After weeks of intense seasonal flooding in southwestern and central China, torrential rains have caused more floods along the Yangtze River. Nearly 34 million people in 27 provinces have been affected, and nearly 2 million people forced to relocate, Chinese state media says.

Massive floods have hit several provinces along China’s Yangtze River, where rainfall in the middle and lower reaches of the waterway has hit the second-highest levels recorded during the July 1 to 7 period since 1961. Extreme weather across the country has also forced some areas to postpone all-important national college entrance exams known as gaokao. A key reservoir in the eastern province of Zhejiang has opened all nine of its spillways for the first time after flood-control levels were exceeded because of heavy rain and floods further upstream in Anhui province.

Pupils at schools throughout China have had a bit more time to prepare for the 2020 gaokao, the all-important National Higher Education Entrance Examination that universities use for enrolment decisions. The test period, which has been extended from two to four days in many areas, is taking place July 7-10, 2020, after being postponed for a month because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Special measures are in place to prevent coronavirus infections among the estimated 10.71 million high school graduates who will take the tests this year. Beijing’s Zhongguancun High School serves as the biggest examination facility among 132 institutions hosting tests in the capital this year. 
 

Government-provided health insurance in China only partially covers medical expenses to people when they get sick, and private health insurance companies mainly cater to the wealthy or middle class. That's left hundreds of millions of working class and poor people unable to afford health insurance. But some Chinese internet companies have stepped in to address the gap with online mutual aid platforms that are becoming increasingly popular.

Beijing’s Fengtai district has launched “wartime-like control measures” following a spike in novel coronavirus cases centred around a major wholesale market called Xinfadi. All six confirmed Covid-19 cases reported on June 12, 2020, were in relation to the Xinfadi market. Throat swabs from 45 people, out of 517 tested at the market, had also tested positive for the virus without showing any symptoms. 

Before China introduced its new rural pension system in 2009, most farmers could not afford the cost of joining a pension system or buying commercial pension insurance. Under the current scheme, farmers who are above age 60 qualify even if they have never paid into the system. But despite 11 years of work to roll out the policy, including offers of government aid, most elderly farmers in the country say they still cannot afford to retire. The South China Morning Post talked to some older people in rural agricultural areas to find out why they feel they must continue to work.

Authorities have tightened up security measures in Beijing for its biggest annual political event, the “two sessions”. The meetings of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National People's Congress (NPC) are usually held in March each year, but were postponed until May of 2020 amid the coronavirus outbreak.

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to paralyse many workplaces around the world, China is getting its own outbreak under control, allowing most companies to reopen for business. But measures to fight the spread of the coronavirus that causes the disease take a great deal of effort to prepare. This is how Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com is trying to keep its workplace safe from Covid-19 infections.

Many businesses in China still face grim economic prospects despite the lifting of lockdowns and restrictions to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Although some industries have shown signs of recovery, demand remains weak at venues including luxury shopping centres and wholesale clothing markets, as well as among bars and service providers.

Li Hongjie and his brother began ice-fishing on the Nen River in the Chinese city of Qiqihar five years ago. The river is in Heilongjiang province, the most northeastern part of the country, where the average winter temperature is minus 30 degrees Celsius (-22°F). Ice in the Ren River can freeze to nearly one metre (3ft) thick, making their fishing trips unbelievably tough and challenging. The brothers began posting videos of their extreme ice-fishing adventures on social media four years ago. They unexpectedly started to attract online attention and now have over a million followers on Kuaishou and Douyin, two of China’s top video-sharing platforms.

China’s economy shrank by 6.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, the first contraction in decades as the Covid-19 pandemic forced factories and businesses to close. Chinese farmers have also been hit hard by the pandemic, with the agriculture sector seeing a similar 6.8 per cent first quarter contraction. The South China Morning Post spoke to six people in villages just outside the capital Beijing to understand how their livelihoods have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and the challenges that lie ahead.

Though the full lockdown in the central Chinese city of Wuhan has ended, many streets still have tall barriers set up to help stop the spread of the coronavirus which causes Covid-19. Business owners say that as they try to resume operations, the physical barriers are keeping customers away from their shops. Saying that the dividers do little to limit the spread of the virus anyway, they want officials to remove them as soon as possible.

Businesses across the central Chinese city of Wuhan are gradually resuming operations after the lifting of a lockdown on April 8, 2020, nearly two and a half months after it was imposed to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus. But few consumers are returning to restaurants and shopping centres since many are still worried about contracting Covid-19 as the outbreak continues, leaving small business owners facing an uncertain future.

The Chinese city of Wuhan was the initial epicentre of what is now a global pandemic caused by the deadly new coronavirus. There were more than 50,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 2,574 fatalities recorded by China’s health authorities as of April 9, 2020. The city resumed daily life after a lockdown of 76 days. 

Tens of thousands of people have left the central Chinese city of Wuhan after a nearly 2.5-month lockdown was officially lifted on April 8, 2020. The strict measures were put in place on January 23, in an aggressive effort by Chinese authorities to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes the disease Covid-19. Wuhan was the first epicentre of what quickly became a global pandemic. People were not allowed to enter or leave the city, unless under special circumstances. Now, with the lockdown over, people who were stuck in Wuhan are able to leave, but many restrictions remain in place, as authorities and residents remain weary of a potential new wave of infections.

The central Chinese city of Wuhan, the original epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak that has grown into a global pandemic, has been under total lockdown since January 23, 2020. The deadly virus that causes Covid-19 has infected more than 50,000 people and killed over 2,500 in the city alone. Strict lockdown measures have helped Wuhan contain the spread of the virus, and the restrictions are set to be lifted on April 8. But many residents fear that if people in the city do not stay vigilant, Wuhan could be hit by another wave of infections.

Shoppers in Beijing continue to stay away from malls in the Chinese capital even though the city had reported only one new locally transmitted coronavirus case over the two weeks ending March 27, 2020. The South China Morning Post spoke with the owner of two hamburger restaurants inside Beijing shopping centres, who says she is struggling to stay in business even though the Covid-19 outbreak seems to be easing.

Mountain peach blossoms are in full bloom at the Summer Palace in Beijing. People were starting to venture out to enjoy the spring scenery at the site and other tourist destinations in late March 2020, despite measures still in place to limit the number of visitors and limit crowd sizes. China is gradually beginning to get control of the deadly coronavirus that causes Covid-19, which forced many Chinese cities to go into lockdown in February, and continues to spread worldwide.

The Chinese economy has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, with most companies and factories suspending operations and asking workers to stay home since late January 2020 in a bid to contain the coronavirus that causes the disease. As China gradually gets the spread of the disease under control, business has slowly been returning to normal. But it may already be too late for many Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises, who have faced intense financial pressure during more than a month of shutdowns. With strict coronavirus restrictions not expected to be lifted any time soon, sectors such as catering, retail, tourism and entertainment will be among those most severely affected. Some businesses in those sectors have already started to cut salaries and workers to survive.

China's manufacturing industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus epidemic. Many factories are unable to resume production because of a shortage of workers, disrupted supply chains and sluggish demand, leaving manufacturers facing huge losses in sales as they struggle to ramp up production.

In 2008, China’s dairy industry was rocked by a scandal. A chemical called melamine used in plastic was found in baby formula, it was used to artificially boost tested levels of protein in milk. Six children died and 300, 000 were poisoned by the tainted milk. Ever since domestic milk companies have been trying to recover as many parents turn to more trusted foreign brands. Now, China is trying to rebuild trust in its domestic milk producers. Feihe was one of the few baby formula companies in China that didn’t add melamine when the melamine scandal broke out. Today, Feihe has become China’s largest baby formula company.
 

The coronavirus outbreak has been a severe challenge for many businesses in China, but for online shopping it has led to a huge spike in sales in recent few weeks. Millions of consumers are choosing to order fresh food online so they can cook at home rather than risk trips to shopping centres or restaurants. But the sales surge means delivery workers are also busier and facing a greater risk of exposure to infection as they make deliveries in communities under lockdown.

The coronavirus now being identified as Covid-19 has infected more than 44,000 people and killed over 1,000 in China. The outbreak forced authorities to extend the Lunar New Year holiday as lockdowns were ordered in many major cities. In early February 2020, authorities in cities including the capital Beijing started to advise companies that they could resume operations, leaving employees and businesses alike struggling to strike a balance between going back to work and remaining safe from infection.

Heavy snow has been falling in Beijing since Wednesday, February 6, 2020, as the Chinese capital piled up with its biggest single snowfall of the year so far. But few people come out to enjoy the winter wonderland, after authorities asked people to minimise their outdoor activities amid the coronavirus outbreak. The new illness had infected 274 people and killed one person in Beijing, as of February 6. The nationwide death toll had also climbed to more than 28,000 infections and 560 deaths nationwide.

Coronavirus had infected 19,726 people and killed 425 in China by Tuesday, February 4. The virus has also infected 212 people and killed 1 in Beijing. 21 million people live and work in the capital and 7.6 million people come from other parts of China, now they are returning to work after the Lunar New Year holiday. Experts say this may aggravate the coronavirus spreading in the capital.

Beijing has been hit by the first blizzard of the winter of 2019-20. Snow started to fall on the evening of Sunday, December 15, 2019 and was expected to continue until Monday afternoon.

China Aids Walk is the nation’s largest awareness and fundraising event focusing on HIV/Aids and related discrimination. Since 2012, people from a wide range of backgrounds have been invited to take part in the event at China’s Great Wall. The event aims to promote education, advocate for equal rights for those infected with the virus and to raise funds for communities affected by the disease. The group also organises walking events in six other Chinese cities, drawing in more than 4,000 participants. Martin Yang, director of China Aids Walk, spoke to the South China Morning Post about the goals of the organisation.

Dong Xiaobo has a rather expensive hobby. He raises 1,200 racing pigeons in the southern suburbs of Beijing. Dong's pigeons compete in many races and have won him several trophies. But like many pigeon enthusiasts in China, Dong doesn’t make money from his hobby. He's invested in 600,000 yuan (US$85,554) of his own money every year to raise and train his pigeons. 

Hanyuan County in China's southwest Sichuan province is rich in lead-zinc deposits and dozens of mines are scattered along the Dadu River to extract the ore. The arrival of the mines offered well-paying jobs to locals, many of whom had been poor farmers who jumped at a chance to lift their families out of poverty. 

Celebrations will get underway on October 1, 2019, to mark 70 years since the People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded following a Communist Party civil war victory that drove their Nationalist opponents to the island of Taiwan.