China’s construction boom has come to the countryside. In this issue, we investigate the complicated repercussions for land rights. Elsewhere, we examine the legacy of corporal punishment, reveal the secret behind a booming milk tea brand, explore China’s “outsider art” community, discover forgotten relics, and much more.
The term “building boom” is synonymous with China’s rapidly growing cities. But villages are not immune either from construction frenzies, nor the frustrations that come with them. Rules on the size, style, and use of homes have bred disputes, while “agritainment” projects raise questions as to who really benefits from the boom. Meanwhile, many married women are fighting to retain land rights that they are guaranteed by law, but lose due to still-prevalent sexist notions.
Feature Stories 主题故事
Tough Love
体罚教育:以爱为名义的暴力
China has revised its laws on violence against minors, but corporal punishment remains in a legal and moral gray area, with many in society accepting it because it was how they were raised. Our writer takes a deeply personal look into the debate on physical discipline, and how she reconciles her own childhood experiences of it.
Memory Lane 那些年
Pumping Iron
二七健身房和撸铁的大爷们
The Erqi Locomotive Factory was once Beijing’s second-largest industrial powerhouse, but economic reforms left its retired workers directionless. Today, they gather at a gym converted from a bike shed to work out and socialize, forging a new community (plus exercise equipment) with their own hands.
Portraits 人物
The Relic Hunter
民间“遗迹猎人”
Studding the map on Yang Fan’s phone are thousands of pins marking out-of-the-way historic sites he has visited across China. An amateur culture conservationist, Yang is on a one-man mission to document China’s countless lesser-known cultural relics before they disappear.
Kaleidoscope 镜像中国
‘Most China’ Photo Competition
“最中国”摄影大赛入围作品揭晓
Our judges have voted: Here are the finalists and winners from our “Most China” photo contest, representing what our panel of award-winning photographers and social media KOLs think best capture the country we live in, work in, or read about. From village puppet plays to pets in the city, traditional paper-making to a series just on chopsticks, we hope these images make us all see China in a new way.
Dragon’s Digest 三味书屋
Liberation Day
韩今谅的短篇小说《解封日》
It’s only a matter of time before Covid-19 makes its way into the literature of our time—and in this short story, screenwriter Han Jinliang presents a true-to-life portrait of relationships and morals that undergo transformation under repeated lockdowns in an overseas Chinese immigrant community.
Gallery 水墨丹青
Outside Looking In
素人艺术“入流”之争
Entering China’s art world can be a daunting task for those without an art degree or a professional network. But as “outsider art,” a category of works by non-establishment artists without formal training, gains attention in international auction houses, Chinese curators, artists, and even mental health workers see new possibilities for self-expression.
Made in China 中国制造
Land of Milk Tea and Honey
蜜雪冰城:饮品店的草根逆袭
With 3.5 billion drinks sold last year, Mixue Bingcheng is the biggest milk tea brand you’ve never heard of. The 20,000-store chain started by two brothers from rural Henan has conquered the market with social media savvy, focus on China’s “lower-tier” cities, and a thrifty business model proving popular with consumers in a slowing economy.
Chi Le Ma 吃了吗
A Canny Treat
水果罐头沉浮录
During 2022’s Covid lockdowns, canned foods made a comeback—but some parts of China like the Northeast never lost their taste for these preserved treats. We look back on how cans evolved from an imported luxury and fever cure to a suspected health hazard, and discover a few unique food items that can be canned in China.
On the Road 在路上
A Wild Ride to Xanadu
一代王朝两座都城之间的时空之旅
The Mongol Yuan dynasty ruled northern China for a relatively short period in the 13th and 14th centuries, and left few souvenirs behind. One important relic, though, is Shangdu, Kublai Khan’s old “northern capital” in the grasslands north of Beijing. Our writer takes a motorbike race against time to find the ruins of this city which, under the name “Xanadu,” enraptured centuries of travelers and writers from Marco Polo to Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Saving China 美丽中国
Lights Off
当灯光无处不在,光明成了危害
Wasteful night lighting has long been used by Chinese cities to showcase prosperity, leading light pollution levels to increase 100-fold in the last 20 years in some places. The past summer’s hydropower shortage, plus growing awareness of artificial lighting’s harm to humans and wildlife, may finally convince China to turn off the lights.
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