li-xin

Young Chinese Are Diagnosing Themselves With ADHD — and Finding Community Online

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

Netizens are feeling increasingly seen in ADHD’s diagnostic criteria, commiserating online over lives defined by procrastination and distraction, but experts urge caution over the dangers of self-diagnosis.

China Startup Starts Selling Spaceflights at $430,000 a Seat

As China’s private space sector moves toward tourism, a Beijing-based company is taking reservations for suborbital flights planned for 2028.

Shanghai’s Roadmap for the Next Decade: Finance, AI, Green Tech

The city’s new five-year plan outlines economic priorities through 2030 and sets a long-term goal of doubling per capita GDP.

China’s ‘Old Man’s Joy’ Cars Test the Limits of Road Safety

Low-speed vehicles once aimed at older adults are now widely used across China, prompting calls for stricter safety regulation.

China Takes a Shot at Pet Obesity — Using Weight-Loss Drugs

Pharma giants in China are racing to adapt GLP-1 drugs for pets, among others, betting that health-conscious owners will pay up.

Table for One: Why McDonald’s Solo Seats Are Viral in China

The design taps into a growing demand for low-pressure public spaces, as digital life reshapes how people interact.

Game Plan: Shanghai Rolls out New Policy to Boost Esports

China’s gaming and esports hub aims to support its homegrown video game developers in pursuit of economic and cultural gains abroad.

Hoping to Curb Obesity, Chinese City Implements Health Ordinance

With nearly half of Chinese adults classified as overweight or obese, the policy represents the first time a city has enacted reforms directed at weight loss.

China’s Mercury Thermometer Ban Sparks Debate, and a Buying Rush

As authorities move to end production by 2026, households are split between safety concerns and trust in familiar devices.

Pain, Hunger, Viral Fame: Inside China’s Wildest Survival Show

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.

FEATURES

In Hunan province’s mountains, a bare-bones survival show pushes ordinary people to the edge while millions watch, searching for something real in an increasingly curated digital world.

Reality Bites: Meituan’s ‘Rosy’ Delivery Ad Hits a Nerve in China

An advertisement by food delivery giant Meituan about the possibilities of delivery work has led to criticism that the ad romanticizes a profession known for long hours and time pressure.

Another Day of (Artificial) Sun: China Unveils Fusion Energy Project

The country has publicly announced the creation of a new tokamak to advance its fusion energy research and clean energy ambitions, and invited international scientists to collaborate.

A New Leaf: China’s First Autumn Break Triggers Travel Boom

This fall, multiple provinces have rolled out updated academic calendars to accommodate new holiday policies and local weather conditions, in the hope of encouraging family time and economic consumption.

Livestream Law: Why China’s Lawyers Are Taking Their Practice Online

From divorce battles to labor disputes, real-time legal advice is drawing huge audiences and reshaping how China’s young lawyers grow both their careers and their client bases.

The Underground Economy Behind Children’s Smartwatches in China

Children racing to climb smartwatch-based social hierarchies are turning to a smartwatch “gray market,” where they can buy artificial likes and boost their watch account ratings.

Playing Tag: Oversized Clothing Labels Aim to Curb Order Returns

Amid the annual Double 11 shopping festival, apparel companies have begun attaching A4-paper-sized hangtags to garments to combat excessive returns, including from buyers who return garments after wearing them.

(Not) Old Enough! Chinese Kids’ Apps Under Fire for Explicit Ads

BabyBus, one of the nation’s largest educational app platforms, has been criticized by parents after their children witnessed violent and erotic ads on several of its apps.

Chinese Government Launches Campaign to Regulate Livestream Tipping

China’s internet regulator is stepping up efforts to curb fraudulent and exploitative tipping practices during livestreams, signaling intensified government scrutiny of the fast-growing sector.

Airport Controversy Sparks Accessibility Conversation in China

A well-known disabled Taiwanese singer called out airport staff online for the difficulty he had boarding a plane while using a wheelchair, leading to a national discussion on public accessibility.

Fast, Cheap, Stolen: The Plagiarism Behind China’s Short Drama Boom

As studios rush to feed China’s short-drama craze, web novel writers say their work is being taken, rewritten, and sold without consent or credit.