TOPIC

China society

Home
Tourists
Crime
Culture
Families
Education
Health
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 salt drilling field near Zigong, Sichuan, photographed by Arnold Heim in 1929. Photo: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Image Archive
Asia travel

China’s salt capital was built on the white gold, as was its cuisine

The spiciest city in spicy Sichuan, Zigong was once home to an empire of salt and has a history of high- and low-end cuisine, starting with ‘Toilet Rabbit’.

China jobs

Chinese pay it forward with free meals for jobless, homeless in tough job market

videocam
12
China travel

Chinese tourists plan stops to smell the cherry blossoms on holiday weekend

Chinese cuisine

Profile | China film honours ‘Dumpling Queen’ from street vendor to food empire founder

At her lowest point, Zang Jianhe, who lacked formal education, endured hardships of working basic jobs for nearly 20 hours a day.

The film pays tribute to the “Dumpling Queen”, chronicling her inspiring journey from street vendor to the founder of a billion-dollar empire. Photo: SCMP composite/Weibo/Sohu
China's social credit system

China’s complex social credit system evolves with 23 new guidelines from Beijing

Guidelines also establish ‘seriously discredited entities’ list for specific sectors – and those on the list could face restrictions or bans on issuing stocks and bonds.

videocam
5
Religion

Letters | What China taught me about religious tolerance

Readers discuss the experience of life in China as a Muslim, and the law on land occupancy in Malaysia.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
TV shows and streaming video

Addictive China micro-dramas show how commercial demand fuels netcasting boom

The head of China’s body overseeing film and TV calls micro-dramas a ‘new growth pillar for China’s online audio and video industry’, with growing influence overseas.

videocam
A man uses his mobile device at a mall in Beijing. The surging popularity of China’s micro-dramas often keep people glued to their screens. Photo: AFP
Trending in China

‘Shameful’: China woman buys flat for old professor she cares for, sparks dispute

Woman says residence represents not merely bricks and mortar, but four decades of cherished memories.

China's ageing population

Former officials call for parity, reform in China’s pension system

The current pension structure is too lopsided to provide adequate benefits to those in poorer regions, former banking officials say at Boao Forum.

videocam
Two Sessions 2025

Opinion | China’s economic successes are reshaping the Western media narrative

Beijing’s economic strategy, technological prowess and climate policies are prompting a reassessment of the country’s media profile.

videocam
7
A journalist asks a question at a press conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress in Beijing on March 7. Photo: Xinhua
China consumption

China’s hottest new show is a Sichuan-dialect micro drama set in the 1980s

My Sweet Home has achieved phenomenal success by moving beyond the trashy tropes of China’s booming micro drama industry.

videocam
The micro drama My Sweet Home has become a viral sensation in China, attracting over 1 billion views in just a few days. Photo: Weibo
Trending in China

Angry at poor service, China resident pays US$20 management fee with 6,000 coins

Property management staff take 3 hours to count mountain of coins after angry woman threatens to call police, experts say her actions ‘legal’.

Trending in China

Video | Young Chinese women find virtual love in ‘Deepspace’

A virtual character in the romantic mobile game has won over millions of young women in China and beyond.

videocam
Dating

Video | Young Chinese women find virtual love in 'Deepspace'

A virtual character in the romantic mobile game has won over millions of young women in China and beyond

Young women in China find virtual romance in hit game 'Love and Deepspace'
02:06
Crime in China

Opinion | China’s youth must be taught bad behaviour will not be tolerated

The uproar over Haidilao’s initially lackadaisical response to teens peeing in a hotpot shows the need for tougher enforcement of proper public conduct.

videocam
5
Haidilao is famous for its attentive and sometimes over the top customer service. Photo: Getty Images
Consumers

Video | China’s 315 gala: a night of scandals

Watched by up to a billion people, CCTV’s 315 Gala highlights consumer rights abuses in China

China consumption

Chinese economists call for wider social safety net to nurture consumption

With trade becoming a less reliable source of growth, Chinese academics have recommended demand-side measures to spur domestic spending.

6
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Trending in China

China friends save crash driver, share story with shop boss who turns out to be dad

Karma comes quick as car-crash Good Samaritans stop off at eatery after accident, are given extra free food then truth emerges about victim.

A Chinese woman and a friend who saved a car crash driver, then stopped off for noodles, discovered that victim they helped was the son of the eatery’s owner. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin
China economy

Video | China opens first wholly foreign-owned hospital

Regulators approve medical centres wholly owned by overseas investors in top cities, but healthy returns will be a long time coming

China's economic recovery

Is China’s ‘death tax’ at the door? Lawmakers have wealth redistribution in mind

Unlike many Western countries, China does not have estate and gift taxes, but that could change as a controversial motion is considered.

6
China economy

Opinion | 4 lesser-known factors shaping China’s destiny

Fiercely competitive and innovative, the country is bound to succeed. But four issues must be borne in mind.

videocam
Customers shop in a Huawei store in Huangpu district in Shanghai on February 20. China has four key ingredients for technological supremacy, including a large market of consumers with insatiable appetites for innovative products. Photo: AFP
China jobs

Are China’s biggest firms turning the page on 996-style work culture?

Government rhetoric and changes at some of China’s largest companies suggest changes are in store for notorious overwork culture.

videocam
5
The grueling work cultures at some of China’s biggest companies has prompted public criticism, and some appear to be changing their practices. Photo: Reuters
China’s film industry

China’s Ne Zha 2 still flying high as highest-grossing animated movie of all time

Gone are the days when Chinese filmmakers were left scrambling to recreate the economic success of foreign offerings such as Kung Fu Panda.

videocam
26
Women and gender

Being Chinese | How far Chinese women have come since my grandmother’s time

I have more equal status than my grandmother did in the pre-communist era. But young women are still pushing back against discrimination.

6
Two Sessions 2025

China, it’s time for ‘the talk’: sex education urged for children

Years after Beijing called for ‘age-appropriate sex education for minors’, a national curriculum remains absent as China’s demographic crisis worsens.

videocam
China’s National Health Commission is working with other departments to iron out details for a nationwide birth-subsidy plan that aims to incentivise parents to have children. Photo: Getty Images

Video | Elderly Chinese skydiver takes the plunge

Inspired by a 102-year-old skydiver overseas, Tao Xidi, 84, decided she too would take the plunge.

videocam
Photo: Handout
China travel

Video | Senior skydiver takes the plunge

Two Sessions 2025

Is free preschool education the solution to China’s birth crisis?

The policy idea appears to be gaining momentum in China, with a proposal set to be made at this week’s ‘two sessions’.

4
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement