Video Of The Day: Holding Hands With Strangers In NYC And China

You could call Andrew Hales a comedian. You could call Andrew Hales a people person. No matter what you call him, he has a good thing going: filming himself holding hands with strangers (or attempting to) in different places around the globe. The group he pulls these stunts off with is called Losing All Hope Was Freedom. In this video, Hales is getting to know the people of Chengdu, China, through impromptu handholding. His approach to making new friends is cute, sure, but it also shines a light on the culture of any given place he films. Enjoy.

[Thanks, Laughing Squid]

China Opens ‘World’s Largest Building’

A mammoth new business and entertainment space opened in Chengdu, China, this past weekend, snagging the “largest building in the world” title. Inside the New Century Global Center you’ll find everything from hotels and offices to a replica Mediterranean village, a pirate ship and a palm tree-strewn water park.

Check out photos of the new center here.

The building is huge (18.94 million square feet, to be precise), but it’s not alone in the world of gargantuan structures. Before Chengdu stole the spotlight, Terminal 3 at the Dubai International Airport held the world title for most floor space. The U.S. doesn’t appear on this list’s top 10, but Las Vegas makes a showing at #11, with the 6.9 million square foot Palazzo hotel and casino in Las Vegas. (It’s tied with the Grand Indonesia in Jakarta.)

The U.S. does have some size world records of its own, including:

…and a lot of other random giant things.

Nine Foreign Tourists Killed In Pakistan

Gunmen stormed a Himalayan base camp in northern Pakistan on Sunday, killing 11 people, among them nine foreign climbers. The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The tourists were of Ukrainian, Russian and Chinese origin, according to Reuters. They were attacked at the base camp of Nanga Parbat, the ninth-highest mountain in the world. The mountain is located in the Gilgit-Baltistan province of Pakistan, an area where the Himalayas, the Hindu-Kush and the Karakoram mountain ranges collide in spectacular fashion. The area has heretofore been one of the more secure regions for tourists in the violence-plagued country.

Officials say that the attackers wore police uniforms and kidnapped two guides to lead them to the base camp, which is inaccessible by road. They then opened fire on the camp, killing the climbers and guides. One Chinese climber is alleged to have survived.

The Taliban claim the attack was in response to continued support of drone strikes by the international community.

Dozens of other climbers were evacuated from the mountain by helicopter following the assault. The mountain is a popular challenge for experienced mountaineers from around the world. Nanga Parbat is known as the “Killer Mountain” for its notoriously lethal difficulty level.

Video Of The Day: This Is Shanghai

Today’s Video of the Day takes us on a techno-filled trip through Shanghai, courtesy of photographer Rob Whitworth. Although much of the short time-lapse film focuses on twinking lights and congested traffic, it also shows the city is much more than that by stopping to follow both a taxi driver and a woman selling flowers. The video also stops for a few seconds to give a glimpse into a couple local kitchens. My favorite part, however, is just after the minute mark, when the lights that make up Shanghai’s skyline shut off one by one. Watch for yourself and see what part of Shanghai you’d most like to experience.

Recycled Hong Kong Airport Opens As Cruise Terminal

Hong Kong‘s $1 billion Kai Tak cruise terminal is open and processing cruise travelers as anticipated. Located at the site of the former Kai Tak International airport runway, the terminal will eventually source passengers from a pool of 50 million potential middle-class passengers in China. This week though, it’s all about the Americans.

Passengers disembarking Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas this week found a bit of a different experience than that of other cruise ports around the world. Showcasing some of what China has to offer cruise travelers, Mariner of the Seas offered passengers a kung fu demonstration, a lion dance at Mikiki mall in San Po Kong, shopping, dining and more on planned tours.

Adventure cruise travelers with a desire to go it on their own had a bit different experience, finding transportation options limited. “The terminal is fine, the building is fine but there is no good connection to the city,” passenger Fred Lutjens said in a Standard report that notes a queue of 100 people waiting for a taxi.Kai Tak airport, which closed in 1998 after 70 years of service, was replaced by the current Chek Lap Kok International Airport. Using that valuable and available land efficiently, the $1 billion Kai Tak cruise terminal has the ability to handle passenger vessels as large as two of Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class cruise ships, the largest in the world.