POETRY

Poetry That Delivers

Wang Jibing, China’s “delivery driver poet,” talks to TWOC about getting inspired on the road and not letting online trolls get the better of him

LIFE

Meet the Chinese College Grads Who Took Up Blue-Collar Jobs

From assembly lines to massage parlors, four young people with university degrees recount the joy and pain from taking up low-skilled labor

GALLERY

When Art Meets the Authenticity of Labor

How performance artist Li Liao, famous for his 45-day stint on Foxconn’s assembly lines in 2012, became a delivery driver to pay the bills

SOCIETY

Fading Trades: Photographing China’s Disappearing Professions

Once common sights on sidewalks, many old professions are giving way to online apps and urbanization. Photographer Huang Ruide captures these fading trades on camera before they’re gone for good.

NEWS

Weird and Colorful Proposals from this Year’s “Two Sessions”

Some of the most notable and controversial proposals from the annual meetings of China’s legislative bodies

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE
SOCIETY

Work to Live, Live to Work: Capturing Workers’ Moments of Joy

Photographer Xin Ting captures workers at their happiest

SOCIETY

Can’t Afford Rent? These Young Urban Drifters Make Do in Unexpected Settings

From living in hotels to sleeping in the office, three young Chinese tell their stories of avoiding sky-high rents

SOCIETY

After Covid, Another Kind of Isolation

Months after recovery, some former Covid-19 patients struggle with job discrimination, dating stigma, and even separate testing queues

STREET TALK

How Gen Z is Changing Work Culture...by Speaking Up

Challenging everything from overtime work to abusive bosses, can China’s “post-00s” really rewrite workplace norms?

SOCIETY

Meet the Young People Working as Security Guards

More and more young people are taking jobs as security guards, positions normally reserved for middle-aged migrant workers—why?