The beginning of the end to COVID zero?
A steadily worsening economy and massive popular frustration at pandemic measures seem to have convinced some officials that COVID zero has to go. But it’s not clear what that means yet.
Here’s what else you need to know today:
- The performative state of China’s environmental governance
- China’s COVID protests in Guangzhou, nuclear power plants in Britain, and joint patrols with Russia
- Beijing strikes a softer tone as it clamps down on COVID lockdown protests
- Taiwanese artist Pan Chunling draws the minutiae of life
- CATL gets into boat batteries
Featured articles
Travel: A cross-cultural dive into Hani traditions in Yunnan
There are at least 25 ethnic minority groups in Yunnan Province, including 16 that are indigenous to the region. One of those is the Hani, whose people — as our author learns in her trek through a traditional village — are constantly striving to balance traditions with modern living.
The China Bowl: When Army and Navy played football in Shanghai
The Army-Navy game is one of the most honored traditions in college football. It's usually played in Philadelphia…but not always.
Can women still ‘hold up half the sky’ in China’s future?
Discrimination against women in Chinese society takes many forms. Recent legislative proposals aim to address some longstanding problems, but will they end up as mere lip service?
After the KMT’s local elections victory, what’s next for Taiwan?
The Taiwanese party that favors closer ties to Beijing just won 13 of the 21 contested city mayor and county chief seats in Taiwan. The author, who recently visited Taiwan, muses on the future of this self-governed island.
Business & Technology Spotlight
Benefits for rank and file staff, and salary cuts for executives at ecommerce giant JD.com
China’s second biggest ecommerce platform, JD.com, is lowering compensation for top managers and creating an enormous benefits package for regular staff in an apparent bid to align itself with government policies. But the move will only add uncertainty to the prospects for tech firms in China, and around the world.
Donkey quack medicine is a multibillion dollar business for Dong-E-E-Jiao. Can it last?
Since 2019, China’s largest producer of ejiao, which is made from donkey hides and is dependent on illicit supplies from Africa, has attempted to diversify its product range. The company now also produces bird nest products — an expensive delicacy made from swiftlet saliva — but that does not seem to be working out.
After COVID, China’s pet economy is booming
The pandemic has been good for China’s pet industry: Single millennials, pensioners, and lonely people locked up at home have bought pets and are now spending a fortune on food, toys, grooming, photography, and even funerals.
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Video from The China Project
Shanghai protests turn political | Live with Lizzi Lee
Freelance journalist Simon Leplâtre, who is based in Shanghai, talks about the brewing frustrations that erupted into anti-COVID-zero protests this past weekend.
Society & Culture Spotlight
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Posing like American farmers is the latest trend among Chinese influencers
After “U.S. high schoolers” and “shopping in Los Angeles,” pretending to be on an autumnal American farm is the latest “Americore” aesthetic to take over Chinese social media.
‘The Backstreets’ by Perhat Tursun: A Xinjiang novel before its time
"The Backstreets" is a masterful work of stream-of-consciousness fiction that has recently become available outside China, the first Uyghur-language novel to be translated into English.
The tragic romance of China and Hollywood
Can a multi-billion-dollar relationship be restored after such a spectacular collapse?
Featured Categories
Business & Technology
- Nayuki becomes Naixue as Japanese branding loses its appeal in China
- China’s loss-making cloud companies search for a silver lining
- China is building gigantic wind turbines, but are they too cheap?
Foreign Affairs
- “We’ve got the vaccines you need,” European leader tells Xi Jinping
- Déjà vu to 2002? The U.S., China, and parallels to the Iraq War run-up
- Chinese, Russian bombers conduct joint patrols and land in each other’s territory
be/longing: Asian Americans Now
In celebration of that and in recognition of the many achievements of our community, The Serica Initiative is delighted to share that our five-part digital series be/longing: Asian American Now, co-produced with PBS’s flagship station in New York, is now available.
Editors' Picks
Peking University’s first Yiddish class
At one of China’s most prestigious universities, students from a variety of majors are learning the Ashkenazi Jewish language.
Why do China books all look the same?
The color red, dragons, cropped Asian faces…when it comes to presenting China, book publishers often rely on a set of familiar tropes — to the detriment of the authors and the genre.
In search of spirit in China’s wild west
Through history, culture, and contemporary China: A motorbike trip from Xi'an to Dunhuang.
China looks to the Western classics
As American universities reevaluate the role of Western classical education, Latin and Greek courses are proliferating in China, where students see the Classics as a wellspring of wisdom that remains relevant regardless of hemisphere.