We’re at a very complicated time in our online lives. An explainer of “Chinamaxxing,” the “kill line,” and the platform politics behind them.

From 5,000 people crashing a rural pig feast in Chongqing to a collective effort to save Beijing's Yanran Angel hospital and ...

From censored joke to state-friendly app, ‘Are You Dead Yet?’ has traveled a long road before reaching the top of China’s paid app charts this week. While marketed as a tool for those living alone to ...

Part of Eye on Digital China. This edition was sent to paid subscribers — subscribe to receive the next issue in your inbox. I’m very grateful to everyone who has followed my journey with What’s on ...

These days have been filled with tension and anger in the city of Jiangyou (江油市), Sichuan, after a rare, large-scale protest broke out following public outrage over a severe bullying incident and how ...

On July 16, locals in Yuhang (余杭), a district of Hangzhou, noticed something fishy about their running water. It had turned brown and smelled unpleasant. From residential compounds in Liangzhu to ...

From ugly-cute rebellion to a new kind of ‘C-pop,’ the breakout success of Wakuku sheds light on Chinese consumer culture and the forces driving China’s trend toy industry. Wakuku is the most ...

🔥 A version of this story also appeared in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop. Our Weibo phrase of the week is 结婚化债 jiéhūn huàzhài. Lately, the term “结婚化债” jiéhūn huàzhài, ...

Labubu is not ‘Chinese’ at all—and at the same time, it is very much a product of present-day China. Labubu – the hottest toy of 2025 – is making headlines everywhere these days. The little creature ...

Russian recruitment ads, China’s censorship, and how Western media sometimes guess Beijing’s stance by reading between the wrong lines. Recently, news broke that two Chinese nationals were captured by ...

What began as K-pop fan outrage targeting a snarky commenter quickly escalated into a Baidu-linked scandal and a broader conversation about data privacy on Chinese social media. For an ordinary person ...

Recently, Chinese netizens have started reaching out to Apple and its CEO Tim Cook in order to put pressure on a state-owned battery factory accused of violating labor laws. The controversy involves ...