The World from PRX

Shanghai

Graphic of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Free speech
China’s tech weapons roll in to quell demonstrations, identify protesters
Delegates applaud as Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of China's ruling Communist Party held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. 
COVID-19
China’s small business owners hope for a new normal ‘after the Party Congress’
This Underwood typewriter features Yiddish letters of the aleph-beys, on display at the Museum of the City of New York.
Language
A Yiddish revival is underway at this prestigious Chinese university
Mini EV cars seen in Zhumadian, China.
Science & Technology
Electric vehicles are gaining popularity across China as govt creates incentives
Soccer may be China’s national sport, but enthusiasm for frisbee — a quintessential American sport — is soaring in China.
Sports
The rise of Ultimate Frisbee as a team sport in China
Chinese policemen patrol the bund area in Shanghai, June 1, 2022.
Hacking
Massive data breach in China raises questions around govt’s responsibility in securing data, expert says
A collage of video screenshots that feature Africans exploited for profit in a growing trend known as "blessings videos."
Arts, Culture & Media
A new documentary uncovers the story behind China’s racist ‘blessings video’ trend
An image from the video game Genshin Impact
Arts, Culture & Media
Chinese Genshin Impact is one of the most-profitable video games on Earth. It balances mass appeal with Beijing’s blessing.
Hu Xin and He Yan Xin as seen in the film "Hidden Letters"
Language
These women are trying to preserve an ancient Chinese language invented as a secret code
Residents in a sealed-off Shanghai neighborhood receive bulk-ordered food supplies under the monitoring of health workers in hazmat suits
COVID-19
This Shanghai writer and translator shares his experience of the city’s 2-month lockdown
A man tries to receive medicine he bought at a pharmacy through its closed glass doors in Shanghai, China, May 22, 2022.
COVID-19
Shanghai sees exodus as people flee China’s lockdown woes
A woman wearing a face mask rests on a bench at the green space barricaded with fences and tapes to prevent residents from gathering due to pandemic measures on Thursday, May 19, 2022, in Beijing.
COVID-19
Shanghai’s unvaccinated elderly remain vulnerable under lockdown
Madeleine Wolczko, stranded on a ship in Shanghai during the COVID-19 lockdown, documents her experience.
COVID-19
Merchant mariners stranded on ships in Shanghai during COVID lockdown
Delivery drivers in Shanghai have been the unsung heroes during a strict COVID-19 lockdown that kept millions indoors.
COVID-19
Shanghai’s delivery drivers — the unsung heroes of a long pandemic lockdown
Ruthie sits next to the natural toilet her owner made for her during the COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, China
COVID-19
Pet owners in Shanghai struggle to care for their animals during COVID lockdowns
Lantern display at Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai.
Culture
China’s last remaining lantern craftspeople uphold a waning tradition
China's Peng Shuai reacts during her first round singles match against Japan's Nao Hibino at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia
#MeToo
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai’s retraction ‘comes off as highly staged,’ journalist says
Most rope crossovers while skipping backwards in 30 seconds — As Seen on TV
Education
In China, jump roping is a popular competitive sport. Skill level also affects kids’ grades.
A child plays with a toy gun during a promotion for online games in Beijing on Aug. 29, 2020. China is banning children from playing online games for more than three hours a week, the harshest restriction so far on the game industry as Chinese regulators
Arts, Culture & Media
Chinese govt cracks down on online gaming, TikTok — claiming that tech has outsize influence on society
Workers packing ice-skating shoes at a manufacturing factory in the ice and snow sports equipment industry park in Zhangjiakou, in northwestern China's Hebei province, Thursday, July 15, 2021. 
Business, Economics and Jobs
Empty shelves for the holidays? Chinese suppliers face ambiguous global supply chain amid pandemic restrictions
Christina Bao training underwater as a mermaid.
Sports
Mermaid diving is making a splash in China
Various ice cream flavors with Shanghai scallion noodle featured in the middle
Food
Ice cream is becoming hugely popular in China, as shops experiment with sweet — and savory — flavors
Performers form a yellow number 100 at a gala show full of red ahead of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing
Global Politics
Massive celebrations planned for 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China
Students come out of a building, some with their hands in the air from relief, as a police officer looks on
Education
TV show turns parents’ anxiety over college exams in China into entertainment
Demonstrators march through downtown Orlando, Florida, during a Juneteenth event, June 19, 2020.
Community
Black Americans living in China find special meaning in local Juneteenth celebrations
Runners pass by a large video screen commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of Communist China during the Beijing Marathon in Beijing, Nov. 3, 2019.
Sports
China’s ultramarathoners sound alarm on lack of safety precautions at races 
A child is supported on the balance beam during classes at a gym
Reproductive rights
China now allows 3 kids per family, but many couples say they can’t afford it
A masked man in a suit stands in front of a line of people waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine.
COVID-19
Efficiency over privacy: How trust in the Chinese government helped contain the pandemic
Table top tennis players compete in front of a large blue banner
Foreign policy
A fresh call for ‘pingpong diplomacy’ on the 50th anniversary of the first US-China games
A young person holds up two balloons in heart-shapes that read Stop the Hate and Love Each Other
Violence
Chinese students in the US grapple with the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes
Two people enjoy bubble tea.
Environment
Backlash from bubble-tea fans after China bans plastic straws in restaurants
Women look out of a crowded bus traveling from the outskirts of Beijing.
Violence
Putting China’s domestic violence law into practice is an uphill battle
Chinese New Years' decorations for sale at Yu Gardens in Shanghai.
COVID-19
Travel for Chinese New Year plummets amid coronavirus concerns  
Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs for sale.
Menace or delicacy? It’s hairy crab season in China.
A placard showing a picture of Zhang Zhan is shown held by a man wearing a striped shirt.
Conflict & Justice
China sentences lawyer who reported on outbreak to 4 years
A group of Korean young men huddle around and hold up a trophy.
Sports
Amid esports boom, China introduces new restrictions to regulate the industry
An NBA sign is seen at the third China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, China, Nov. 5, 2020. 
Global Politics
The NBA works ‘super hard’ to reestablish ‘open dialogue’ in China
A man stands in front of a large company sign with an image of a globe on it and Mandarin text written next to it.
US-China relations
American companies in China try to avoid US-China ‘political crossfire’
US President Donald Trump throws his hands in the air as he talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping
2020 US presidential election
Chinese reactions to Trump and Biden are mixed  
A boy sits in a living room at a desk and watches a TV with a lesson airing on it.
Education
Math at midnight: Students stuck in US struggle with remote learning at Chinese schools
Pairs of individuals hug each other at an airport with their luggage on their shoulders and near their bodies
US-China relations
‘You can’t just break up’: US-China tensions add stress for binational couples
Participants take part in a Pride run during the ShanghaiPRIDE festival
LGBTQ
Abruptly canceled, ShanghaiPRIDE could be harbinger for China’s civil society
Cats rest outside a closed shop on cement steps with a red and green backdrop.
Borders
Pets stranded during the pandemic await reunions with their families
A person wears a mask on an assembly line at a factory
Business
Buying masks from China can get complicated. This businessman connects buyers with sellers.
Participants take part in a Pride Run during the Shanghai Pride festival, in Shanghai, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, China, June 14, 2020.
LGBTQ
ShanghaiPRIDE went on as planned last month. But the fight for LGBTQ rights in China is far from over.
A man holding a phone walks past a sign of Chinese company ByteDance's app TikTok, known locally as Douyin, at the International Artificial Products Expo in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, Oct. 18, 2019. 
Social media
Farmers become social media stars on Chinese TikTok
Two young women with headbands hold face masks at the Shanghai Disneyland theme park as it reopens following a shutdown due to the coronavirus disease
Business, Economics and Jobs
Millennials in China reexamine their spending habits as economy recovers
Two people eat with chopsticks at a restaurant
Lifestyle
China sends new message about centuries-old chopstick tradition
A young woman wears a red bow and holds a doll as she takes a selfie at Disneyland in Shanghai
COVID-19
Shanghai Disneyland reopens — with face masks, social distancing and QR health codes
Secondary school student Wendy attends an online class with a smartphone at home during the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Hong Kong, China, March 16, 2020.
COVID-19
After stressful transition to online learning, many in China are ‘begging’ to go back to school
Two people riding bicycles are shown wearing face masks and passing by portraits of Chinese President Xi Jinping and late Chinese chairman Mao Zedong.
COVID-19
Coronavirus claims 97 lives in one day — the largest number in a single day
China surveillance camera
Science & Technology
Hundreds of Chinese citizens feel just fine about the controversial social credit system
SenseTime surveillance software identifying details about people and vehicles showing the information layered on top of the screen.
From laboratory in far west, China’s surveillance state spreads quietly
For years, Shanghai has featured some of China's worst air pollution. Recent initiatives by the Chinese government, though, have begun to clean up some of the problem.
Economics
With the US pursuing fossil fuels, alternative, renewable forms of energy could be an even bigger boon to China
On Dec. 19, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a plan for the state’s common retirement fund to completely decarbonize its entire portfolio.
Economics
Big money is backing out of fossil fuel industry, moving into greener alternatives
Students sit through class in a rural Chinese school. American writer Lenora Chu's new book is called "Little Soldiers: An American Boy, A Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve."
Books
At this elite Chinese kindergarten, ‘We don’t pick children. We pick parents.’
China viral universities
Education
Chinese millennials major in making lifestyles go viral
Women wearing Mickey Mouse ears watch the opening ceremony at Shanghai Disney Resort in Shanghai, China, June 16, 2016.
Culture
Disneyland has arrived in China and the government is ‘calling the shots’
Rebecca Kanthor had a second child in China before the one-child policy change, but she's not Chinese so it didn't apply to her.
Development
Before China’s one-child policy was dropped, some women had babies in secret
One of 2,000 photos given to doctoral student Joseph Ho that show life in China.
Culture
Photos of a forgotten China drop in one man’s lap