It turned out that the number that puzzled Mr Monkey was a Ban Zheng number. These 11 digit "take care of certificates" phone numbers connect people to "businessmen" who sell counterfeit documents such as diplomas, driver's licences and identity cards so that they can get jobs. Apparently these numbers are scrawled on walls all over China, and there were some pictures by Scott Burnham to prove it. The Chinese authorities have just noticed all this graffiti and made anonymous mobile numbers illegal.
Return to Mr Monkey visits the China Show at Urbis
Copyright Rik Shepherd and Mr Monkey. This page last modified 12 November 2006