A list of intriguing things

One: The most eye-popping form of Chinese performance art is an operatic art form called bian lian. Performers “change faces in a matter of seconds, from the Monkey King to mythical heroes and ancient warriors.” It is 300 years old and unique to the southwestern province of Sichuan. The colour of each mask has meaning: ‘For example, red refers to righteousness and white to villainy.’ And it’s not just about changing faces at a ridiculous speed a la a cheesy fantasy villain:

Mr Wong says the beauty of bian lian is to portray each character's emotions, their happiness, sadness and anger. 'You cannot just swing your head and show the mask . . . expression from the eyes is most important.'

FYI: The secrets of the craft are fiercely guarded—heightening worries that the art form may die out. We strongly recommend taking a peek below. Here’s a handy listicle with all the basic facts. (South China Morning Post)

Two: Here’s a perfect game for cat lovers: Nego. The table game is an ode by Japanese sculptor Yuka Morii. The name is a mashup of ‘neko’—Japanese for ‘cat’—and the board game Go. It is “inspired by felines’ need to stretch, loaf, and nap in any available spot.” How it works: 

[T]he object is simply to fit the most cats on the board by taking turns placing them onto a small grid. Cat owners will know, however, that the real object of the game might be preventing mischievous paws from swiping pieces onto the floor one by one.

You get a sense of how crowded things get in the game board below. (Colossal)

Three: Does your water taste like Balenciaga? We’re already accustomed to highly overpriced bottled water. But what about highly overpriced water bottles? You can buy ‘branded’ bottles to carry any kind of beverage these days. Maybe a $210 Dior coffee cup—“crafted in extra fine Limoges porcelain with a hand-painted Toile de Jouy filet border”? Or this bottle that screams LV at the top of its lungs—much like those hideous bags?

But would you really pay for this $195 Prada water bottle? Also: how fancy does your paani need to be to merit that kind of transportation? (The Cut)