Round Table China

Round Table presents the second of six stories from the new podcast, "Sage and Youth: Debating Zhuangzi's Tao." In this episode: is greatness measured by ability or moral perfection? Gen Z voices challenge whether true leadership demands tolerance of flaws or the relentless pursuit of an ideal. For more fascinating stories and heated debates, search "Sage and Youth: Debating Zhuangzi's Tao."

The final night of the year carries unusual weight. For centuries, China's ritual has been quiet but deeply symbolic: staying awake together as the old year slips away. When did this tradition begin? How did people spend Spring Festival Eve in ancient times? And how did staying awake become inseparable from watching sketches, spotting celebrities, and asking if the Gala is better than last year? O...

Round Table presents the first of six stories from the new podcast, Sage and Youth: Debating Zhuangzi's Tao. Two thousand years ago, Zhuangzi questioned reality itself. Who was he? A mystic. A rebel. A quiet comedian of philosophy. In this opening episode, Niu Honglin sits down with Professor Hong Li to explore freedom, uncertainty, and the playful wisdom of the ancient sage.

Across history, three rhythms define Spring Festival: the journey home, the way people gather, and the form celebration takes. In this series, Round Table traces these transformations through a sustained conversation between ancient and modern China. We explore how going home, celebrating together, and holiday fun have been reshaped across dynasties, technologies, and generations. On the show: Niu...

Forget New Year's Eve in Times Square. The real spectacle unfolds across China, where one broadcast commands a billion viewers. The Spring Festival Gala is less a television show than a shared ritual, part time capsule and part fever dream, weaving ancient tradition with viral spectacle. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushun

China continues to roll out the welcome mat with visa-free travel, but once visitors arrive, they often hit a digital wall. Foreign credit cards can still run into trouble, and many apps default to their Chinese-only versions. New guidelines aim to address these issues. Will China finally open its digital doors to foreign visitors? On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushun

A new American private school has replaced the teacher at the front of the classroom with a personal chatbot for every child. The model swaps the standard six-hour academic day for hyper-efficient, two-hour learning sprints. It is an exchange that places supreme value on personalized data transfer over human-led instruction. But can it work? On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan

While the nation powers down for Spring Festival, some workers are powering up. They are skipping the family banquet to deliver yours, guard the temple fairs, and keep the city humming through the holiday lull. Meet the new wave of urban stayers choosing holiday shifts over hometown reunions and cashing in on the busiest downtime of the year. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan

What does camping at -30°C mean to you? A test of survival? A daredevil's feat? Today, it's being reimagined as a sought-after winter retreat. Equipped with self-powered heaters, stove-jack tents, and sophisticated insulation systems, the punishing cold is being transformed from a forbidding obstacle into a compelling attraction. / Why do hotels always give you four pillows (17:34)? On the show: N...

Scenes of Chinese New Year shopping were once defined by crowded markets, ornate gift boxes, and last-minute grocery dashes. Now, the tableau is increasingly painted with livestream sales, overnight shipping, and delivery trucks lining residential streets. The annual Spring Festival consumer rush has steadily migrated online, testing China's vast logistics network at its most demanding moment. On...

Traditional marketing tries hard to pull everyone in. But what if your most powerful move was to willingly lose a customer? It sounds counterintuitive, yet a strategy called "dissuasion" is proving just that. Sometimes, the clearest way to attract your true audience is to politely show others the door. / At what time of the day do you crash(14:46)? On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushun

Robots are on vacuum duty, apps are delivering feasts, and AI is writing your greetings. The most traditional holiday of the year is being powered by the "Lazy Economy." Is technology saving the Spring Festival traditions or simply replacing them? On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushun

The Soapbox: The "no show" problem. / Hidden door handles signal sleek, electric futurism, but in an emergency, their design can become a deadly obstacle. China is now set to become the first country to mandate mechanically operable door handles, turning a design debate into lifesaving law (17:37). On the show: Niu Honglin, Steve & Yushun

China's Olympic story used to be defined by individual breakthroughs. Today, it's being engineered by systems. This new cycle is powered by strategic lineups, next-generation technology, and a deep bench of talent all aimed at sustained success on the world's biggest stage. We go inside China's systematic transformation for the Olympics, from the ice to the innovation lab. On the show: Niu Honglin...

The Full Circle: Senior gamers, airplane hospitals, tasteless tomatoes / The classic bathhouse has been reinvented. Today, sprawling 24-hour mega-complexes have replaced it, transcending their original purpose. These are not merely for bathing; they are destinations where you can work from a private pod, enjoy a high-end meal, watch films, and essentially live for a full day (18:31)! On the show:...

In the warmth of southern China, winter means something different: it's a construction project. Venture into a mall to find a mountain of steel and manufactured snow, where professional skiers train and the après-ski includes spicy hot pot. This is how a region defies geography to bring the quintessential hobbies of the frozen north to its warm, southern shores. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & D...

The promise is revolutionary: toothpaste that can regrow enamel and repair micro-cavities. Brands are turning bathroom shelves into dental clinics in a tube. But does the science behind "regenerative" brushing hold up, or are we just paying a premium for a brilliantly polished dream? On the show: Steve, Yushan & Yushun

For a generation, the digital world is the fabric of their childhood. But on March 1st, 2026, that world faces a state-mandated redesign. China is enforcing a new national "red line," a unified digital ecosystem that will fundamentally alter every app and platform for anyone under 18. This is protection, redefined from the top down. On the show: Steve, Yushan & Yushun

You slice into a flawless tomato with glossy skin and bright red flesh, only for a letdown to follow. There is no sweetness, no acidity, just water and fiber. This small disappointment has become so common, many people assume that’s just how tomatoes are now. China is tackling that exact issue by biotech, smart innovation and more. On the show: Niu Honglin, Steve & Fei Fei

Around the world, specialized healthcare is often limited by geography. China is now testing a novel solution to close that gap. Instead of evacuating patients, this experiment brings care to them by flying the hospital itself. On the show: Niu Honglin, Steve & Fei Fei

Buying something and pocketing the receipt is a universal, forgettable ritual. But across China, that small slip of paper is being weaponized for the economy. Dozens of cities are transforming routine purchases into a nationwide policy experiment, using receipts as a direct lever to stimulate consumer spending and modernize how taxes are tracked. / There's no such thing as "hangry" (17:32). On the...

There was a time when a clear blue sky in Beijing felt like a fleeting miracle, a spectacle you had to capture before it vanished. Today, clean air is no longer a rare event. It is an expectation, documented by data and defined by policy. This fundamental change reveals a powerful truth: even the most daunting urban environmental challenges can be reversed with sustained commitment. On the show: N...

The Soapbox: The "Admin Night" trend / We think of e-sports as a young person's game. But in China, the fastest-growing players are in their 60s and 70s. They are forming teams, winning competitions, and turning gaming into a new kind of retirement. This is not just a pastime. It is a new path for the silver economy (17:49). On the show: Steve, Yushun & Xingyu

China built the world's largest housing market by chasing one thing: more. But the finish line has moved. The urgent new question is no longer "How many?" but "How good?" What are we searching for when a home must be more than just space, when it needs to be the foundation for a good life? On the show: Steve, Yushun & Xingyu

The Full Circle: Wedding e-invites, microshifting, subway shopping / Knitting isn't just for your grandma anymore! Gen Z and Millennials have reclaimed it, turning quiet needles and yarn into a loud, viral movement. We tug on the thread of the modern knitting takeover (15:33). On the show: Steve, Yushun & Yushan.