Yang Tingting is a Chinese editor at The World of Chinese. Interested in telling Chinese stories, she writes mainly about culture, language, and society.
May 20, also known as the “Chinese Internet Valentine’s Day,” has over the years morphed into yet another shopping festival, much like the equally made-up “Singles Day.” But this year, the memes and slang that emerged seemed to push back against both consumerism and romance.
Evading strict censorship around religious and supernatural content, Chinese horror games have long used cultural elements like paper money, ancestral tablets, and red lanterns to evoke horror and tension—yet now, audiences are seeking deeper thrills