Round Table China

Hainan just pulled the plug on gasoline cars. By 2030, no new sales, period. For some, it's a bold leap forward. For others, it raises hard questions. What happens to millions of drivers still filling up at the pump? Can an all-electric future really work on the road, with charging, grid strain, and a massive mindset shift all in play? On the show: Fei Fei, Steve & Yushan

A rocket booster costs tens of millions of dollars. For decades, the industry has been throwing them away after a single launch. China just proved there's another way, and the ripple effects could change who gets to space and how often. / Would you send your doggy to doggy daycare (14:32)? On the show: Steve, Yushun & Xingyu

You tell it your secrets. It knows your routines, your worries, and your bad days. Then one morning, it's gone because a company decided to pull the servers. Across China, millions of users are waking up to that silence as various companies have shut down the AI characters people built, talked to, and even fell in love with. When that digital voice fades to nothing, are you just clearing storage,...

One traveler, one taxi ride, and 21 million likes later, a viral video earned its creator a life-changing payday from Xizang's tourism officials. But that check came with a catch. When a government pays for your "authentic" story, is it still genuine? On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan

Every generation worries about what young people do with their time, but today's screens are designed to never let go. As a result, governments stepped in with various measures to solve the problem. Now a newly released Tsinghua University report questions if all the bans and regulations have helped to make things better. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan

For decades, hotels worldwide have followed the same rule. Check in after two in the afternoon, check out before noon the next day. Most travelers never question it. But some Chinese hotel chains are now tearing up that script, letting guests keep their room for a full twenty-four hours from check-in. Travelers love the idea. Yet for hotels, the reality is more complicated. On the show: Steve, Yus...

Gasoline drivers have long funded roads through fuel taxes, while electric vehicles have contributed nothing. But with six in ten new cars in China now running on batteries, that old system is cracking. The debate is no longer about whether EV owners should pay, but about what happens to road infrastructure if they don't. On the show: Steve, Yushan & Yushun

What happens when the movies are no longer the main attraction? Across China, cinemas are reinventing themselves as all-in-one entertainment destinations, hosting everything from live sports and concerts to gaming, cafés, and restaurants. We explore how the big screen is finding a whole new role. / Are you napping wrong (18:19)? On the show: Steve, Yushan & Yushun

Forget traffic jams and parking headaches. In China, the car is becoming more than transportation. From RV campsites and smart mobility hubs to a booming culture of customization, the automotive aftermarket is transforming how people travel, unwind, and connect. On the show: Steve, Yushan & Yushun

For years, Chinese-foreign cooperative programs were seen as backup options for students who missed their top choice universities. Inflated tuition fees only fueled the perception that families were buying degrees from easy schools. But attitudes are changing. These programs are raising their game with cutting-edge majors and better quality. So are they finally shedding that reputation, and is the...

For years, China's "Fei Dao" system let rural hospitals fly in top city surgeons for a few thousand yuan extra. It saved lives, but it was a legal gray zone. Now new rules mandate hospital-to-hospital payments and establish clear rules on who pays when things go wrong. Will these changes ultimately drive away the very specialists who made the system work in the first place? On the show: Fei Fei, S...

Chinese malls are rolling out something new: 3D printing stations that let anyone design and print a custom object in under ten minutes. It's easy to dismiss as a fun distraction, but there's a serious push to bring this technology into our homes. The real question isn't about how well the machines work, but whether we'd use one if we had it. / How safe is your delivery meal (17:09)? On the show:...

We send kids to school for reading, math, and the occasional history class snooze. But what if the students are made of circuits and steel? In Hangzhou, a school just welcomed humanoid robots as its newest pupils. As machines get smarter, building them is only half the battle. They might need a curriculum, too. On the show: Steve, Yushan & Ding Heng

We are in the thick of summer, cranking the AC and reaching for anything cold. But for thousands of years, people survived blazing heat without a single modern convenience. China's traditional playbook was full of clever, low-tech fixes that kept things bearable. As temperatures keep rising, can these ancient hacks actually be smarter than our energy-guzzling gadgets? / Can you wear last year's su...

China reshaped the global auto industry with electric cars. Now it is targeting the heavy-duty trucks that move the world's goods. But truckers respond to hard numbers, not hype. If the math works, the price of everything from groceries to gadgets could drop. Will China pull off the same magic twice? On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan

The average worker spends more than an entire workday each week in meetings. Calendars are overflowing, focus is fractured, and meaningful work keeps getting pushed aside. Meetings are necessary at times, but the real question is whether we are simply holding too many or whether we have forgotten what a good one actually looks like. / Do you need more oxygen (18:28)? On the show: Steve, Yushun &am...

China is turning eldercare into a licensed occupation. A new national certification is formalizing the workforce that will shape how millions of seniors are cared for. This is not about expanding beds or abstract policy. It is about who delivers care, how they are trained, and what that means for the future of growing old in China's cities. On the show: Steve, Yushun & Xingyu

You know that nagging feeling that follows you through the day: what if a sixty-second mental move could dissolve it? Behavioral scientists have uncovered a practice called mental subtraction. It's not about positive thinking. It's a subtle repositioning that lets relief surface on its own. Will it work for you? / Burgers, burgers everywhere (15:30). On the show: Steve, Yushun & Xingyu

Older cities are facing a new question, where preserving buildings and streets is no longer enough. Across China, historic neighborhoods are becoming living spaces where people don't just observe the past but actually experience it. So when ancient streets meet a new generation, what is it that makes young people want to stay? On the show: Steve, Yushun & Xingyu

Temperatures have soared past forty degrees across Europe. Schools have sent children home. Outdoor work has been banned. A famous landmark closed its doors. A continent built for cold winters now bakes under relentless heat. Air conditioning seems obvious, but the solution is more complicated than installing more units. On the show: Fei Fei, Steve & Yushan

When it comes to how cities use land, what is the right formula? China is reimagining urban land use by looking inward, not outward. We are talking about turning empty warehouses into senior care centers, building vertical factories, and more. The future is about making every inch of the land we already have count. On the show: Fei Fei, Steve & Yushan

Two decades after the Qinghai–Xizang Railway first sliced across the plateau, the tracks tell a story bigger than engineering. At 4,000 meters, they've rewired daily life, shifting supply chains, redirecting tourism, and speeding the flow of ideas. On the show: Steve, Yushan & Guo Yan

You have heard of gig work, but this is different. There are no apps and no ratings. There is just a camera strapped to your head while you fold laundry, care for children, or operate a sewing machine. Your daily life is recorded and sold to the biggest tech companies on Earth. This is the story of the invisible workforce training the machines that could one day replace them, and the trade we may...

Prices are rising across the entire consumer electronics sector, yet this surge does not follow the usual pattern. The driving force is neither a raw material crunch nor a logistics breakdown. A far larger transformation is recalibrating the cost of every gadget in your home. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushun

We tend to picture Chinese cities as endless expansion machines. But the next five years are about retrofitting, not rebuilding. The national strategy has pivoted to upgrading existing neighborhoods. By 2030, your street might not look radically different, but it could function like a completely new place. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushun