Christmas is upon us once again, which means it's time for gou-rou.com to sift the chaff from the wheat and then make a list of some end of year awards. These awards are then published in HTML format on our internet site so that you can read them.

Musician of the Year
Wang Lee Hom
For introducing so many Western songs whole cloth to China.

Book of the Year
gou-rou.com Greatest Hits
Much to our surprise and delight, the judges chose to award the prize to our very own anthology of the best bits from our first ten issues. It makes a great Christmas present and you can buy it here.

Print Fodder of the Year
The Emperor's Bones
Despite receiving mediocre reviews, calling it "rather unbelievable" and "flat", The Emperor's Bones takes the prize thanks to its services to harassed expat magazine editors who desperately need to include something to do with China. By our reckoning, it has now been reviewed at least twice in every expat mag in Beijing.

Film of the Year (Chinese)
The Promise
Sorry, can't actually bring ourselves to care. Chen Kaige, blah blah blah.

Film of the Year (Russian language)
Most DVD copies of Batman Begins. In a close second place, The Island.

Film of the Year (Other)
Roll Bounce
At last someone has the courage to tackle the gritty subject of 70s roller disco in celluloid form. Well worth the wait!

Most Diagonal DVD
That copy of Anchorman we got.

TV Show of the Year (Chinese)
Dialogue
CCTV9's flagship discussion broadgramme. Ideal for sleepless nights.

TV Show of the Year (Foreign)
Point Pleasant
Putting a brilliant twist on the Twin Peaks style format, by starting with a puzzling mystery but then turning out to not be very interesting after all!

Contribution to International Relations
Sun Lijun
Sun, the director of animated children's movie Little Soldier Zhang, said of his film, "I thought about including one sympathetic Japanese character, but this is an anti-Japan war movie and I don't want to confuse anyone." Nice going!

The Mrs Joyful Prize for Political Hairstyles
Kim Jong-il
Despite hot competition from Junichiro "the Silver Fox" Koizumi, North Korea's bouffant dictator sweeps it for the third year running, which means he gets to keep the trophy.

Bar of the Year
Restaurant of the Year
Nightclub of the Year
These prizes have been classified "TOPP SEKRIT", the highest level of security at gou-rou.com and awarded in pectore, as we don't want you peons coming along and ruining them for us.