China Stories

A drought and a wastewater plan add to cross-Strait tensions. Read the article: https://www.weekinchina.com/2021/04/troubled-waters-2/ 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 .

Han Shimei has lived an isolated life full of disappointment, but has found new purpose writing poetry on a video-sharing app. Read the article by Li Yiming: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006896/the-kuaishou-poet 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 .

The electric car sector is becoming increasingly crowded as more tech companies jump on the bandwagon, pushing a radical shake-up in the 138-year-old global auto industry. Read the article by Liu Yukun, Zhang Erchi, He Shujing and Han Wei: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2021-04-12/cover-story-tech-giants-bet-on-the-smart-car-revolution-101688741.html Narrated by Heather Mowbray....

Ballroom culture is quietly flourishing in China’s cities, creating a safe space for young LGBT people to explore their identities. Read the article by Wang Xuandi and Fan Yiying: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006578/in-chinas-voguing-houses%2C-queer-millennials-strike-a-new-pose Narrated by Kaiser Kuo. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art1...

Xu Xing remembers receiving his acceptance letter from Peking University (PKU)—along with his assigned major, paleontology. He had always wanted to be a scientist, a big dream for a boy from the foothills of Xinjiang’s Tianshan Mountains. Read the article by Emily Conrad: https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2019/03/a-roaring-trade/ Narrated by Kaiser Kuo. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priv...

In AD 9, Wang Mang, once the powerful prime minister of the Western Han court, overthrew the dynasty and declared himself ruler. The reign of this ambitious but conniving reformer is the interlude between the Western and Eastern Han dynasties — but that he could become emperor in the first place was due to the power vacuum left by a previous emperor. Ai of Han had no children (we assume), and thou...

The center of Beijing is filled with monuments. Some are centuries old, like the Forbidden City and Qianmen Gate. Others, like the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong or Tiananmen Square itself, are more recent. But each of them mark eras in the city’s history. In the same way that Mao’s tomb underscores that man’s centrality to a point in time, or the Forbidden City calls out the grandeur that was late imper...

Cosco’s results show the container shipping industry is booming again. Read the article: https://www.weekinchina.com/2021/04/plain-sailing/ 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 .

While the U.S. was focused on investigating Russian interference in U.S. politics, China was plotting its own campaign to influence the young Trump administration. It got uncomfortably close. Read the article by David Barboza: https://www.thewirechina.com/2021/04/18/the-new-influencers/ Narrated by Kaiser Kuo. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https:/...

Wang Xiaobo's translator writes about the enduring cult status of this important Chinese writer, who still remains obscure outside his home country. In some ways, Wang is more necessary now than ever. Read the article by Hongling Zhang: https://supchina.com/2021/04/09/the-yin-and-yang-worlds-of-a-chinese-literary-outlier/ Narrated by Anthony Tao. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and...

China's nationalist "Red Vs" are descending on feminist activists, who say the Nasdaq-listed company is helping the haters. Read the article by Shen Lu: https://www.protocol.com/china/weibo-incels 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 .

Why Xiaomi wants to step up from smartphones to electric vehicles. Read the article: https://www.weekinchina.com/2021/04/road-to-the-future/ 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 .

A dispatch from quarantined Wuhan during the coronavirus epidemic. Read the story by Xiaoyu Lu, translated by Allen Young: https://chinachannel.org/2020/01/27/wuhan-coronavirus/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

A survivor of multiple rapes, Sisi’s horrific abuse shocked China and presaged a wave of reforms to protect minors. But her own trauma has yet to fade. Read the article by Ni Dandan: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1007143/confronting-chinas-child-sex-abuse-crisis-the-story-of-sisi Narrated by Sarah Kukatulos. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://...

The Nokia 1110 can barely do more than send texts. But in 2009, it was the author's only lifeline to the people of Taigu, a small rural town where he taught English. Read the article by Daniel Tam-Claiborne: https://supchina.com/2021/03/30/how-a-dated-cell-phone-challenged-everything-i-knew-about-china/ Narrated by Daniel Tam-Claiborne. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Californi...

A dish that contains multitudes, collapses peripheries and explains the rise and fall of empires. Read the article by Andrew Leonard: https://andrewleonard.substack.com/p/tapping-the-mapo-doufu-source Narrated by Andrew Leonard See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

"I came to Beijing in my early 20s. I devoted all my youth to this city. After so many years, the city has paid me next to nothing in return." Read the article by Huang Chenkuang: https://supchina.com/2021/04/13/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-beijing-delivery-driver/ Narrated by Anthony Tao. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-s...

How verses by an obscure Tang hermit inspired an American countercultural movement. Read the article by Tina Xu: https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2020/07/poets-peak/ 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 .

Caught between an authoritarian homeland and an increasingly hostile U.S., how does one live conscientiously? Who grieves, and what makes a life grievable? Read the article by Yangyang Cheng: https://supchina.com/2021/04/09/the-grieving-and-the-grievable/ Narrated by Emily Feng. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-m...

Platforms like Kuaishou and Douyin have become labs where grassroots nationalists and state media collaborate to harass targets at home and abroad. Read the article by Zeyi Yang: https://www.protocol.com/china/chinese-online-hate-campaigns 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 .

Beijing to rein in off-campus education providers. Read the article: https://www.weekinchina.com/2021/04/classroom-interventions/ 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 .

More VFX is doing well for itself. The visual effects company appeared in the credits for four of the seven movies released over the Lunar New Year holiday, the busiest period for China’s box office. Read the article by Guan Cong and Jiang Yaling: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2021-04-08/in-depth-chinas-film-industry-suffers-brain-drain-as-game-developers-poach-talent-101687539.html Narra...

The last time the U.S. tried to foster domestic battery manufacturing, its star company ended up being scooped up by a Chinese conglomerate. Read the article by Tim De Chant: https://www.thewirechina.com/2021/04/11/charged-up/ 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 .

When police shuttered Li Bo’s business in March, he wasn’t particularly surprised. Law enforcement officers had targeted his controversial company for months with nighttime raids and threats of a shutdown. Read the article by Matthew Walsh: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2021-04-10/police-crackdown-on-sex-doll-rental-firms-fires-debate-about-migrants-needs-101688563.html Narrated by Matthew Walsh. S...

The Buddhist monk Tanxu thought modern China could be strengthened through the cultivation of its soul.  Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/03/31/the-monk-who-believed-buddhism-could-save-china/ Narrated by James Carter. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .