TRAVEL

Caverns of Culture: Leisure and Spirituality in China’s Karst Caves | Photo Story

Photographer Cai Shanhai captures life and leisure of southwest China’s “cave dwellers.”

FILM

The Female-Perspective Films Enriching Chinese Cinema

Discover five recent female-centered films and the women directors behind them

MUSIC

Wildest Dream: What Taylor Swift Means To Her Chinese Fans

Five Chinese “Swifties” explain how they fell in love with the American popstar, and what she taught them about life

SOCIETY

China’s Chengdu Disney Has Massive Queues and Just One Ride

How a rapper’s diss track turned a single piece of exercise equipment in a small community gym into the latest viral travel destination

STREET TALK

Zeroes to Heroes: Chinese Fans’ New-Found Love for Losers

China’s latest meme celebrates unsung, “spineless” heroes, proving that real strength often lies in the beautifully flawed

MODERN HISTORY

One Card to Rule Them All: The History of China’s ID System

How Chinese ID cards evolved from simple handwritten cards in 1984, to sophisticated digital documents essential for everything from riding the train to playing video games

SOCIETY

Before Forever: The Rise of Prenuptial Agreements in China

More young Chinese are signing prenuptial agreements before marriage, but are they enforceable?

TV

Podcast | How China’s Micro-Dramas Spread At Home and Abroad

What‘s it like working in China’s micro-drama industry as producers and apps spread the ultrashort format abroad?

EDUCATION

What Video Games (Don’t) Teach Us About China

Video games mix real-world history and fiction in ways that inform—and perhaps distort—people’s views of China

SOCIETY

Writing on the Wall: A Brief History of China’s Guerrilla Ads

Since their first appearance in the 1990s, China’s ubiquitous “little ads“ have evolved alongside the cities they serve