How to Ride an Escalator: China Says You’re Doing It Wrong
Experts have recently warned that the practice is a danger to public safety
China Battles to Control Growing Online Nationalism
When Taiwan last year elected a president eager to reduce the island’s reliance on China, tens of thousands of Chinese netizens attacked Taiwanese websites in a co-ordinated action that was as much a surprise to Beijing as it was to its targets...
China’s Elite Bodyguards Are Struggling to Find Enough Rich People to Protect
Training bodyguards has been big business in China for years. Now, however, a slowing economy and an anti-corruption drive are putting the brakes on the private security industry
President Xi’s Great Chinese Soccer Dream
The 48 soccer fields of the vast Evergrande Football School in south China seem barely enough for its 2,800 students. Against a backdrop of school spires that seem modeled on Hogwarts, the young athletes swarm onto the fields nearly every day,...
How China Built ‘iPhone City’ With Billions in Perks for Apple’s Partner
A hidden bounty of benefits for Foxconn’s plant in Zhengzhou, the world’s biggest iPhone factory, is central to the production of Apple’s most profitable product
Migrant-School Students Face Difficulty Getting Into College, Study Finds
Less than 6% of students in Beijing schools for migrant children entered college. In local public schools, 60% did
China Warmly Welcomes a Giant Rooster With Trumpian Characteristics
Trump's golden quiff has appeared on a 23-foot tall rooster statue outside a shopping mall in the northern Chinese city of Taiyuan
Bike-Sharing Revolution Aims to Put China Back on Two Wheels
From Shanghai to Sichuan, schemes are being rolled out to slash congestion, cut air pollution – and spin a profit
Smog Refugees Flee Chinese Cities as ‘Airpocalypse’ Blights Half a Billion
Thousands head to pollution-free regions as haze descends on the country’s northern industrial heartland
Photo Gallery
12.21.16
Seeing 2016 Through Eyes on China
In June 2015, a couple dozen China-based photographers—some Chinese, some not—founded the Instagram account Eyes on China. Their goal, as member photographer Gilles...
China Chokes on Smog So Bad that Planes Can't Land
Major cities across northern China choked Monday under a blanket of smog so thick that industries were ordered shut down and air and ground traffic was disrupted
China’s Notorious City Management Officers in Legal Limbo Despite Expanding Role
The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has been charged with regulating the force that earlier was under the sole purview of local governments
Books
12.15.16
Crashing the Party
It’s 1983. Scott Savitt, one of the first American exchange students in Beijing, picks up his guitar and begins strumming “Blackbird.” He’s soon surrounded by Chinese students who know every word to every Beatles song he plays. Savitt stays on in Beijing, working as a reporter for Asiaweek Magazine. The city’s first nightclubs open; rock ‘n’ roll promises democracy. Promoted to foreign correspondent for The Los Angeles Times and then United Press International, Savitt finds himself drawn into China’s political heart.
Caixin Media
12.15.16
Attempts to ‘Clean Up Beijing’ Target Low-Cost Migrant Homes
Li Yi, a young computer engineer working in Beijing, said authorities forced him out of his apartment in a village in Haidian district in November, days after his power supply was cut off even though he had paid the bills.
...
Environment
12.13.16
Chinese Consumers Adopt Greener Lifestyle
from chinadialogueFor the last two years, Helen Ni has hosted low-carbon technology workshops for local kids and their parents. The informal gatherings take place at her ground-floor apartment in the Shanghai suburb of Minhang, close to Jiaotong...
Attempts to ‘Clean Up Beijing’ Target Low-Cost Migrant Homes
"They came and banged on tenants' doors every day until they agreed to move out, and they cut off their power supply for a week"
China Riot Police Seal Off City Center After Smog Protestors Put Masks on Statues
Clampdown in Chengdu after protesters place masks on statues in anger at air pollution choking the city
Environment
12.06.16
The World’s Saddest Polar Bear
from chinadialogue
Pizza, “the world’s saddest polar bear,” is to be granted at least a temporary reprieve from the display case in which he lives in the Grandview shopping mall in Guangzhou, southern China. This follows a global outcry, a one-million-signature...
Author’s Vision of a Future Beijing Looks to China’s Present
Meet Hao Jingfang, author of "Folding Beijing,” the science-fiction novelette that beat out Stephen King to win a Hugo Award.
'Social' Feature Turns China’s Alipay Into a Hook-up App
Alipay update leads to suggestive content flooding the typically staid financial app
$100 Billion Chinese-Made City Near Singapore ’Scares the Hell Out of Everybody’
Planeloads of buyers fly in as condos rise from the sea
Conversation
11.21.16
Will China Take the Lead on Climate Change?
At a time when the world is looking to China and the United States, the leading emitters of greenhouse gasses, to cooperate under the terms of the Paris Climate Change Agreement of 2015, will China now take the lead in fighting climate change?
Features
11.18.16
Chinese and American City-Dwellers Differ on Trump Win
City-dwellers in China and the United States are among the greatest beneficiaries of the international trade deals President-elect Trump...
Depth of Field
11.08.16
Dongbei’s Last Match Factory, Capital Straphangers, Retracing the Long March...
from Yuanjin PhotoIn October, several publications marked the 80th Anniversary of the Chinese Communists’ Long March. We have chosen two stories that revisited this event and that were standouts, visually. Elsewhere, photographers...
Books
11.04.16
Land of Fish and Rice
The lower Yangtze region, or Jiangnan, with its modern capital Shanghai, has been known since ancient times as a “land of fish and rice.” For centuries, local cooks have harvested the bounty of its lakes, rivers, fields, and mountains to create a cuisine renowned for its delicacy and beauty. In Land of Fish and Rice, Fuchsia Dunlop draws on years of study and exploration to present the recipes, techniques, and ingredients of the Jiangnan kitchen.
China’s Other Car Problem
A lack of parking spots worries Chinese car-owners--and fixing it will be hard
Amazon Delivers Prime Program to China
The U.S. e-commerce behemoth hopes to capitalize on Chinese consumers’ desire for overseas products
How One City in China is Trying to Avoid a Property Boom and Bust
Chongqing mayor’s star rises thanks to scrutiny of real estate market
Smiling Panda, Weeping Dragon: China’s Banksy Brings Life to City Sprawl
Qi Xinghua, famous as a 3-D painter, says he wants to ‘add some fun to our lives’ by brightening up drab cityscapes
China’s Urbanites Embrace Sacrifice to Ride Property Frenzy
There are signs mortgages are crimping household spending, in an economy increasingly reliant on domestic consumption
I Broadcast Myself on the Chinese Web for Two Weeks
In the process, I learned why Chinese millennials can't seem to unplug from the live-streaming craze.
Breakfast Cereal Prices Surge in China Following Appearance on Soap Opera
A shrewd product placement on a popular soap opera has propelled a Western breakfast cereal to frenzied popularity in China, sending prices up almost ten times in the gray market
Sinica Podcast
10.14.16
An American’s Seven Months in a Chinese Jail
from Sinica PodcastIn 2009, Michael Manning was working in Beijing for a state-owned news broadcaster by day, but he spent his nights selling bags of hashish. His position with CCTV was easy and brought him into contact with Chinese celebrities,...
China Returns to Pedal Power
With roads becoming less navigable by the day, citizens, entrepreneurs and the government are looking for alternatives. The solution: bring back the bike
Poignant Portraits Show What it is Like Being LGBT in China
Despite being decriminalized in 1997, homosexuality is still heavily stigmatized in China.
Caixin Media
10.12.16
Government Should Kick Land Sale Addiction to Cure Overheated Property Market
Chinese cities have rolled out new measures over the past week to cool a home-buying frenzy that has seen prices skyrocket, marking a new round of tightening since policies were eased two years ago. More than a dozen of China's largest cities,...
Anger on Streets in China as Football Team Suffer Shock Defeat by War-Torn Syria
Disgruntled fans demand that president of football association is sacked as hopes for a football revolution suffer a blow
Uber Slayer: How China’s Didi Beat the Ride-Hailing Superpower
“We felt like the People’s Liberation Army, with basic rifles, and we were bombed by airplanes and missiles.”
America’s Best Idea May Now Be China’s Too, as It Expands It’s National Park System
With U.S. guidance, China is launching a pilot project that spans nine provinces
China Struggles to Curb Housing Bubble
Even as Chinese authorities desperately try to cool down an overheated housing market, their efforts are unlikely to halt the rise of speculators greased by low borrowing costs
Chengguan, Widely Despised Officers in China, Find Refuge and a Kind Ear
China’s first Psychological Crisis Center for Chengguan opened in Nanjing this week
Chinese Tourists Encouraged to Behave Ahead of Mass Vacation
Public urination and defacing monuments are no-nos
Long Absent in China, Tipping Makes a Comeback at a Few Trendy Restaurants
Scan your server's QR code if you like your service
Mystery of China’s ‘Ghost Uber Drivers’
An eruption of creepy faces on driver profiles has spooked potential passengers
Meet Pizza, the World’s Saddest Polar Bear
Pizza is just one of thousands of “wild” animals languishing in China's malls
A New Literary Genre Critiques the Scariest Part of Life in China: Reality
Enter chaohuan, the "ultra-unreal"
Gay Pride: China Activists Fight ‘Conversion Therapy’
Coming out was never going to be easy, but Yu never thought it would see him committed
Once a Voice of Young China, Han Han Stakes Out a Different Path
Han Han discusses his writings, the turns his life has taken and what people in the West fail to understand about China
Depth of Field
09.12.16
African Migrants in Guangzhou, Forgetting, Family Planning’s Fate, and More...
from Yuanjin PhotoPhotographing the aftermath of catastrophic events is challenging—one that photographer Mu Li handles with creativity and grace looking back at the chemical explosion in Tianjin that damaged as many as 17,000 homes August 12, 2015. Another...
Historic Flooding Costs China $44.7 Billion So Far This Year
’Ruthless’ urbanization takes its toll.
The Condom Quandary
Asia Catalyst
Sex work is illegal in China, and law enforcement practices that focus on condoms as evidence of prostitution are having a negative impact on HIV prevention among sex workers. When Lanlan, who runs a community-based organization (CBO) and support...
Made in China Robot turned Creative Human
At age 19, Mojia Shen knew where she came from, what she was expected to do, and she had worked hard to follow rules, fulfill everyone’s expectation, earn her marks and deliver results. Then came a surprise. When she got early admission...
A Chinese Millionaire’s $1.3bn Plan to ‘Transform’ Sheffield
The deal has the backing of the British government.
Environment
07.21.16
Chengdu’s Pollution Is Complicated by Taxi Apps
from chinadialogueResearch carried out by Peking University’s Statistical Science Centre and Guanghua School of Management found that Chengdu suffers from air pollution 88 percent of the time—even worse than Beijing at 76 percent.