ARTS

Maotai Drifters: Work and Life in China’s Liquor Capital

Photographer Ma Changyu, a former worker in Maotai, documents the surreal contrasts of solitude and bustle that define the baijiu-producing town

GALLERY

A Man, Three Pairs of Flip-Flops, and 574 Kilometers of Hike Home

Young artist Guo “Slipper King” Dingfen is rebranding a maligned footwear from his hometown into a collective memory of a generation

FOOD

Getting Sour: How Guizhou’s Sour Soup Went National

While the southwestern province’s fermented soup has grown in popularity over the past several years, businesses still face challenges promoting it as a debate over “authentic flavors” continues to simmer

NEWS

Two Sessions Proposals You Shouldn’t Miss in 2026

From childbearing-friendly policies to AI regulations, here are the Two Sessions proposals you shouldn’t miss

FICTION

A Short Stay in the Woods | Fiction

“The arm was merely a piece of metal, but, having spent so much time with it, Song Zhen felt as if she had formed some mysterious connection with it.”

TRADITIONAL CULTURE

In a Digital Age, Young Chinese Women Are Turning to Nüshu, a Centuries-Old Script, to Reclaim Strength

Once a secret script shared among women in Jiangyong, Hunan, Nüshu now inspires young female creators to reimagine its origins, create new works, and carry its culture and spirit forward

ANCIENT HISTORY

Thespian Emperors, Mandatory Castration, and Deadly Poetry: Fascinating Facts About China’s Forgotten Age of Chaos

Step back 1,000 years into the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, when political chaos produced a litany of historical curiosities

TECHNOLOGY

“Bumping” Into Adolescence: Kids’ Smartwatches and the Battleground Between Safety and Control

Children’s smartwatches have become big business in China, but do their safety features outweigh the potential risks to attention spans and social inclusion?

TRADITIONAL CULTURE

A Festival of Lights: How Lanterns Illuminate the Yuanxiao Festival Across China

From cyberpunk horse installations to “My Little Pony”-inspired lanterns, here’s a glimpse of how the Lantern Festival is lighting up every corner of the country

ANCIENT HISTORY

Power on a Paper: The Passport in Chinese History

Before the small, biometric-chipped booklet we now clutch when crossing borders, travel credentials in ancient China took many forms—from tokens and staffs to records inscribed on bamboo slips