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The Villages Caught Up in China’s Massive Panda Conservation Drive

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

China has created a giant new national park to protect its wild pandas. There’s just one problem: Tens of thousands of people already live there.

As Live Music Booms in China, Disabled Fans Call for More Inclusion

The return of large-scale pop concerts has sparked huge excitement in China over recent months. But fans with disabilities still face serious barriers to accessing the events — and they’re calling for change.

With Graduate Jobs Scarce, Young Chinese Are Becoming ‘Full-Time Kids’

As China’s youth unemployment rate soars, parents are hiring their own adult children as “full-time kids” — paying them a monthly wage to clean, run errands, and take care of elderly relatives.

For Young Chinese, 2023 Is the Year of the ‘Drifter’

Fed up with the grind of urban life, young Chinese are embracing the art of “drifting” — living hand-to-mouth while roaming the country aimlessly.

In China, Extreme Boot Camps for Kids Are Multiplying. So Are Accidents.

In China, there is a growing trend for parents to send their kids to “character-building” summer camps in the wilderness. But in this unregulated new industry, the danger is often very real.

Looking to Buy a Home in China? It Might Come With a Gold Ingot.

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

In China, real estate companies are often banned from lowering prices too sharply. So many are using creative means to entice reluctant buyers, offering free cars, phones, parking spaces — and even 1 kilogram of solid gold.

Tech Addiction is Leaving China’s Rural Youth Wired for Distraction

Studying far from home and without parental supervision, millions of “left-behind” students in rural China are staring at an escalating tech addiction crisis that demands urgent attention.

China Is Getting Seriously Worried About Student Anxiety

In 2021, China made reducing the academic pressure on students a top policy priority. But anxiety disorders in schools are still a severe problem — and appear to be affecting more children at younger ages.

Jiangsu City Punishes Property Developers — For Selling Too Cheaply

Favorable discounts have been offered by developers in smaller Chinese cities where there is relatively more pressure to sell new apartments.

In China, Women Are Defying ‘Beauty Duty’ — With a Bold Haircut

Buzz cuts are on the rise in a country where long hair is revered. Some women do it to reject the status quo, while others simply find it practical.

It Was Rural China’s Top Mental Health Clinic. Then, It Disappeared.

In 2021, a Chinese hospital made national headlines after opening one of the country’s first rural psychiatric facilities. Months later, the clinic shut down under mysterious circumstances.

Hong Kong-Shenzhen Border: Back to Business, But Not as Usual

Three years of strict border restrictions disrupted the lives of thousands who depend on commuting between the two cities. More than a month after the border fully reopened, travel is still gradually returning to normal.

Proposals to Downgrade English in Schools Stir Debate in China

For decades, English has been a compulsory subject in Chinese schools alongside Chinese and math. But there are growing calls for this status to be rolled back.

China’s Tourism Rebound Faces a Roadblock: A Lack of Travel Agents

Millions of Chinese tourists are ready to start traveling overseas again. But the travel industry isn’t ready for them.

For China’s Migrant Workers, Retirement Often Brings More Work 

Shut out of the social security system, Chinese migrants are having to continue working back-breaking jobs well into their 60s and 70s.

After ‘Zero-COVID,’ China’s Families Face a Lunar New Year Dilemma

For the first time in years, people across China are free to return to their rural hometowns to celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday. Many fear they’ll bring COVID-19 with them.

‘It’s Insane’: China’s Doctors Struggle to Cope Amid COVID Surge

Chinese medical workers say the COVID-19 wave is the worst crisis they have faced in decades. Mass infections among hospital staff are only making things worse.

COVID Is Rife Inside China’s Colleges. Exams Are Going Ahead Anyway.

For months, China’s students prepared for their exams under harsh “zero-COVID” restrictions. Now, many are having to sit crucial tests while infected with the virus.

In China, Dementia Cases Are Soaring. The Care System Can’t Cope.

As China’s population rapidly ages, the number of people developing Alzheimer’s disease is growing faster than the care system can handle. That’s placing an enormous burden on millions of families across the country.

Shanghai’s Forgotten Children

When a deadly famine struck China in the early 1960s, the city evacuated thousands of children to remote herding communities in Inner Mongolia. Six decades later, they’re still there.