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The most read stories of the past 30 days
- 1News & Politics
Primary School Enrollment Halves in Shandong as China's Birth-Rate Cliff Reaches the Classroom
First-grade enrollment in Shandong has fallen about 50 percent from 2023, with Henan close behind — and the argument on Chinese social media is not about the numbers but about a policy of reassigning primary teachers to junior high to avoid layoffs.
- 2Food
Customs Blocked 162 Tonnes of Weilong's Konjac Powder Over Sulfur Dioxide
China's customs agency intercepted 162 tonnes of konjac flour imported from Indonesia by spicy-snack maker Weilong after tests showed sulfur dioxide above the national limit. The company says none of it reached its wildly popular konjac strips — a reassurance the public is only partly buying.
- 3Life Stories
After Failing China's Civil-Service Exam Four Times, He Spent $3,000 Traveling to Six Countries
A 20-something man in Changsha who failed China's civil-service exam four times over two years has spent 22,000 yuan — about $3,000 — traveling alone through six countries and 17 cities, a journey financed, in his mother's telling, by her own labor: "I'll carry the load while you see the world; you fulfill my dream for me." His story, reported September 10, has struck a nerve among the millions of young Chinese stuck in the country's exam-gauntlet economy — and divided commenters over whether it is an inspiring reset or a form of opting out.
- 4Tech
How a Tiffany Mooncake Complaint Ended With a Customer's Account Restricted
A woman who spent more than 200,000 yuan at a Chengdu Tiffany never received the mooncake gift box promised for Mid-Autumn; after she complained on Xiaohongshu, her account was locked. The brand's private apology has not answered the question trending across Chinese social media: who restricted her account?
- 5Culture
Jing Yidan, the Face of China's Flagship Investigative News Program, Dies at 71
Jing Yidan, the anchor who fronted 'Focus Report' — China's most influential investigative television program — for two decades, died on September 13 at 71, three months after a brain hemorrhage struck while she was recording a show in her hometown. Her farewell note, 'Thank this world, for letting me pass through,' became the day's most-shared post across Chinese platforms.
- 6News & Politics
Suspected Chinese Dive Instructor Filmed Shooting a Protected Turtle in Raja Ampat
A video of a scuba diver shooting a critically endangered hawksbill turtle with a speargun in Indonesia's Raja Ampat islands — reportedly to cook and eat it — has flooded Chinese social media, where the diver is suspected of being a Chinese diving instructor. Chinese divers are leading the condemnation of a killing that broke Indonesian law and the norms of their own sport at once.
- 7Life Stories
Viral Egg Incident Highlights Emotional Abuse and Isolation of Remote Brides in China
A video that began circulating on Weibo last month has sparked a wave of discussion across China about the hidden pressures many women face in marriage, especially those who relocate far from their own families. The clip shows a 24‑year‑old woman from Guangdong, now living in a Sichuan household, flipping a dining table and shouting “Don’t eat!” after a prolonged argument over two missing eggs. While the incident itself is startling, the public’s reaction reveals a deeper unease with the subtleties of emotional control and gender expectations that persist in many Chinese homes.
- 8News & Politics
Touch or Groping: a Woman's Viral Accusation Against a 4-Year-Old Boy Backfires
A content creator said a 4-year-old boy groped her in a Changsha restaurant. Surveillance video shows a running toddler's accidental brush, and the lawsuit she now says she is pursuing has made her case China's argument of the week about proportionate grievance, parenting, and the pursuit of online traffic.
- 9News & Politics
Family Says Chinese Livestreamer Lured to Thailand and Held for Ransom in Myanmar
The family of Wang Ran, a 24-year-old livestream host from Nanjing, says she was tricked into a Thailand trip by an online acquaintance, moved across the border into Myanmar and is now being held for a 600,000-yuan ransom — the latest case in the region's long-running scam-compound crisis.
- 10Entertainment
'He Warmed Everyone but Couldn't Warm Himself': A Drama Death Grips Chinese Social Media
The suicide of Sun Yuanzhu, a fictional character in the hit Youku drama 'Early Spring Sunny,' has driven millions of mourning posts — even as the show's marketing is attacked for selling 'sexual tension.' The double conversation says a lot about how Chinese idol dramas are made, sold and grieved.
- 11Health
Mukbang Streamer Dies at 24 After Warning Viewers About Potassium Loss
Yingying, a 24-year-old livestreamer who drew an audience in the millions by eating enormous meals on camera, died on August 17, weeks after telling viewers that months of competitive overeating had drained her potassium and put her in the hospital. Her death has turned a little-discussed electrolyte into one of China's most-searched health topics.
- 12News & Politics
Indonesia Stops the Suspect in the Raja Ampat Turtle-Killing Video at the Airport
A man identified in Chinese media as Wei Shang, a diving instructor, was intercepted at an Indonesian airport trying to leave the country as the Raja Ampat regency filed formal evidence over the filmed shooting of a critically endangered hawksbill turtle. He denies being the man in the video.
- 13Entertainment
Wang Yuwen’s Wedding Announcement Ignites Weibo Frenzy, Highlighting a Shift Toward Authenticity in Chinese Entertainment】
Wang Yuwen – known in English as Wang Yu‑Wen – has been a quiet fixture in Chinese drama and variety shows for several years, but a flurry of social‑media buzz over the past week has thrust her into the spotlight far beyond the usual fan circles. The actress confirmed her marriage to businessman Wang Ziqi, a revelation that rippled through gossip forums, trended on Weibo and sparked a wave of celebratory comments from followers who have long admired her upbeat persona and work the performer – a connection that fans have been quick to speculate about, although neither party has offered further details. The sighting, shared on Wang’s official Weibo account, gave a rare glimpse into the actress’s life outside the studio and underscored how much her online presence matters in shaping public perception.
- 14Culture
Why 'Ashin From China' Became the Most Debated Phrase of Apple's iPhone Launch
At Apple's iPhone launch, an employee introduced Mayday's Taiwanese frontman as 'Ashin from China' — and a colleague tried to wave it off. Chinese social media spent the day reconstructing every identity statement Ashin has ever made, and asking why Apple flinched.
- 15Sports
Zheng Qinwen Does It Again, Coming Back From 0-5 to Knock Out Swiatek at the US Open
Two days after saving a match point against Madison Keys, Zheng Qinwen lost five straight games to open her fourth-round match against Iga Swiatek — then won seven in a row to take the set, and the match with it. The 2-0 win puts the Olympic champion into the US Open quarterfinals against Elena Rybakina and has Chinese social media debating whether she is the most clutch player in tennis.
- 16Health
The German Trainer Shoes Trending in China Are Sending Wearers to the Hospital
German trainer shoes have become the flat, narrow shoe of the season in China, and Hangzhou hospitals are seeing the consequence: a 32-year-old who squeezed her feet into the style for months has been diagnosed with bunions. The story has opened a debate over whether the shoes — or the way Chinese shoppers buy them — are to blame.
- 17Culture
The Rise of ‘Cute Aggression’: How a Chinese Meme Unveils a Universal Psychological Phenomenon and Fuels the Global ‘Moe’ Economy
When a tiny kitten tilts its head, a baby squeals a delighted giggle, or a digital character with oversized eyes flashes across a screen, many of us feel an almost paradoxical urge to squeeze, pinch or even bite the source of that cuteness. In Chinese internet slang this experience is summed up by the phrase “有可爱侵略症的我” – literally “I have cute‑aggression syndrome.” Though the wording sounds like the title of a manga or a viral video, it actually points to a well‑documented psychological phenomenon known in the academic literature as “cute aggression.”
- 18Life Stories
Autopsy Confirms Suicide of Chinese Crypto Executive Who Alleged 80-Hour Weeks and a 'Blacklist' Threat
Zhuang Xinru, a 37-year-old former partner at the crypto venture firm Hack VC, died by suicide in the California desert in August, a coroner has ruled. Her final posts — alleging 13-hour days, six-day weeks and a threat of industry blacklisting — have turned the case into China's latest reckoning with overwork.
- 19News & Politics
EU Complaint Forces Chinese Auto Supplier to Walk Back 107 Graduate Dismissals
A Chinese auto-parts maker emerged as the center of a viral employment dispute after it moved to push out 107 newly hired graduate students — then reversed within days when the graduates complained to the European Union. The company supplies lights to BMW, Mercedes-Benz and VW, and its apology and compensation offer were trending on Weibo as job-security anxiety spreads among young workers.
- 20News & Politics
Google Engineer Sentenced to 26 Years to Life for Wife's Brutal Murder
On January 23rd, a US court sentenced Google engineer Liren Chen to a sentence of 26 years to life in prison for the brutal murder of his wife Xuanyi Yu. Chen, who is a Chinese national, admitted to using his fists to beat his wife in their San Clara home, resulting in her death.
