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China society

China society
Latest news, features and opinion on all aspects of society in China, including crime, education, health, culture, technology and tourism, and the impact of the one-child policy, an ageing population and mass internal migration on the country and its people.
As China’s birth rate drops and its elderly population grows, vacant schools are being turned into aged care facilities to accommodate this changing demographic. Photo: Xinhua
China's population

As China’s birth rate falls, vacant schools are turned into aged care facilities

Data shows primary and preschool enrolments each fell by 10 per cent last year, leaving classrooms empty while the elderly population grows.

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China consumption

As Chinese retirees boost consumption, some hope for greater respect in society

China economy

Opinion | China has a much bigger priority than winning the AI race

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China jobs

China’s gig economy

Some 320 million people work in China’s gig economy. The growth in jobs offering few benefits and little security reflects challenges to finding permanent employment, especially for record numbers of new graduates.

China’s gig economy
Mainland China

Letters | Why a Chinese farmer’s reunion with a US teacher moved me to tears

Readers discuss an American’s return to a part of China he helped transform, and how the country is taking climate change seriously.

Chinese culture

Being Chinese | The unspoken reason my Chinese friends choose America

When friends say they can just ‘exist’ in the US, they mean they can stop performing to the Confucian expectations that define Chinese life.

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China jobs

Record graduate influx pushes China’s youth unemployment rate to 18.9%

Anxieties over AI’s growing threat to entry-level roles add to existing concerns about economic doldrums caused by weak domestic demand.

A university graduate promotes products via livestreaming in Milin, in western China’s Tibet autonomous region, on September 14. Photo: Xinhua
Mainland China

Opinion | Why women in China are still at risk of abduction and forced marriage

The latest incident has exposed many failings in local authorities’ work in a country where a mindset of favouring sons over daughters still exists.

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China consumption

End of the supermarket? Why China’s shoppers flock to small ‘community stores’

Young Chinese favour local grocery stores offering low prices and fast delivery, with some saying they haven’t been to a supermarket in years.

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China consumption

Improving migrant workers’ lives key to boosting Chinese consumption: HSBC

Report says reforms aimed at reducing their high precautionary savings rate could unlock US$95 billion a year in spending.

Migrant workers at a construction site in Shanghai. Photo: EPA
China education

China’s youth job crisis drives graduates to German vocational apprenticeships

Facing bleak employment prospects at home, some young Chinese workers are pursuing technical training abroad, but not all make it through.

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Some Chinese students looking to study abroad are considering vocational training programmes such as Germany’s Ausbildung system. Photo: Getty Images
China's population

My Take | Why China’s shrinking population may be a blessing, not a curse

Research co-authored by Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu finds labour shortages can spur, rather than slow down, productivity and growth.

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China’s private sector

China bans private tutoring. So why are cram schools still bleeding parents dry?

Five years ago, China imposed a sweeping ban on for-profit academic tutoring. But the sector has quietly made a comeback amid intense parental demand.

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China property

Rich Dad, Poor Dad author’s vast debts spark awe – and some anger – in China

Robert Kiyosaki’s claim to be US$1.2 billion in debt has sparked heated debate in China, where property investors have suffered steep losses.

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A young woman in Indonesia reads Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad. The 1997 bestseller was also a huge hit across Asia. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

Not a token effort: beer meets AI at bar in China’s capital

The AGI Bar in Beijing’s Zhongguancun tech hub offers free tokens to customers who order a drink.

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The AI-themed AGI Bar in Beijing’s Zhongguancun tech hub. Photo: Reuters
China birth rate

Even in the fertility heartland, China can’t stop its birth rate from falling

Economic pressure is outweighing traditional value of having large families in the Chaoshan area of eastern Guangdong.

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China's population

China needs 600% child subsidy rise to prevent deeper birth crisis: scholars

China’s fertility rate could soon fall to world’s lowest unless action is taken, as current subsidies are ‘a drop in the bucket’, scholars warn.

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Mainland China

Opinion | How a Chinese kitchen in the Middle East could stir up global cinema

Upending Hollywood’s ‘saviour-hero’ convention in war films, a tale about a humble chef offers a quiet, distinctly Chinese perspective.

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A still from the Chinese film Once Upon a Time in the Middle East. Photo: Dirty Monkeys
Women and gender

Opinion | Forcing women to drink at business dinners has no place in modern China

The alleged assault of a female employee in Hangzhou exposes how such unsavoury practices persist amid Beijing’s anti-extravagance campaign.

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Wellness

When the child you raised cuts you off. Why parental estrangement is on the rise

As more adult children in Hong Kong and beyond break contact with their parents, experts talk about causes and how to rebuild relationships.

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Mainland China

Video | Live eels spill out on train floor in China

Viral video shows passengers trying, but failing, to retrieve the slippery eels from the floor of the commuter train.

Viral video shows passengers trying, but failing, to retrieve the slippery eels from the floor of the commuter train
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China economy

Opinion | As China shows, liberal capitalism is not the only path

China has disproved one of the post-Cold War era’s most confident assumptions: that the Western model is the only route to modernity.

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A visitor to the World Robot Conference in Beijing touches a humanoid robot on display, on August 19. Photo: China News Service via Getty Images
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Opinion | Why Chinese film-goers are flocking to a movie they hate

Niu Lai’s runaway success is not an endorsement of its quality. Audiences are paying for the perverse enjoyment of seeing how bad it gets.

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Social media

Chinamaxxing: is it really about China or Gen Z fleeing Western fatigue?

From viral candy wrappers to hot water routines, Western Gen Z appears obsessed with all things China. But is it true love?

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Chinese overseas

Why are some Chinese students choosing Spain despite its tough job market?

Relatively low tuition rates and a more relaxed lifestyle appeal to young adults, while scarce work, high rents and expanding Chinese investment shape their prospects.

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A pair of people are seen enjoying ice cream in Spain. Photo: Getty Images
China consumption

High-spending counties offer a rare bright spot amid China’s weak demand

Lower costs, lighter debt and return-migrant capital are boosting household purchasing power in China’s smaller cities.

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Retail spending in China’s county-level economies has risen to match or surpass that of the country’s biggest cities, according to data from local authorities. Photo: Xinhua

Video | Why China sees ‘lying flat’ as a security threat

Nation’s spy agency accuses foreign forces of ‘brainwashing’ young people, but critics say ‘lying flat’ is a rational response to a broken system.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | How Chinese society’s resilient moral framework has lasted nearly 3,000 years

The Zhou-dynasty ideals of family responsibility, propriety and self-cultivation remain woven into the very fabric of China today.

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