ZGBriefs | November 21, 2024
Video - A Pilgrimage to China’s Noodle Capitol (November 15, 2024, Saint Cavish) An obsession with Lanzhou's hand-pulled noodles takes me to the grave of the man who started it all.
ZGBriefs
A weekly roundup of news and analysis to help you follow key developments in China and the Chinese church.
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ZGBriefs | November 14, 2024
Guangzhou: “I Truly Love This City” (November 7, 2024, China Partnership) Guangzhou, a city of about 19 million, is one of the most important trade cities in China and the world. The city sits near the head of the Pearl River Delta, and for many years has been the means through which foreign influence first entered Mainland China. Guangzhou is famous for its Cantonese culture, and believers in the area say their city is comfortable, laid back, and simultaneously treasures its history while being an up-to-date and modern metropolis.
ZGBriefs | November 7, 2024
Meet Ms. Hu: She Built a Garden From Chongqing’s Discarded Past (October 30, 2024, Sixth Tone) A dinosaur’s head peers out from a tangle of wildflowers. Half a horse stands watch beside saplings and scattered blossoms. These fragments are part of Ms. Hu’s hidden garden in Chongqing’s Shibati scenic area—once the heart of commerce in this megacity in southwestern China. This unlikely garden, crafted from scraps and relics collected from the city’s streets, seems worlds apart from the surrounding construction site, where trucks and cranes relentlessly reshape this 1,000-year-old neighborhood.
ZGBriefs | October 31, 2024
The Viral Success of Chinese Village Basketball (October 29, 2024, Made in China Journal) As China’s economy struggles in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, young people have been leaving cities and returning to the countryside. In Southeast Guizhou Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, the CunBA (村BA), or Village Basketball Association, has offered some respite from the economic gloom. Teams compete in front of raucous crowds for prizes such as live cattle and goats.
ZGBriefs | October 24, 2024
The Rise of Scripture Copying for Inner Peace Among Chinese Youth (October 18, 2024, ChinaSkinny) More young people today are turning to peaceful, health-focused activities like yoga, meditation, fishing, or spending a day at a spa with a buffet and various entertainment options to unwind. Once a niche hobby among middle-aged people, scripture copying has now transformed into a relaxation trend for the younger generation.
ZGBriefs | October 17, 2024
Pets in China Are Earning “Snack Money” in Cafes as Their Owners Send Them to Work (October 14, 2024, CNN) Pet cafes are a big business in China. Visitors get to interact with the animals that roam the shop, allowing the venue owners to charge more for the experience. Customers visiting China’s cat and dog cafés usually pay an entrance fee, ranging from 30-60 yuan ($4-8.5) per person, or simply need to order something like a cup of coffee.
ZGBriefs | October 10, 2024
The week-long holiday—which this year started on October 1, China’s National Day, and ended on Monday—is traditionally one of the country’s main travel periods involving billions of journeys inside and outside the country. This year’s holiday came as China’s economy is grappling with flagging growth and with consumer confidence lingering just above historic lows.
ZGBriefs | October 3, 2024
To Scale Peaks, Chinese Hikers Are Hiring Personal Cheerleaders (September 29, 2024, Sixth Tone) The service is part of a broader trend across the country, where young Chinese are increasingly seeking dazi, or “companions,” to counteract feelings of isolation. This emerging market—which includes services like gaming buddies and online chatting partners—is expected to be worth over $7 billion by 2025.
ZGBriefs | September 26, 2024
China’s attitudes towards AI may be at a turning point, with officials not only pushing it up the list of priorities but also coming to terms with its existential capabilities. Matt Sheehan is a Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, specializing in China’s AI safety and governance. His latest paper highlights concerns within China’s government about regulating Artificial Intelligence.
ZGBriefs | September 19, 2024
The Chinese government has released 68-year-old Orange County resident David Lin, who has been behind bars since 2006 serving a life sentence for what the U.S. government says are bogus charges of contract fraud.
ZGBriefs | September 12, 2024
EXPLAINED: What Is the China-Africa Summit and Why Does It Matter (September 3, 2024, Radio Free Asia) Leaders of African countries are arriving in Beijing this week for a China-Africa summit, at which President Xi Jinping is expected to lay out his idea of a "shared future" with African nations, underpinned by Chinese demand for minerals and political support from Global South nations.
ZGBriefs | September 5, 2024
Academic/Science Bars are Trending in China’s First-Tier Cities (September 3, 2024, ChinaSkinny) Imagine attending an architecture talk at a live house in Guangzhou, diving into a sociology discussion at a bar in Shanghai or chatting about philosophy in an outdoor courtyard at a Beijing bar… Academic bars or science bars (学术酒吧) are becoming the latest trend in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. A typical scene sees consumers at the venues, drink in hand, listening to a lecture on a topic they’re passionate about…