China's social media flurry of gossip, jokes and parodies

Wang Feng takes an engagement ring from a basket, delivered by drone. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's social media users tend to poke fun at celebrities and create viral spoofs when photos and quotes intended to be positive appear on the Internet.

The latest fun on Sina Weibo, the Twitter-like platform, focuses on a rock star's proposal to Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, who gain international fame for her role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. But Chinese Internet users seemingly cared more about how rock star Wang Feng lost his chance to be at the top of the news again and again.

At Zhang's birthday party last Saturday night, the singer prepared flower walls, layer cakes and even hired a mini-drone to fly the 9.15 karat diamond ring to his fiancée.

When photos of the engagement went on the Internet, they immediately topped the ranking lists of major social media websites, but stayed there for only several hours before being pushed down by news of another famous couple's wedding anniversary.

Most netizens showed no interest in the details of the proposal. "It's just a show full of advertisements, like the brands of the diamond and the drone," they said as they dismissed the singer's efforts.

What entertained them more was the singer's bad luck with fame. "Another failed attempt to hit the headlines," Shulinxiaoxiao wrote on Weibo. Some Weibo users even made a chart of 16 coincidences when Wang's news collided with some other big events and he never really got the chance to grab the public's attention.

When he announced his divorce, Chinese pop diva Faye Wong also ended her marriage. On his album release day, the Chang'e 3 moon rover was launched into space, the first vehicle to land on the Moon in almost 40 years. Before he started his world concert tour, Flight MH370 disappeared from the sky. An earthquake in Yunnan province followed right after his affectionate love confession on stage. "Now his elaborate and expensive proposal plan had to bow to a hand-made drawing that actor Deng Chao gave to his wife as an anniversary gift," Zhengjingren teased on Weibo.

The same Kuso vibe can also be found in the recent news of city cleaners. A recent photo of street cleaners went viral on social media. In the picture senior couples are holding a cardboard sign that said: "To the young people: if you could play less fireworks, we will be able to go home earlier this year. Thank you for your understanding."

Some Chinese web users spoofed this by ironically advocating that "if you watched less news, the reporters would be able to go home during the festival; if you ate at home, the staff in the restaurants could have days off; if you didn't take buses, the drivers would not have to work." A picture of a senior citizen selling fireworks then was posted on Weibo, saying "if no one buys fireworks, what should I do?"

"Every job has its give and take. If you choose the job, you should deal with the inevitable problems that come with it," Woxingwosubeijing said on Weibo.