https://www.scmp.com/rss/503487/feed She was a Paris-based correspondent for Chinese media outlets, including CGTN, Pear Video, and The Paper. Her main areas of interest are technology, art, and gender. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Every time David Lin, a freelance videographer in Beijing, steps out of his apartment building, a security guard takes his temperature when he returns. Precautions like these can be found all over the Chinese capital, which is humming back to life after a months-long lockdown because of the coronavirus. As the number of new Covid-19 cases continues to fall in China, the country is slowly lifting restrictions on movement. On Friday, Beijing’s Forbidden City reopened to visitors after it was... https://www.scmp.com/videos/life-after-coronavirus/article/3082783?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/videos/life-after-coronavirus/article/3082783?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 May 2020 09:41:26 +0000 With social distancing measures in place, the Covid-19 coronavirus is testing relationships around the world. Some couples, confined to their homes, are spending more time with each other than they ever imagined, while others suddenly find themselves in long-distance relationships, unable to see each other because of travel restrictions. We talked to four couples about what it’s like to date in the age of the coronavirus. “I’ve never been more comforted and certain about the idea of... https://www.scmp.com/culture/love-time-coronavirus-how-relationships-blossomed-and-fell-apart-under-quarantine/article/3080111?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/love-time-coronavirus-how-relationships-blossomed-and-fell-apart-under-quarantine/article/3080111?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2020 14:14:50 +0000 Hand sanitizers have become a scarce commodity as the virus spreads around the world. To respond to the shortage, several baijiu companies in China have switched to producing sanitizer. Baijiu is a distilled liquor known for its high alcohol content, usually around 40% but sometimes as high as 65%. Because of its strong flavor, it is often paired with intense dishes such as spicy hot pot. (Read more: Everything you've wanted to know about China's potent liquor, baijiu) One distiller, Guomei,... https://www.scmp.com/food/coronavirus-chinese-baijiu-hand-sanitizer/article/3076474?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/food/coronavirus-chinese-baijiu-hand-sanitizer/article/3076474?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2020 11:21:39 +0000 When Simon Li, a Chinese expat in France, went back home for Lunar New Year in January, he arrived at the peak of the coronavirus outbreak in China. The streets were empty, people were staying at home, and anyone who ventured outside wore a mask, following a directive from local police. Naturally, Li also wore a mask when he left the house. But when he flew back to Paris after the holiday, he noticed that the only people covering their faces appeared to be of Asian descent. Weary of judgement... https://www.scmp.com/culture/coronavirus-masks-china/article/3076130?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/coronavirus-masks-china/article/3076130?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2020 09:04:13 +0000 As the Covid-19 coronavirus spreads across the world, countries are taking drastic measures to contain the virus. Some governments, such as those in New York and Italy, have taken the extreme step of closing all restaurants, bars, and music venues. But in China, that has already been the case for months. At least 700 million people—accounting for nearly half the country’s population—still face some form of lockdown. That means people are advised to stay at home, and security guards in... https://www.scmp.com/culture/coronavirus-china-delivery-drivers-first-responders/article/3075430?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/coronavirus-china-delivery-drivers-first-responders/article/3075430?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2020 11:55:29 +0000 “He’s very cute,” remarks Dong Xiaobo as he feeds a pigeon he’s been raising for several years. “Ever since he was little, he’d always eat grain from my mouth. We’ve built a very close relationship.” Dong is a pigeon enthusiast in Beijing who raises the birds for racing. Throughout history, pigeons have been used to carry messages, and the sport of racing them evolved from their uncanny ability to sense direction across long distances. Races involve releasing trained pigeons and seeing who can... https://www.scmp.com/culture/china-racing-pigeons/article/3073944?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/china-racing-pigeons/article/3073944?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2020 08:12:59 +0000 With many cities in China on lockdown and advising residents to stay inside in an effort to contain the coronavirus, artists confined to their homes have been responding to the crisis the only way they know how—through their work. Some pieces make light of the absurdities of life under quarantine, while others silently protest the government’s response to the epidemic. Tango Gao, a Shanghai illustrator known for his cheeky minimalist cartoons, summed up the routine of many housebound Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/culture/how-chinese-cartoonists-are-reacting-coronavirus/article/3051491?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/how-chinese-cartoonists-are-reacting-coronavirus/article/3051491?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Feb 2020 22:53:26 +0000 Song Siqi, the Chinese director behind the animated short Sister, still remembers the exhilaration of the night she found out she was nominated for an Oscar. “I remember refreshing the page a thousand times,” she recalls. When the list of nominees finally came out, her film was at the bottom of the list in alphabetical order. “It finally popped up the moment we almost lost hope,” she says. “It was truly unforgettable.” Song is nominated for Sister, an eight-minute animated short about China’s... https://www.scmp.com/culture/oscars-song-siqi-sister/article/3049620?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/oscars-song-siqi-sister/article/3049620?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Feb 2020 21:28:39 +0000 Every year around January or February, there is a popular poll on the Chinese social media site Weibo of the top questions young people don’t want to hear during Lunar New Year reunions. For those who haven’t graduated from school yet, the highest-ranked questions are about their test results and plans for the future. Those in the workforce, meanwhile, have to field prying queries about their salary, bonuses, and marriage prospects. Lunar New Year is the most important holiday on the Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/culture/chinese-new-year-family-reunions/article/3047626?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/chinese-new-year-family-reunions/article/3047626?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jan 2020 22:05:40 +0000 Red lanterns can be seen in Chinese communities around the world during Lunar New Year, and one small village in China is responsible for making most of them. The village of Tuntou in Hebei Province, about 200 miles outside Beijing, produces 80% of China’s lanterns. Nearly every family here has a workshop for making lantern parts. Altogether, the village produces more than 80 million lanterns every year, supplying markets across China, Asia, and beyond. It collectively brings in $160 million... https://www.scmp.com/culture/china-lantern-village/article/3047611?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/china-lantern-village/article/3047611?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jan 2020 15:23:56 +0000