China Stories

In November 1928, students marched through the streets of Harbin. When they began forcing their way through police lines, things turned violent. Click here to read the article by James Carter. Narrated by Kaiser Kuo. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

No headdresses, no vacant stares: How young artists challenge the parameters of “ethnic” photography. Click here to read the article by Siyi Chu. Narrated by Cliff Larsen. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Recent changes in copyright law and regulation are helping make film accessible for China’s 17 million people with visual impairments. Click here to read the article by Wu Hongyao, Qin Jianhang and Cai Xuejiao. Narrated by Elyse Ribbons. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

The pandemic and a slowing economy have seen Chinese consumers flock to low-price brands, from milk tea to clothing. Click here to read the article by Sam Davies. Narrated by Cliff Larsen. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Better educated and professionally successful, rising numbers of middle-class women are flipping the script on traditional gender and marital norms. Click here to read the article by Pei Yuxin. Narrated by Kim Dalrymple. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Can ghosts fall in love? For China’s greatest spinners of scary tales, they might have been the only ones who truly could. Click here to read the article by Fu Mengxing. Narrated by Kaiser Kuo. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

In this excerpt from  Destination Peking , abridged and lightly edited for The China Project, author Paul French introduces us to Lev Karakhan, a Bolshevik whose work as the Soviet Union’s first ambassador to China earned him the trust of the early Chinese republic’s most powerful leaders. Click here to read the article by Paul French. Narrated by Cliff Larsen. See Privacy Policy at https://a...

The Empress Dowager Cixi was only 26 when she took over as China's ruler. She remained on top for the next half-century. How did she navigate the perilous halls of imperial power to become known as the most powerful woman in Chinese history? Click here to read the article by James Carter. Narrated by Kaiser Kuo. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https...

A Hainan man who claims to be living a double life remains one of China’s greatest mysteries. Click here to read the article by Siyi Chu. Narrated by Sarah Kutulakos. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Diners are ready for all-you-can-eat deals as they seek more for their money. Click here to read the article by Luo Meihan. Narrate by Elyse Ribbons. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

When a deadly famine struck China in the early 1960s, the city evacuated thousands of children to remote herding communities in Inner Mongolia. Six decades later, they’re still there. Click here to read the article by Li Yijuan and Ni Dandan. Narrated by Kaiser Kuo. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not...

Porta potties, blue fences, and angry old men: What does community lockdown in Beijing look like? Click here to read the article by Anthony Tao. Narrated by Anthony Tao. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

At 3, the endangered feline became an internet sensation and a star attraction at a zoo that was struggling to make ends meet. Click here to read the article by Zhao Yuanyuan. Narrated by Kim Dalrymple. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

With the world watching, 400-some Chinese soldiers defended the Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai against hundreds of thousands of Japanese invaders. What's the real story behind this glorified battle? Click here to read the article by James Carter. Narrated by Anthony Tao. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Can heritage protection projects give new life to China’s abandoned factories? Click here to read the article by Yang Tingting. Narrated by Cliff Larsen. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Residents in the country’s central, western and northeastern regions say they have developed health problems from toxic fumes being emitted from facilities that used to operate in more prosperous coastal areas. Click here to read the article by Yang Yuqi, Qin Jianhang and Wang Xintong. Narrated by Elyse Ribbons. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy...

With Covid-19 affecting domestic farming and global food supplies, can China ever reach its goal of food security? Click here to read the article by Sam Davies. Narrated by Kaiser Kuo. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Following two summers of power shortages, authorities make an about-face on coal generation, but critics argue that China really needs an electricity-market overhaul. Click here to read the article by Wang Jing, Fan Ruohong and Denise Jia. Narrated by Sylvia Franke. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell...

China’s women are waging a determined campaign to get sexual predators blacklisted from major job sites. But the growing restrictions on feminist discourse present enormous obstacles. Click here to read the article by Lars Hamer. Narrated by Kim Dalrymple. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Failures following costly, rapid expansion of ill-managed businesses left poor women from rural areas holding the bag, in addition to clients and investors. Click here to read the article by Liu Ran and Denise Jia. Narrated by Sarah Kutulakos. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

After decades of development and tear-downs, a new breed of model workers are helping Chinese recapture the long-gone countryside of their youth. Click here to read the article by Tomás Pinheiro. Narrated by Elyse Ribbons. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Yuanmingyuan had already been looted by foreign armies earlier in the month. But European powers wanted to further punish the Qing emperor, and so decided, in mid-October 1860, to set fire to the fabled "Garden of Eternal Brightness." Click here to read the article by James Carter. Narrated by Anthony Tao. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art...

The Wanggongchang Explosion continues to mystify historians almost 400 years later. Click here to read the article by Jeremiah Jenne. Narrated by Cliff Larsen. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Many Chinese parents believe it’s their duty to ensure their children conform to traditional beauty standards. That’s driving the rise of troubling — and, in some cases, potentially life-threatening — infant beauty products. Click here to read the article by Ni Dandan and Jiang Xinyi. Narrated by Sylvia Franke. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Priv...

How a gang led by Chen Lijun killed a dozen people in coal mines to collect death compensation payments from owners who wouldn’t report them to the authorities. Click here to read the article by Wang Heyan and Han Wei. Narrated by Kaiser Kuo. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .