China is trying to build more public spaces, but who has the right to use them—and how—remains contested
Lin Qiuming couldn’t tell if she was out for a stroll, or starring in a spy movie. Throughout May, the young journalist had gotten used to dodging roving guards and blocked-off paths whenever she came to the Liangma River—one of the only outdoor hangouts still available in Beijing during a Covid outbreak that month—in search of the bench or tree where she’d agreed to meet a friend or an interviewee. “It was like we were using code; it felt very surreal,” she tells TWOC.
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Parks, No Recreation: The Battle to Access China’s Public Spaces is a story from our issue, “Public Affairs.” To read the entire issue, become a subscriber and receive the full magazine.
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