A manicured hand touches the train carriage window as a brown swirl of floodwater squeezes up against the tunnel outside — one of many scenes of desperation from an underground tragedy shared Wednesday across a stunned Chinese social media.
Beiyi Seow
Podcasts Burst onto China Youth Scene
A lesbian coming to terms with her sexuality, a village covering up abuses and a dissection of the three-child policy — an explosion of Chinese podcasts are wrestling with social issues considered taboo under the country’s strict media controls.
Astronauts Complete First Spacewalk at China’s New Tiangong Station
Chinese astronauts successfully performed the country’s first tandem spacewalk on Sunday, working for seven hours on the outside of the new Tiangong station in orbit around Earth.
China Bubble Tea Firm Debuts after $650M IPO Caps Labor of Love
Chinese bubble tea chain Nayuki’s shares tumbled on their Hong Kong debut Wednesday after the firm’s IPO raised more than $650 million and made billionaires of its co-owners, who founded the company on a blind date.
China’s Disenchanted Youth ‘Lie Flat’ to Cope with Modern Life
Ground down by the sapping realities of modern city life, China’s youth are “lying flat”, the latest buzzword for those tapping out of a culture of endless work with little reward.
‘Boys’ Love’ Dramas Dance around China’s LGBTQ Censors
Two men exchange longing glances, a frisson of sexual tension in an on-screen relationship which must otherwise go unspoken — China’s “boys’ love” phenomenon is gripping video streamers, slipping by censors of LGBTQ themes with their subtlety.
China’s Poverty Eradication Drove Some to Riches but Left Others Behind
China claimed last year it had met a long-trumpeted target of lifting all its people out of extreme poverty.
Kuaishou: China’s $160B Livestreaming App for ‘Ordinary People’
On Lu Kaigang’s feed, sheets of tarp are transformed into haute couture as China’s mountainous backdrop becomes his catwalk, a 22-year-old villager sashaying to fame via a video-sharing app for the everyman — Kuaishou.
WHO Virus Mission Blunted as China Refuses Team Entry
An expert mission to China to probe the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic was in disarray Wednesday after Beijing denied entry to the World Health Organization team at the last minute despite months of painstaking negotiations.
China’s #MeToo Movement Gets its Moment in Court
A sexual harassment case against a powerful Chinese media figure opened in Beijing on Wednesday, with his accuser calling it a major moment in the country’s still-young #MeToo movement.
Chinese Firms Add Foreigners to Host Live-Stream Shopping
Late at night, Lalo Lopez heads to a small Shanghai studio for a livestream, punting Chinese products from cycling shorts to vacuum cleaners to Spanish speakers around the world.
China’s Apps Quietly Rack up Downloads in the Shadow of TikTok Debacle
While SHEIN has its origins in China it is one of the biggest shopping apps in the United States, SHAREit has been banned in India despite being massively popular elsewhere, and Likee is chasing TikTok — but desperate to avoid a similar fate.
The Real Catwalk: Pet Couture Inspired by Ancient Chinese Clothing
Liu Liu is a fashion designer’s dream model and muse — happy to spend hour upon hour being measured and dressed, and posing in tailored couture outfits and artistic designs. Liu Liu is also a cat.
China’s Rat, Cobra Farmers Feel Coronavirus Pain
Bamboo rat farmer Liu Yanqun was just starting to make plump returns from the rodents in his farm in central China when the coronavirus broke out at the end of last year.
China’s Young Jobseekers Struggle Despite Economic Recovery
Biology student Ma Jingjing wandered the hall of a job fair in central China among other young Chinese hoping to find work in an economy crushed by the coronavirus pandemic.
China Warns Britain Interfering in Hong Kong Will ‘Backfire’
China warned Britain on Wednesday that interfering in Hong Kong will backfire, after the former colonial power vowed to give sanctuary to locals who may flee the city if a controversial security law is passed.
China’s Mask Boom Takes Fabric Away from Diaper Makers
China’s ramp-up of mask production to counter the coronavirus outbreak has claimed unlikely victims — nappies, wet wipes and sanitary towels that are made with the same raw materials.
Sexual Assault Case in China Sparks Outrage
A high-profile sexual assault investigation in China has prompted many to come forward online with similar experiences of abuse in a country where it remains tough to get justice for such crimes.
China Using UV Light to Speed Up Disinfection of Virus Germs
Ultraviolet light is being beamed through public buses and lifts in China to wipe out any possible germs as part of efforts to clear the country of the deadly coronavirus epidemic.
Fresh Food Spiked While Restaurants Starved for Cash in China
It is lunch time in Beijing, but the only diner in Cindy’s Cafe is an employee having a staff meal — it has been closed for more than three weeks as China battles a deadly virus epidemic.