Timely reports on issues and events from across China. Drawing on a vast range of sources, these succinct articles provide insights into the significance of each issue in a wider context.

NEWS

Rising Tones

Marrying at This Chinese University Comes With a Diamond Ring

The Harbin Institute of Technology has put on an annual wedding for doctoral students and their partner for over a decade. In recent years, participants have received lab-grown diamond rings.

Fan Yiying

Li Rongxuan

Why Young Chinese Are Flocking to Bathhouses

From students to working professionals, young Chinese are heading to 24-hour bathhouses for everything from relaxing escapes from reality to thesis writing sessions and corporate retreats.

Han Minge

Chinese Nature Reserve Stirs Debate for Requiring Tourists to Use Bus

The practice is commonly employed in scenic areas, which generate higher income by bundling entry and bus tickets.

Chen Yiru

China’s Internet Finds Its Mascot: A Tired Opossum

A picture of the animal, known for playing dead, has been spreading online, with users attaching captions riffing on life’s hardships.

Jiang Xinyi

Yang Yang

How a Rare Bird Stopped a Highway Project in South China

The road was planned to cut through a critical spoon-billed sandpiper habitat. By first organizing online, and then taking action offline, amateur activists halted its construction.

Shenzhen Lets Homeowners Call the Shots on Redevelopment

Faced with needing to raise investments for demolition and construction, cities like Shenzhen have begun exploring ways for homeowners to redesign aging structures themselves.

He Qitong

He Quit Baidu. But First He Had to Build an AI Version of Himself.

As Chinese firms expand internal AI systems, some employees are being asked to build digital versions of themselves before leaving their jobs.

China to Phase Out Old Power Rates in Green Push

For decades, the country has relied on a system that charges higher electricity prices in the day, and lower prices at night. With the rise of solar and wind power, that’s now changing.

Li Xin

China Tightens Online Pharmacy Rules on AI Use and Prescriptions

The country aims to curb abuses in obtaining prescription medication online — a practice that has become easier with the rise of pharmaceutical e-commerce platforms.

AI Hallucinates Flight Refund, Sparking Memes in China

A chat log in which an AI assistant confidently presented a user with numerous inaccuracies has inspired a wave of AI hallucination spoofs, a growing trend in the country.