World Longest Traffic Jam in World Record

60-mile traffic jam in China * Roadworks to continue for another three weeks * Not a record-breaking jam (yet)

If you are bracing yourself for the annual Bank Holiday traffic this weekend, spare a thought for the drivers on China's Beijing - Zhangjiakou highway in their 10th day of being stuck in a 60-mile traffic jam.

Local officials have warned that the jam, on a highway that connects Beijing to Inner Mongolia, could continue for some time yet as the construction that has been blamed for the gridlock won't be finished until September 17.

The traffic jam started on August 14 on a stretch of road that has been frequently congested, especially after large coalfields were discovered in Inner Mongolia.

The 60-mile tailback is starting to move, albeit slowly, but at the moment it's not classed as the world's longest or busiest traffic jam.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records those dubious records belong to France and Germany. The longest ever reported was that which stretched 109 miles northwards from Lyon towards Paris, France on February 16 1980

And a record traffic jam of 18 million cars crawling bumper-to-bumper was reported on the East-West German border on April 12 1990.

Traffic jams are not a new phenomenon either. Julius Caesar banned carts and chariots from Rome during daytime in the first century BC.

The Highways Agency doesn't keep records of Britain's longest or busiest traffic jams, but for drivers heading out on the motorways for the Bank Holiday a spokesman said, 'We generally try to lift roadworks over busy periods', so hopefully we won't see anything like the chaos in China.

Longest Karoke Marathon by Multiple Participants

In Changchun City, China, between 20 February and 11 March 2009, an event organized by the New Culture View newspaper set a Guinness World Record for the longest karaoke marathon by multiple participants. The new record stands at 456 hr 2 min and 5 sec, beating the previous record of 446 hours 4 min 5 sec set in Finland in 2008.

The event titled “Being Confident in 2009, Singing through Changchu” was organized by New Culture View to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the change of the layout of the newspaper. More than 1,300 participants took part, most of them local citizens of Changchun City as well as some famous singers. They enjoyed the karaoke singing whilst making an effort to win their city a Guinness World Record. The local public notary officers were present all the time on turns, witnessing the whole event, ensuring all guidelines were followed.

When the last song was over, Guinness World Records Adjudicator, Angela Wu, announced a new record, and presented the certificate to the organizer.

World's Largest Golf Club - Mission Hills Golf Club China World Record

Mission Hills Golf Club has announced its recent recognition as the "World's Largest Golf Club" by the Guinness World Records for the fifth straight year.

In May 2004 it officially surpassed eight-course Pinehurst for title of "World's Largest" when its 10th layout opened. In Summer 2007, an additional two courses – the Pete Dye and Zhang Lian Wei – were completed to bring the club's grand total to 12. Located 30 minutes from Hong Kong, Mission Hills also features courses designed by golf luminaries like Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman and Nick Faldo, among others.

"It took Pinehurst nearly 100 years to construct eight courses," says Tenniel Chu, Executive Director, Mission Hills Golf Club. "Our ability to build 12 in less than 15 years is a stunning achievement and indicative of our sincere belief in China as the breeding ground for golf's next generation of champions."

Mission Hills is not only about golf, however, as it's rapidly developed into Asia's premier sports and lifestyle destination resort. The club's other outstanding amenities include three world-class spas featuring an array of treatment options; a 317-room, five-star hotel; a wide variety of restaurants offering succulent cuisine from around the globe; golf academies from renowned instructors David Leadbetter and Cindy Reid; 51 tennis courts and a professional tennis academy at Asia's largest tennis center, pro shops with a comprehensive selection of golf gear and apparel at the world's largest clubhouse, and more.

"We invite you to visit Mission Hills in 2009 to indulge in the unmatched experience and service we offer," says Chu. "There isn't a club in the world that combines our exotic locale, variety of golf, luxurious accommodations, rejuvenating spas and delectable menu options."

China's Dried Bean Curd Creates Guinness World Record

A 1.86-ton piece of dried bean curd in a southwest China town was included into Guinness World Records on Sunday.

The piece was 4.21 meters long, 4.2 meters wide and 9.5 centimeters high. It took dozens of workers from Guozhu Soybean Products Co., Ltd based in Nanxi County, Sichuan Province about 30 hours to complete the piece.

A Guinness World Records representative announced the record at the Nanxi Dried Bean Curd Food Products Culture Festival.

People will share the piece for free on Monday, according to the maker.

Dried bean curd production in Nanxi has a history of more than 100 years.

Michael Phelps Sets World Records of Most Number of Gold Medals in Olympic

Michael Phelps on Sunday broke the record for the most number of gold medals at an individual Olympic Games as he helped the US team win the 4x100m medley relay.

Phelps broke the record previously held by American swimmer Mark Spitz, who won seven gold medals in 1972.
The US won in a world record time of 3:29.34, beating their own world record from 2004 by 1.34 seconds.

Silver went to Australia in 3:30.04, who were also under the old best mark, while Japan took bronze in 3:31.18.

It was the 25th world record broken in the Beijing Water Cube at the Olympics and came in the final swim of the swimming competition.

Phelps finally cracked on Sunday when he was presented with a certificate to show that he had won an unprecedented eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.

Phelps started crying and sheepishly looked towards he team-mates when the president of the sport's controlling body FINA, Mustapha Larfaoui, gave the 23-year-old the certificate during the medal celebration for the men's 4x100m individual medley, which the US team won in world record time.

The rousing applause he received from the 11,000 spectators in the Beijing Water Cube brought more tears to his eyes and it was only when the US flag was raised and the national anthem played that Phelps composed himself and broke into a broad smile.

Worlds Largest Gymnastic and Artistic Performance Record

A certificate of the Guinness World Records was awarded to the grand gymnastic and artistic performance “Arirang”.

It was handed to Song Sok Hwan, vice-minister of Culture, by Wu Xiaohong, representative of the Guinness World Records, on a visit to the DPRK at the May Day Stadium on August 15.

The record of largest gymnastic and artistic performance in the world was created in Pyongyang, the capital of the DPRK, the certificate says.

Conveying the certificate, the representative said the grand gymnastic and artistic performance “Arirang” could be successfully created thanks to the wise leadership of Kim Jong Il, and expressed deepest respect to him.

Warmly haling the registration of the performance in the Guinness World Records, the representative hoped that “Arirang” would successfully go on in the future.

More than 7 million Koreans in the north and the south and overseas and foreigners have watched the performance which has taken place over 180 times.

Longest Time on Wire World Record set by Uygur Adili

Chinese Uygur Adili completed a remarkable feat on Saturday by staying on a wire for 600 hours and wirewalking for a total of 123 hours and 48 minutes, breaking the world Guinness records held by Canadian Jay Cochrane.

In 25 days, the 31-year-old Adili lived in a cabana at an end of the wire, hung above the Jinhai Lake at Pinggu District of Beijing, and walked five to nine hours a day on a 416-meter-long and 35-meter high wire, an accomplishment recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the greatest living-on-wire in history.

　　The former Guinness record was held by "Skywalking Prince" Cochrane, who stayed on a wire for 21 days in 1981.

　　The walk, which made Adili a celebrity, was viewed by more than10,000 people on Saturday, who came to the remote site northeast of Beijing.

　　Adili, who overcame loneliness and high winds, said after he landed, "I was excited to better the record and I appreciated the support from all over the China when I was alone high on the wire."

　　Adili, the seventh generation of a high-wire walking family from Xinjiang, Northwest China, holds several world records including skywalking above the Yangtze River in 13 minutes and 48 seconds and the longest walking distance on a 1,399-meter-long wire at a height of 436 meters between two apices of Hengshan Mountain, Hunan province.

　　The wirewalk over the Jinhai Lake was another pinnacle in Adili's career, and it sparked his desire for bigger achievements.

　　"I want to wirewalk over the Great Wall. It is a symbol of China and I will walk over it to salute to 2008 Beijing Olympic Games," he said. Enditem

Source : news.xinhuanet.com

Longest time spent in direct, full-body contact with ice

Mr. Wang Jintu (China) achieved the record for the longest time spent in direct, full-body contact with ice in China, on 17 April, 2008 in Beijing, China. He broke the previous record by an amazing 17 minutes. His now holds the record by 1 hour and 30 minutes!

Mr. Wang Jintu's record attempt began in the afternoon of 17 April, 2008, witnessed by Guinness World Records adjudicator Angela Wu. The glass container he used was 1 m long, 1 m wide and 2 m high -Wang is 172 m tall. Wearing only a swimsuit and with two professional doctors from Beijing present, ice cubes were poured into the box to reach the level of his neck, after which timing started. At first Wang was a little bit shaky, but after some minutes he acclimatized and could was able to enjoy the cheers from his friends and his daughter.

Everyone present was amazed. Having been in the ice for 1 hour and 14 minutes, Jintu had already broken the record, but he said that he would like to challenge himself and remain in the ice until 1 hour and 30 minutes had passed. After this, he was glad to come out and finish the attempt! Wang did not suffer any after effects and he thanked the audience with a smile. When Angela Wu presented him with the certificate, whilst the audience cheered him on.

The attempt was covered by about 10 to 15 members of the media, including Beijing TV, CCTV-sport Channel, sina.com

Mr. Wang is known among his friends and colleagues by wearing short sleeved shirts in winter when temperatures average below zero centigrade. After seeing Whim Hoof achieving the record at Zheng Da Zong Yi-Guinness World record Specials, Wang thought that he could do it himself. He applied to Guinness World Records and practiced twice prior to the attempt.

"I would like to challenge the potentials of human being and extremes. In this way I would like to express my welcome and support for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games", Mr. Wang told the journalists.

Source : http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com

Guinness world record for Full Body Contact with Ice

In this photo provided by Rubin Museum of Art, Wim Hof, of the Netherlands, stands up to his neck in ice for an hour and twelve minutes, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008, outside the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, during a successful attempt to break his previous guinness world record for immersion in an outdoor ice bath. (Photo: Chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies)

Wim Hof, nicknamed Iceman, stunned his audience by standing in a clear container filled with frozen water for 72 minutes on a Manhattan street Saturday.

The 48-year old Dutchman said his tantric meditation helped him survive in the ice for so long time as he could control his body temperature with the tantric practice of tumo.

Hof's feat kicked off BRAINWAVE, a five-month series of events in New York which studies how art, music, and meditation affect the brain.

Hof set the world record with 68 minutes in 2004. Last year, he tried unsuccessfully to climb Mount Qomolangma wearing nothing but shorts.

World Largest Ferris Wheel in Heilongjiang China

A 110-meter-high ferris wheel under construction in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, is claimed to be the highest in China and the sixth highest in the world.

The ferris wheel is expected to be completed by the end of April and operating on May 1, according to the Harbin amusement park where it is being built.
The ferris wheel, costing 20 million yuan (2.42 million US dollars), will hold 378 visitors and take 20 minutes to turn a full circle.

Visitors would be able to enjoy views of the whole city from the ferris wheel, the amusement park source said.

At 135 meters, the world's highest ferris wheel is located in London and the world's fifth highest, in Japan, is 2.5 meters higher than the Harbin model.

The London Eye, part-owned by British Airways, is the current Guinness Book of Records' world leader. The wheel, next to the River Thames, stands at 135 metres (450 feet).
Construction of the Shanghai wheel will begin before the end of the year and be finished in three years, the Shanghai Daily said.

Shanghai, China's largest city, has other big building plans.

The planned 460 metres (1,509 feet) Shanghai World Financial Centre is due to open ahead of the 2008 Olympics which Beijing is hosting.

Shanghai is already home to the 88-storey Jinmao Tower, currently China's tallest building and the third tallest in the world.