Guinness World Records reflect China's tech progress
Drones make a formation in the air over the illuminated Yongning Gate in Xi'an City, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 1, 2018. A total of 1,374 drones were used to form various patterns, such as the old city wall and scenes from the Silk Road, in the opening ceremony of a cultural festival named after Xi'an's well-preserved old city wall built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). (Photo/VCG)
From food, the human body, mass participation, speed to technology, the Guinness World Records has 60,000 entries from all corners of the globe.
CGTN visited the brand’s China headquarters in Beijing, and got a peek inside the world of the “mosts.”
Four criteria to qualify
It’s fairly difficult to set a new record since about 75 percent of applications worldwide are rejected, Marco Frigatti, the organization’s Global Records Senior Vice President and General Manager of Greater China, told CGTN.
There are four main criteria when deciding whether an application qualifies. First, a record has to be measurable in terms of size, height, length, etc. “The most beautiful eyes of my girlfriend would not be accepted because it’s not measurable,” Frigatti told CGTN.
Secondly, a record needs to be provable. Frigatti said that some people claimed that they had the longest dream or found the largest flower, but they have no evidence to prove it.
Every record has to be able to be broken as well to trigger international competition.
Also, a record has to have only one variable. “You can be the tallest man or you can run one hundred meters in the fastest time, but you can’t be the tallest man who runs one hundred meters in the fastest time,” said Frigatti.
Records with Chinese characteristics
Apart from other countries, China is “an increasingly interesting market for us,” Frigatti said. Though the US and the UK currently hold the most official Guinness World Record titles, China “is catching up very quickly.”
“We receive a very good number of applications every year from China, about 2,000 to 2,500 every year. And the number is increasing year on year.”
Frigatti told CGTN that record applications from China are extremely varied, often involving mass participation such as relay competitions during the Dragon Boat Festival, regional food, festivals, and tradition and history.
One of the more interesting records regarding food is the longest noodle, which was made by Xiangnian Food Co. Ltd, from central China's Henan Province, in October 2017.
