ENTERTAINMENT

High Stakes in Short Takes: China’s Booming Micro-Drama Business

Insider anxiety, regulatory scrutiny, and widespread criticism challenge the micro-drama industry in sustaining its billion-dollar saga

EDUCATION

Parallel Worlds: How A Lifestyle App Shed Light on China’s Education Gap

Anxiety has grown among China’s rural students as the internet provides them with glimpses into the lives of their more privileged urban peers

FOOD

The Confused Origins of One of China’s Most Popular Dishes

How Anhui “banmian” spread across the nation and became associated with a city hundreds of kilometers away from its place of origin

TRADITIONAL CULTURE

China’s Forgotten Tulou Buildings and Their Last Residents

Life in Guangdong’s ancient, neglected, and crumbling “Earth Buildings”

TRAVEL

China’s Lunar New Year Travel Rush in Numbers

A glance at the data behind travel and spending that finally reached pre-pandemic heights during China’s holiday season

TRADITIONAL CULTURE

Flames of Fortune: A Chinese Village’s Fiery Leap into the Lunar New Year

The people of Zhengpan celebrate the Lunar New Year by charging into flames for good fortune

TRAVEL

Pigs and Party Games: Celebrating Lunar New Year, Dongbei Style

Folk customs and culture of Northeast China during the Lunar New Year

TRADITIONAL CULTURE

How One Village Sows the Seeds of Wealth at Lunar New Year

The people of Fengxi village celebrate the Lunar New Year with a unique folk ritual involving sugarcane, deities, and fire

FOOD

Stripped Down: The Story Behind China’s Favorite Snack

How simple, greasy, cheap “latiao” (literally ”spicy strips“) became the people’s snack

EDUCATION

No Time to Teach

Facing more bureaucratic formalities, overwork, and dwindling respect, many of China’s teachers are leaving the profession for good