With the so-called great apocalypse of December 2012 less than a month away, a Chinese man is building his own Noah's Ark in preparing for the impending doomsday. Lu Zhenghai, a resident of Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China, reportedly spent his entire life savings of ¥1 million ($130,000 USD) to build a modest-sized refuge vessel that stretches 21.2 meters in length, 15.5 meters in width and 5.6 meters high.

The Chinese navy's first successful landing on its recently unveiled aircraft carrier Liaoning (shown left, top) has spawned a photo fad known as "shootering," which emulates the military hand gesture used by flight deck officers to signal the release of fighter jets onboard.

Photo credit: Xinhua / 竣泓苗 (via YouTube)

Meanwhile in (X) of the Day is a feature series bringing you the latest buzz from all over the continents with a special focus on non-English speaking parts of the world.

In Wenling, Zhejiang, China, the government paved a road around a five-story residential building after its homeowners refused to locate for demolition. Aptly nicknamed "nail houses" by frustrated developers, these last standing sanctuaries have become increasingly common sighs across the country, along with passive-aggressive public constructions by the government.

It would've been too good to be true if the Chinese Communist Party's once-in-a-decade leadership transition last week didn't leave any controversies behind on the Internet. The Daily Dot reports that this photoshopped parody of the Chinese leaders (including Xi Jinping, Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao) doing the horse dance was making the rounds on Facebook, Weibo and other microblogging services before getting censored by Sina Weibo censors.

In the heart of Shanghai's hustle-and-bustly Lujiazui financial district lies a circular elevated walkway that serves as a pedestrian overpass and an observational deck. For more bird's eye views of the landmark, head over to Google Maps.

Photographed by Victor Lakics from the Oriental Pearl Tower.

An online classified ad offering Shanghai women as much as 3,000 yuan ($588) per day to "test condoms" while having sexual activity with men was removed from Baixing.com, the Chinese equivalent of Craigslist, after netizens on Weibo began speculating that it could be a recruiting advertisement for prostitution. According to the Youth Daily's interview with an employee of the condom manufacturing company, normally machines are used to test condoms but the firm can't afford to buy as many as they would need. On a side note, human condom testing has been offered as a job in other parts of the world.

Meanwhile in (X) of the Day is a feature series bringing you the latest buzz from all over the continents with a special focus on non-English speaking parts of the world.

Today's story of controversy comes from China's microblogging platform Weibo, where a new photo fad that involves ripping up portraits of Chairman Mao has sparked backlashes from the supporters of the Chinese revolutionary hero as the nation's Communist Party prepares for its 18th decennial National Congress next week. According to The Daily Dot, the "Mao-ripping meme" was started by four young men from Zhengzhou, Henan to protest the Cambodian government's prosecution of a Chinese woman for tearing up late King-Father Norodom Sihanouk's photos, but their original intent got lost somewhere along the way.

Image Courtesy: @Hexiefarm