China, including having his guards carry him
up the Great Wall, but it's probably the picture he posted of his visit to the Yasukuni Shrine
in Tokyo, which the Chinese perceive as a symbol of Japanese oppression, that led to
his ultimate ban. 6. Erotic Banana Eating
Not only is China the Ban capital of the world, but some of their rules are pretty hilarious,
if you ask me. One outrageous rule bans erotically eating a banana. The Chinese Ministry of Culture
has never taken kindly to anything remotely suggestive of adult content, and has banned
pornographic material including live streamers from wearing miniskirts, stockings, and suspenders.
To take things further, live streamers are strictly monitored and need to register with
the authorities first before going live. The ministry outlines instructions that said streamers
should “actively spread positive energy, demonstrate truth, goodness, and beauty.”
My question is, are all foods banned from this practice, or just, you know, banana-shaped
ones? 5. Winnie the Pooh
Given their love for pandas, it comes as a big surprise that the Chinese would ban a
harmless child’s character like Winnie the Pooh. The reasons for doing so, well, we'll
let you decide for yourself. When President Xi Jinping met with former U.S President Barack
Obama, and took a walk with him, several memes sprouted up across the internet depicting
the Chinese Premier as the chubby yellow bear and Obama as his lanky friend Tigger. The
following year, When Xi met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he was again depicted
as Pooh with his friend Eyesore. That did it! Given his inability to take a joke, Winnie
the Pooh was banned in China. Now that’s not a pooh thing to do.
4. Time Travel You might find it hard to believe this, but
China has banned time travel and is of the opinion that time travel is a technology that
should not be tolerated. Well, to be fair, they didn’t ban time travel per se, but
depicting traveling back in time or in the future in movies is banned, which means movies
like Back to the Future are a huge "No No" in China. They cited several reasons for doing
so, like time travel depiction is monstrous, violent, feudalistic, fatal, disrespectful,
superstitious, and promotes reincarnation. 3. Bras from Exams
It might seem a bit weird at first, but this one probably carries the most weight on our
list - no pun intended. As you may know, China has the world’s largest population, which
means fierce competition in government exams that could lead to highly prized jobs and
well-paying positions. This has led to rampant and ingenious ways of cheating in exam halls,
with women placing cheat sheets in their bras and even concealed wireless devices. The government
issued a ban that no metal would be allowed into the exam halls across the country, and
as bras have metal wires in them, it’s hang loose, ladies.
2. Jasmine One of the biggest ironies of China’s ban
culture is the banning of Jasmine. Yes, you heard that correct, a land famous for its
Chinese Jasmine tea, banned Jasmine. In 2011, China did not just ban the production, import-export,
and usage of Jasmine in the country, it also forbade anyone uttering the word jasmine.
The biggest reasons for such a drastic and nonsensical step were because jasmine became
the symbol of the pro-democracy protests, and China wanted to eradicate every little
sign of it. 1. Social Media
Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Google, and YouTube, are all banned in China.
Interestingly enough, Snapchat has an office in China, yet is banned there, and YouTube
still ranks the 11th most visited website in China, despite being banned. All social
media sites boast 10's of millions of users from the region, thanks to VPNs, but that
hasn't changed the Governments position on them at all. Even with many recent visits
from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the country has shown little interest in lifting the bans.
Thanks for watching! What do you think? Are some of these bans good ideas? bad ideas?
Let us know in the comments. Something you’re definitely not banned from is becoming an
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