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

In ancient China, travel credentials assumed many shapes—tokens, staffs, and records on bamboo slips—yet how did the modern passport take over?

TRADITIONAL CULTURE

Where Heroines Take the Reins

There’s no better way to celebrate the Year of the Horse than with Xiaxi’s all-female horse-themed parade

Ring in the Year of the Horse: The Ultimate Chinese New Year Guide

Once again, the Chinese New Year—or Spring Festival—is just around the corner, arriving on February 17, 2026. As the biggest annual celebration in China kicks off, the dynamic Horse, the seventh zodiac animal, gallops into the spotlight, taking the reins and replacing the Snake to usher in a year of ambition, bravery, and strength.

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Essential Reads from The Commercial Press

Explore a world of original Chinese books and translations from The Commercial Press, the proud parent of The World of Chinese

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Chinese athletes at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics
STREET TALK

Olympic Chatter: Chinese Fans on the 2026 Winter Olympics

From quips about Team China’s outfit design to following the games with bated breath, here are the internet memes and slang inspired by the Milano-Cortina Olympics

Jinan swimming winner
SPORTS

In the Water With Shandong’s Winter Swimmers

At Jinan’s annual winter swimming competition, participants from across China and around the world plunge into icy waters, as a sport practiced mostly by older residents begins to catch on more widely

Wuhai Lake Inner Mongolia
TRAVEL

Two Days in Wuhai, the Small Coal-Mining City Dubbed “China’s Dubai”

Once ridden with air pollution, the northwestern Inner Mongolia city is reinventing itself as a desert-lake tourist destination

Chinese radio station listenership decline
BUSINESS

In Transition: Is Radio in China Tuning Out or Just Reinventing Itself?

Once a constant companion of commuters and late-night listeners, radio stations in China are shuttering amid declining listenership and shrinking advertising revenue. But the medium’s core elements are reemerging elsewhere in new forms of listening.

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