Articles that cut to the core of contemporary China. In-depth, informed, and carefully crafted, every piece is carried by the voices of the story’s participants.

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Did AI Find Murakami’s Voice? Student’s $2 Experiment Divides China’s Literati

A literature undergrad’s AI tool made a near-perfect Mandarin version of Haruki Murakami’s new novel in just four hours. What might this mean for translators and copyright holders?

Wang Juyi

Two Filmmakers, 1,100 Villages, and a Race to Record Rural China

After once leaving rural China behind, two filmmakers returned to document the farmers and workers whose stories are fading from view as the countryside changes.

Jiang Xinyi

Inside the Chinese AI Studio Shrinking Short-Drama Crews to One

Former animators, cinematographers, and VFX artists are helping build AI systems that can script, storyboard, generate, and revise short dramas with unprecedented speed.

He Qitong

China’s Short-Drama Boom Was Built on Speed. Then AI Got Faster.

AI-powered production is upending China’s ultrashorts market, cutting shoots, budgets, and specialized crew work while forcing companies to find cheaper ways to keep live-action production viable.

The Chinese Factory Town Betting on America’s Mahjong Boom

In an aging mahjong manufacturing hub, factories are redesigning tiles, expanding exports, and racing to meet a sudden wave of American demand.

Chen Yiru

The Chinese Voice Actor Forced to Prove He’s Human

AI has made Shen Anyu’s voice cheap to copy and nearly impossible to control, drawing him and his wife into a widening fight over income, identity and ownership.

Cai Yiwen

Between Two Needles

A retired oncologist opened a garment workshop above his Guangzhou dialysis clinic to employ kidney patients who had struggled to find work elsewhere. The factory provides income, routine, and community, but its future remains tied to the treatment that keeps its workers alive.

Flying Solo: The Rise of China’s One-Person Companies

Thanks to AI, a new form of solo entrepreneurship has taken root, granting individuals the ability to perform tasks that once required many workers.

Li Xin

Before WeChat, There Were Qiaopi Writers

For decades, families relied on letter writers like Jiang Mingdian to stay connected with relatives abroad. At 77, he may be one of the last still working.

‘Unbelievably Accurate’: The Niche Dating Apps Sweeping China’s Colleges

China’s students are embracing highly exclusive “campus dating apps” that only match university classmates. But are they really the antidote to swipe fatigue?