Beijing’s Green Army
This is Premier League soccer, just not quite as I know it. Nike. Carlsberg. Samsung. Familiar sponsors flash past on electronic billboards. At the same time, red-letter propaganda banners line the pitch, proclaiming: “The Chinese Dream. You, I, Gather Together. You, I, Advance Together.” Apart
China’s graffiti artists
Some thirty years have passed since the award-winning film “Style Wars” was released, bringing to the world’s attention the little-understood graffiti culture of 1980s New York. Now a new documentary hopes to shed light on the even lesser-known world of China’s graffiti artists. “Spray Paint
Diamante Porsches? Lime Lamborghinis? China’s crazy customized cars
Beijing might be famous for being the city of nine million bicycles, but in the Chinese capital, cars are now king. A world-record breaking 20 million automobiles were sold across the country last year, making China the world’s largest car market. With 200 new models
Marriage in China: Guilt tripped
A controversial advertisement featuring a young woman guilted into marriage by her dying grandmother has been forced off air in China. Broadcast across several television stations and online platforms in the run up to Valentine’s Day, the commercial shows an elderly woman incessantly asking her
Mao hailed as a hero at home but not in Beijing
Official celebrations of Mao Zedong’s 120th birthday in Beijing yesterday were decidedly low key — but hardliners who had gathered in his home town ensured that the date was fêted with appropriate fanfare. President Xi and the six other leaders who make up the Chinese
Cross-border Chinese smugglers’ tunnel unearthed by police
An underground smugglers’ tunnel equipped with lights and a rail track to transport goods from mainland China to Hong Kong has been uncovered by Chinese police. The entrance to the 40-metre underground passage was discovered by border police under a garage in Changling, a small
Performing The Vagina Monologues in China
“When I first heard about The Vagina Monologues, I was shocked. I thought, how could someone give a play a name like that?” says Xiao Hang. That was five years ago, when Xiao Hang was, by her own admission, “mainstream and quite conservative.” But after volunteering for
China re-embraces Confucius
QUFU, CHINA—Confucius is quoted as saying, “How delightful it is to have friends come from afar.” But what would the sage have made of the hordes of tourists now descending on his hometown? Visitors to Qufu—the Shandong town where Confucius grew up over 2,500 years
Chinese city restores century-old synagogue
Two Chinese politicians and an Israeli professor are huddled around an architect’s drawing. “Actually it would be better if the fence rails were shaped like Stars of David instead of crosses,” politely suggests the professor, Dan Ben-Canaan, who is advising on the $16-million project to
China’s Newest Market Opportunity: Pollution Control
It’s a rare “blue sky” day in Beijing. The city is bathed in a beautiful late-afternoon light—the kind that makes people rush outside just to enjoy it. But rather than bask in the weather, a small group of expats and Chinese locals have instead chosen to
The Middle Kingdom Ride: A motorbike odyssey around China
Imagine travelling 11,600 miles. That’s more than twice the distance from Beijing to London as the crow flies – or the distance needed to circumnavigate China, as Canadian brothers Ryan and Colin Pyle found out on their epic journey motorcycling all the way round the
Reform now or there’ll be a revolution, Chinese leaders told
China faces the prospect of “violent revolution” if the Government fails to implement political reform, a group of prominent intellectuals is warning six weeks after the country’s change of leadership. The call, from 73 of China’s leading scholars, came as dramatic footage emerged yesterday of