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China Is Getting Seriously Worried About Student Anxiety

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 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

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

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.

In China, Social Media Is Fueling Dangerous Beauty Trends — for Babies

Many Chinese parents believe it’s their duty to ensure their children conform to traditional beauty standards. That’s driving the rise of troubling — and, in some cases, potentially life-threatening — infant beauty products.

Stigma Against Alzheimer’s Delays Early Diagnosis in China 

An estimated 9.8 million Chinese aged 60 and above live with the disease that impacts memory and cognitive functions.

Can China Fix Its Broken Housing Market?

China’s property boom was built on a lax presales policy that allowed developers to amass eye-watering debts. Unwinding that system will require fundamental — and painful — reforms.

Field Trips Sharpen Fudan Student Journalists’ Reporting Skills

Journalism instructors at the Shanghai university say field visits will inspire students to tell China stories from underreported areas.

On Dialysis in China? Pray There Isn’t a Lockdown.

Across China, kidney disease patients still routinely have to travel long distances to access hemodialysis. For many, the lack of treatment options can be fatal — especially during an era of sudden lockdowns.

Star Snowboarder Su Yiming Becomes New Special Olympics Ambassador

The Special Olympics Committee hopes Su’s star power will help change social attitudes toward people with intellectual disabilities in China.

Chinese Experts Refute ‘Wrong’ Claims on Domestic COVID Vaccines 

Experts rejected online claims that say the shots caused cancer and diabetes.