Social Media Ideas for Chinese Society

Along the river, before the fall: China pre-Renaissance city life

Nie Huihua on the non-Westernness of Chinese government and the challenge to innovation

Nie Huihua, a professor of economics at Renmin University, discusses how an effective understanding of China’s development requires a shift from Western-centric frameworks to an in...

Column: Finding the answer to China's success

by Bahtier HamdamovAs the Communist Party of China (CPC) marks its 105th anniversary, I often find myself reflecting on a question: How did a political party founded at a time of n...

Understanding China’s Party-State Intelligence System

It’s not “whole of society” – and calling it that risks discrimination against ethnic Chinese.

Ancient Chinese Wedding Rituals the Modern World Left Behind

Walk into almost any Chinese wedding today and you will see white gowns, Western style vows, and a bouquet toss, customs that now feel ordinary even though they were once entirely...

Rising Gig Workers in China Still Denied Right to Organize, Activists Say

The International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted the world’s first convention on decent work in the platform economy, also called the gig economy on June 12. The Chinese delegat...

Спустя 10 лет я снова увидела Китай: как живет современный Синьцзян

Где ремесла, история и технологии существуют в одном ритме

The gaokao effect: how China’s rigorous exam influences aspirations and social mobility

In the second and final instalment of a two-part series on China’s pivotal national college entrance examination, or gaokao, the SCMP explores the evolution of the country’s contem...

Chinese Netizens Slam State Media for Glorifying Elderly Labor: ‘A Toxic Message’

A Chinese state media report praising an 80-year-old woman for continuing manual labor has ignited widespread backlash online, with critics accusing authorities of glorifying hards...

‘Shameful’: Chinese school faces backlash for demanding new students’ family wealth details

A secondary school in eastern China is at the centre of controversy for collecting the information of its fresh students’ parents, including what brand of car they drive and their...

As China’s ‘check-in culture’ intensifies, it’s time to set some limits

Nobody knew how the tree grew popular online, but for about two months, villagers near Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, found drones flying over their wheat fields. One video...

70% of Chinese people take naps daily, continuing an ancient medical tradition

China is a country that boasts daily naps despite its stressful work rhythm. In fact, such breaks are a traditional practice dating back thousands of years. According to a survey b...

Ancient China laws punished men for crying; people with messy handwriting forced to drink ink

Ancient China’s legal system was never only about crime and punishment. It was also a mechanism of imperial control, used to protect the throne, discipline officials and regulate s...

China’s ‘Roommate Marriages’ Reflect Deepening Trust Crisis Among Young Couples

Many Westerners may not realize that one of China’s biggest crises is its population crisis. Clearly, the CCP knows this. Therefore, from some central party policies to the propaga...

Eat idol’s poems: inside the wild, ancient history of Chinese fan culture

China’s fandom culture predates today’s pop idols and live-streaming celebrities by millennia. In ancient times, fame was cultivated in the streets, restaurants, and poetry circles...

Nine in 10 families in China own a home. But is the property-owning dream being tested?

By Chris Lau, Rae Wang, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — For the past three decades, China has been a nation of homeowners — supercharging the world’s second-largest economy and fulfilling th...

Nine in 10 families in China own a home. But is the property-owning dream being tested?

By Chris Lau, Rae Wang, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — For the past three decades, China has been a nation of homeowners — supercharging the world’s second-largest economy and fulfilling th...

Ancient DNA Reveals the Hidden Origins of China’s Mysterious Shimao Civilization

Ancient DNA from Shimao reveals local origins, broad prehistoric connections, a patrilineal social structure, and gender-specific patterns of human sacrifice. At Shimao, a vast sto...

Chinese Dreamcore Takes Over Gen Z Social Media Feeds

Chinese Dreamcore is taking over the social media feeds of young people in China, who face falling wages and a dire job market. The memes and videos express a desire to return to s...

How Beijing’s Character Simplification Campaign Severed China from Its Own Civilization

Look carefully at two versions of the same character. The first is 愛, the traditional form of the Chinese word for love. At its center sits 心, the character for heart, whole and...

How China Built a Closure That Cannot Leak

Four mechanical seals, an asymmetric one-way valve, and a 2,200-year social foundation make the 2026 closure airtight in a way no previous closure has been.

Once a Hub for Debate, China’s Tianya Returns to a Transformed Online Landscape

While many longtime users celebrated the return of a platform that shaped China's early internet culture, others questioned whether Tianya can regain its former role in an era of t...

Inside ‘Chinese Dreamcore,’ Where Gen Z Relives a Brighter Past

Faced with a dire job market, falling wages and endless competition, many young Chinese are recreating scenes from the early 2000s on the internet, when the economy was growing rap...

China’s evolving political economy, as seen through gaokao scramble

This week, the results of China’s National Higher Education Entrance Examination, or gaokao, will be released. Within days, candidates will submit their prioritised preferences for...