Latest news with #Douyin
NDTV
4 hours ago
- Climate
- NDTV
What Is 'Cloud Suck'? The Rare Phenomenon That Lifted Chinese Paraglider To 28,000 Feet
A dramatic video recently went viral showing a 55-year-old Chinese paraglider, Peng Yujiang, being unexpectedly lifted to an altitude of 8,598 metres over China's Qilian Mountains due to a rare phenomenon known as "cloud suck". This extreme incident has garnered significant attention online. Peng, who was testing secondhand paragliding equipment at approximately 3,000 metres, encountered the updraft that carried him nearly 5,000 metres higher. He endured temperatures around -40 degrees Celsius and dangerously low oxygen levels. Despite experiencing hypoxia and severe frostbite, Peng managed to remain conscious and safely navigated back to the ground. Watch the video here: A freak updraft over the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau lifted Chinese Paraglider Peng Yujiang nearly nine kilometers in minutes — and the entire flight was caught on camera. Screenshots from Peng's GPS flight tracker show he took off at 12:19 p.m. from the Qilian Mountains, an area… — Sixth Tone (@SixthTone) May 28, 2025 "I had just bought a second-hand paragliding harness and wanted to test it, so I was conducting ground parachute shaking. After a while, the wind suddenly picked up and lifted me into the air. I tried to land as soon as possible, but I failed," Peng told CCTV Tuesday. "I found myself surrounded by cumulonimbus clouds and trapped inside. It was terrifying - everything around me was white. Without the compass, I wouldn't have known which direction I was heading. I thought I was flying straight, but in reality, I was spinning. Eventually, I managed to fly out toward the northeast," he added. A video capturing his ordeal, showing him covered in ice and visibly shaken, went viral on Douyin, China's version of TikTok. Peng and his friend, who posted the video, received six-month bans from paragliding activities due to unauthorised flight and safety violations. What Is Cloud Suck and How It Led to Peng Yujiang's Paragliding Incident Aviation expert Wang Yanan explained to China Media Group CGTN that the incident involving Peng Yujiang was caused by a phenomenon called cloud suck. This occurs when a paraglider is pulled into strong upward air currents near cumulonimbus clouds. These powerful updrafts can rapidly increase the pilot's altitude, but this sudden rise is both intense and unpredictable, posing serious dangers. Wang emphasised, "Such rapid ascents are extremely hazardous. Once inside the cloud, the pilot may encounter severe cold, lack of oxygen, turbulence, and even lightning. At very high altitudes, these threats become even more severe, making cloud suck potentially life-threatening." Additionally, Wang cautioned that flying above 8,000 metres places paragliders dangerously close to the cruising altitude of commercial aeroplanes, increasing the risk of collision and other aviation hazards.
The Star
10 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Star
Chinese man lives in mountains, creates 300 cars, including ‘work-desk vehicle'
A Chinese man has dedicated seven years to living in the mountains and crafting 300 innovative and functional vehicles – including some capable of floating on water or climbing steep terrains – capturing widespread attention and astonishing many online. Gu Yupeng, 42, originally from Heilongjiang province in northeastern China, relocated to a remote mountainous region in Yunnan province, southwestern China, in 2018 after experiencing a series of unsuccessful business ventures. Previously, Gu worked in the manufacturing industry but eventually grew disenchanted with the monotony of mass production. With just 30,000 yuan (US$4,200) in savings, he embarked on a new journey – handcrafting vehicles. Remarkably, Gu taught himself all the essential skills, including design, welding, programming, and vehicle assembly, to construct these intricate machines. Using discarded materials such as scrap steel, second-hand motorcycle parts, and construction debris, he has already completed 300 vehicles, averaging one new creation in just over a week. 'Since childhood, I have been curious about everything; I always wanted to take things apart and see how they worked,' Gu shared in an interview with Ran News. Among his most remarkable inventions is a multi-wheeled tracked vehicle that can conquer 45-degree slopes, cross ditches up to 1.5 metres wide, and traverse rugged terrain with ease. This vehicle also features a foldable bed, allowing users to sleep comfortably while it moves – whether climbing stairs, ascending mountains, or navigating uneven ground. Another impressive invention is a mobile 'work-desk' vehicle, designed specifically for professionals on the go. It comes fully equipped with a desk, an armchair, and a table lamp, perfectly embodying the concept of 'working anywhere, under any circumstances'. This versatile vehicle can float on water and even includes a built-in barbecue grill, along with a device that catches fish in the water – enabling users to relax and enjoy a fresh meal during breaks. Gu regularly shares behind-the-scenes glimpses of his creative process through short videos on Douyin, known as 'Strong Pig', where he has garnered nearly 3 million followers, with his most popular video attracting 5.3 million views. These videos showcase everything from his design inspirations and manufacturing techniques to live demonstrations of his vehicles' capabilities. His profile states: 'Life is about experimenting and having fun,' and he often draws inspiration directly from his followers. For instance, when one follower suggested designing a 'flying trash can,' Gu embraced the challenge and successfully developed a working prototype powered by propellers. 'Up until now, there are still many things I want to pursue that I haven't accomplished yet. I've been diligently working to achieve them bit by bit,' Gu remarked. His creativity and craftsmanship have earned widespread admiration from online viewers. One commenter wrote: 'These inventions are absolutely fascinating – you truly possess a creative soul.' Another added: 'If I were a governor, I would undoubtedly fund your research without hesitation!' A third remarked: 'China has never lacked talent; what we lack is the ability to recognise it.' - South China Morning Post
HKFP
18 hours ago
- Business
- HKFP
‘Digital blitz': Misinformation on social media casts shadow on US-China trade truce
From false claims of Americans panic-buying Chinese goods to bot-driven attacks on US brands, a tide of misinformation is casting a shadow over a temporary trade truce between Washington and Beijing. The world's two biggest economies agreed earlier this month to pause reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, a surprise de-escalation in their bitter trade war following high-level talks in Geneva. But an alternate reality is unfolding across social media platforms, including China's Douyin and Weibo, where a surge of falsehoods is fueling anti-American sentiment that could undermine the fragile truce. One online video, which garnered millions of views across those platforms and TikTok, claims to show panicked American shoppers snapping up Chinese-branded television sets in the aftermath of trade tensions. But in reality, that was old footage from 2018 showing Black Friday shopping frenzy at a US supermarket. The falsehood was further amplified by Chinese state media outlets, including China Daily, which ran headlines such as: 'Americans are starting to stock up like crazy amid tariffs and snapping up Chinese-branded TVs.' A news clip on its website — more recycled footage from 2018 — bears a 'file footage' watermark in the upper left corner, apparently to shield the outlet from legal liability. Other unfounded claims emerged on Chinese platforms about Americans flying to China to shop for Chinese goods, and that US citizens — reeling from the economic fallout of the trade war — were queuing up to purchase supplies in bulk. 'These narratives are almost certainly curated by the state, which has become increasingly fluent in harnessing social media,' Andrew Mertha, director of the SAIS China Global Research Center at Johns Hopkins University, told AFP. '(They) help align Chinese public opinion with governmental strategy, in this case demonstrating — albeit inaccurately, certainly prematurely — that 'the US is already feeling the pain, so China must stay the course.'' Economic jitters US President Donald Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs have sent jitters through the world economy, unnerving investors and roiling financial markets. Under the May 12 truce, the United States agreed to temporarily reduce the tariff on Chinese imports to 30 percent from 145 percent, while China said it would lower its import duty on American goods to 10 percent from 125 percent. Some of the false narratives emerged before the agreement but have continued to spread online, fueling confusion and a broader wave of information chaos. 'A lot of friends in China asked me: Are there no eggs in the United States? Is it very unsafe? Are people rushing to buy things? Have you stockpiled anything?' Vivian Wei, a Chicago-based content creator, told AFP. 'Some people even (suggested) not to come to the United States for tourism or study.' The rumors prompted Wei to tour several supermarkets across Chicago, only to find shelves stocked. While American shoppers seemed unfazed by the swirl of online misinformation, Wei observed that the 'Chinese were getting very excited.' 'Digital blitz' Last month, disinformation security firm Cyabra uncovered an anti-US influence campaign on the Elon Musk-owned X involving thousands of fake or bot-operated accounts. They targeted global brands such as Gucci, Chanel and Amazon, amplifying the unfounded narrative that they produced goods in China while branding them as 'Made in France' or 'Made in Italy.' The accounts blamed Trump's trade policies for enabling such deceptive marketing practices, while urging consumers to ditch those brands and purchase products directly from China. 'This was a digital blitz. A third of the accounts weren't real, but the backlash they triggered was,' Dan Brahmy, chief executive of Cyabra, told AFP. 'Fake profiles hijacked luxury brands, pushed anti-US narratives, and steered buyers away without raising suspicion. That's what makes it effective.' Last month, AFP also uncovered viral TikTok videos by Chinese content creators promoting the spurious claim that international luxury brands were secretly manufacturing their products in China. The targeted brands did not respond to the claim, which appeared to be part of a sprawling campaign exploiting US-China trade tensions to market counterfeit luxury goods. The false narratives are unlikely to fade as trade negotiations continue, experts say. 'I believe these narratives will continue and will evolve in parallel with strengthening the Chinese government's negotiating position,' said Mertha from Johns Hopkins University.
Economic Times
a day ago
- Climate
- Economic Times
Is it a plane or a satellite? No, it's a Chinese paraglider at 8000 m above earth, frozen with no oxygen and still surviving
TIL Creatives Chinese paraglider at 8000 m above earth Peng Yujiang, a seasoned Chinese paraglider, on May 24, 2025, found himself at the center of a harrowing and extraordinary survival story—one that has captivated China's adventure sports community and drawn comparisons to some of the most extreme feats in paragliding history. Peng, who has been paragliding since at least 2021 according to his WeChat posts, launched from the Qilian Mountains in northwestern China, a region known for its government-backed paragliding base and as host of the Coupe Icare China. What was intended as a routine ground-based training session quickly turned perilous. About 20 minutes after takeoff, Peng was caught in a rare and dangerous meteorological phenomenon known as 'cloud suck'—a powerful updraft within a cumulonimbus cloud that can rapidly pull gliders thousands of meters upward. Data from Peng's GPS tracker, later shared on social media, revealed he was lifted to a staggering altitude of 8,598 meters (28,200 feet)—just shy of the cruising altitude of commercial jetliners and perilously close to the world record for unassisted paragliding altitude. The ascent rate peaked at 9.7 meters per second (35 km/h), and temperatures plummeted to minus 40 degrees Celsius. Footage from Peng's own camera shows him coated in ice, without supplemental oxygen, struggling to communicate via radio as his hands such altitudes, oxygen levels are dangerously low and the risk of hypoxia, frostbite, and unconsciousness is extreme. Remarkably, Peng managed to stay conscious and maintain control for over an hour, eventually landing safely 33 kilometers from his launch site. 'I felt the lack of oxygen. My hands were frozen outside. I kept trying to talk on the radio,' Peng recounted in a Douyin video posted after his flight. His ordeal echoes that of German paraglider Ewa Wiśnierska, who survived a similar incident in 2007 after being lifted to 9,946 meters in Australia and losing consciousness for nearly 40 minutes. Both stories highlight the unpredictable dangers of high-altitude paragliding. Following the incident, the Aero Sports Association of Gansu Province confirmed Peng's flight was not officially approved. Peng claimed he was conducting ground training when the winds unexpectedly lifted him. The association classified the event as an accident rather than illegal flying, but suspended Peng's flying privileges for six months pending who holds a valid paragliding license and has logged multiple high-altitude flights in the region, has since avoided media attention, asking the public to refrain from amplifying the incident. His Douyin account has been set to private, and his flight record removed from XContest, a global paragliding Chinese regulations, all paragliding flights require prior approval and are prohibited in poor weather conditions. The ongoing investigation underscores the risks and regulatory challenges facing China's growing adventure sports scene.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Chinese paraglider claims to survive accidental 8,000m-high flight
A Chinese paraglider has claimed to have survived being accidentally propelled 8,500m (27,800ft) into the sky above north-west China, state media report. Peng Yujiang, 55, says he was testing new equipment at 3,000m above sea level, over the Qilian mountains, when a rare updraft or air current known as a "cloud suck" pulled him about 5,000m higher into a cloud formation. Saturday's events were filmed on a camera mounted on Mr Peng's glider and has gone viral after being posted on Douyin, China's version of TikTok. The footage, which showed Mr Peng holding onto the glider's controls with his face and much of his body covered in ice crystals, has since been questioned by US broadcaster NBC. NBC said the logo of an artificial intelligence company had been cropped out of the footage. The BBC has been unable to independently verify the video, but the incident was widely reported in China, with Mr Peng giving an interview to journalists. "It was terrifying... Everything was white. I couldn't see any direction. Without the compass, I wouldn't have known which way I was going. I thought I was flying straight, but in reality, I was spinning," he told China Media Group. Mr Peng said he narrowly survived death as oxygen is thin at that altitude - slightly lower than the 8,849m peak of Mount Everest. Temperatures can also fall to -40C. "I wanted to come down quickly, but I just couldn't. I was lifted higher and higher until I was inside the cloud," he said. Mr Peng, who has been paragliding for four and a half years, said he might have lost consciousness during his descent. As a result of the footage, Mr Peng has been suspended for six months because the flight was unauthorised, state-run Global Times reported. Officials are also investigating the incident. Update 30 May 2025: An earlier of this article included a video of footage shared on Chinese social media and broadcast on state television purporting to show the paraglider's flight. This has been removed while we investigate further after questions were raised about its authenticity.
