Chinese media, advertising, and urban life.

E2MAN takes in the old Beijing Amusement Park (2011.01.28)

How would an alien comprehend everyday life in Beijing?

On January 10, one extraterrestrial started microblogging its reactions to the city. E2MAN, a Grey, snaps photos of its travels throughout Beijing, applies vintage filters, and posts them with short, untranslated comments.

E2MAN now has more than 22,000 followers. It also follows some 370 people itself, presumably, in the analysis of a netizen quoted in the Changjiang Daily, "to better understand Earth culture."

The following post, made on January 14, is lengthier than most; one supposes that it describes E2MAN's shock and outrage over Beijing's high cost of housing:

﹌〃∏〒∷∝≒≡∩∴〒∷∝⊙∵≒∏∮∩∨∽∈¤¤≯≡弓≒〒～∴﹌∠⌒∨≒﹌∨／﹌§〃§≌≒≡∏∮长∝⊙〃∵≒≌∩∴﹌﹌〃〒∵≒⊙∵≌∫≌≒≡∏∮∝⊙∵≒≌∩∨≒

Is it performance art? Or stealth marketing for a product to be revealed later, as some cynics have predicted? As gimmicky microblogs go, this one's pretty interesting, and it is equally accessible (or opaque) to readers both inside and outside of China.