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China society

China society
Latest news, features and opinion on all aspects of society in China, including crime, education, health, culture, technology and tourism, and the impact of the one-child policy, an ageing population and mass internal migration on the country and its people.
A screenshot of Niu Lai, or The Arrival of the Ox, a little-known Chinese animated film that viewers have embraced despite it being described as “impossible to believe is a 2026 production”. Photo: Handout
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Opinion | Why Chinese film-goers are flocking to a movie they hate

Niu Lai’s runaway success is not an endorsement of its quality. Audiences are paying for the perverse enjoyment of seeing how bad it gets.

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Social media

Chinamaxxing: is it really about China or Gen Z fleeing Western fatigue?

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Chinese overseas

Why are some Chinese students choosing Spain despite its tough job market?

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China consumption

High-spending counties offer a rare bright spot amid China’s weak demand

Lower costs, lighter debt and return-migrant capital are boosting household purchasing power in China’s smaller cities.

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Retail spending in China’s county-level economies has risen to match or surpass that of the country’s biggest cities, according to data from local authorities. Photo: Xinhua

Video | Why China sees ‘lying flat’ as a security threat

Nation’s spy agency accuses foreign forces of ‘brainwashing’ young people, but critics say ‘lying flat’ is a rational response to a broken system.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | How Chinese society’s resilient moral framework has lasted nearly 3,000 years

The Zhou-dynasty ideals of family responsibility, propriety and self-cultivation remain woven into the very fabric of China today.

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China’s internet censorship

China targets pseudo-history conspiracists who claim civilisations were stolen

Zhejiang agency says pseudo-historical claims – made worse by AI – reflect ignorance and fracture social cognition.

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The Acropolis in Athens. A social media account linked to a Chinese provincial government has criticised pseudo-historical theories denying the existence of figures such as Aristotle. Photo: EPA
Obituaries

Video | Remembering Zhu Rongji

Zhu had a major role in reshaping China’s economy, first as vice-premier and then as premier.

China jobs

China’s viral ‘dream job’: tight labour market fuels rush for alternative work

A highly-coveted mountaintop gig has exposed the sobering economic realities facing young jobseekers.

Mobile gaming

Being Chinese | Don’t you dare come between Chinese women and our virtual boyfriends

An unexpected game character inspired a revolt by disappointed female fans. To understand why, we need to look at Chinese digital culture.

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A wallpaper featuring Xavier, a male character in Love and Deepspace. The Chinese mobile romance game combines cinematic 3D graphics, combat and an ambitious science fiction story with in-game dating. Photo: Papergames
China travel

China tops South Korea’s outbound travel charts as short-haul tourism surges

About 1.7 million South Koreans visited China in the first half of this year, up 16 per cent from the same period last year.

South Korean tourists pose for photos at the Bund in Shanghai. Photo: Xinhua
China's population

Opinion | China’s baby boom depends on gender equality, not cash handouts

To arrest its falling birth rate, China must ensure women do not have to choose between motherhood and the lives they have built.

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China consumption

Haidilao takes on McDonald’s, KFC with burger brand amid slowing hotpot growth

As burger outlets crowd the domestic market, Haidilao attempts to expand amid declining demand for hotpot.

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China economy

Opinion | China’s economic shift may hinge on what migrant workers do next

Where migrant workers go, what sectors they serve and how many stay employed will shape whether productivity gains go beyond the most advanced sectors.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Chinese culture

VIP, APP, PPT: Are English abbreviations harming China’s cultural confidence?

Commentators worry that loanwords are becoming too common, especially for new tech, leaving no space for Chinese to grow.

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As new technologies enter everyday speech, they tend to circulate as an English word and a formal Chinese name without ever settling into common Chinese equivalents. Photo: Shutterstock
Asian diaspora

Opinion | Why global migration data should recognise subgroups like the Teochew

Until our data systems see past broad labels like Asian or Chinese, and recognise subgroups, our picture of global migration is incomplete.

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China jobs

Stronger social security? Gig workers push back on proposed law

With China’s flexible workforce estimated at nearly 300 million, Beijing pledges to strengthen their safety, wages and basic social security.

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China deflation

The upside of downsizing: Chinese youth head for more affordable small towns

Fast-paced corporate jobs leave Millennials, Gen Z burnt-out and seeking simpler lives with fewer luxuries outside China’s megacities.

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China’s young people are increasingly quitting stressful corporate jobs and choosing simpler, cheaper lives in scenic rural towns. Pictured is the entrance archway to Mengzi Rice Noodle Town in Yunnan province. Photo: Getty Images
China consumption

China’s 15th five-year plan for consumption

Officials have set a target for retail sales to hit 60 trillion yuan, or US$8.9 trillion, by 2030 under a plan approved by the State Council.

China's population

China’s five-year public health blueprint

Officials target raising life expectancy to 80 years by 2030 in national health blueprint under 15th five-year plan.

Chinese culture

Being Chinese | The self-sacrificing Chinese mother I never wanted to become

By always stepping in, I enabled my husband to step back. But the consequences of years of unequal parenting became impossible to ignore.

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Anxious parents wave as their children emerge from the National Higher Education Entrance Examination at a high school in Beijing in 1998. In Chinese society in the 1980s and 1990s, the self-sacrificing mother could be seen and heard everywhere. Photo: AP
Artificial intelligence

Opinion | China must address social needs that drive people to AI partners

Instead of just addressing AI misuse on a surface level, policymakers should explore how to support those seeking social comfort.

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As of July 15, China has moved to restrict the use of humanlike artificial intelligence companions and particularly curtail AI use among minors. Photo: dpa
Mainland China

Opinion | Why China’s low-cost business model resists reform

Even as the model outlives its usefulness, built-in incentives continue to stifle efforts to protect the rights and interests of workers.

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China jobs

China’s youth jobless rate edges down in June for third consecutive month

The jobless rate for 16- to 24-year-olds fell for the third month, though China’s broader labour market faces headwinds.

China economy

Opinion | To prosper, China must become a magnet for international students

China must seize the opportunity to become a global education hub. Reform of its universities should begin now.

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Illustration: Kaliz Lee
China's population

China’s state agencies are hiring retirees as the workforce rapidly ages

Universities, hospitals and government departments are actively recruiting retired former workers to cope with rapid demographic changes.

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Chinese government departments are increasingly hiring retirees as society ages rapidly. Photo: EPA-EFE
Wellness

How tai chi energises these Chinese retirees: ‘everyone’s health has improved’

Tai chi practitioners at Beijing’s Temple of Heaven talk about learning the ancient Chinese practice and how it benefits health and spirit.

China's population

China’s population ageing seen as ‘inevitable’ by 2050. Why push more births?

Raising the fertility rate above 1.3 still remains crucial to preventing a far worse scenario later in the century, analysts say.

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