https://www.scmp.com/rss/521137/feed Chenfei Zhu is a Beijing-based animation film producer. She was born and raised in China and educated in Australia. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Chenfei Zhu Chenfei Zhu For two weeks recently, most of my evenings were spent in Douyin’s live-stream section. On Douyin, TikTok’s sibling platform in China, shopping, entertainment and conversation blur into an endlessly scrollable feed. The most prominent virtual rooms here are for shopping: live-streaming hosts talking at high speed, shouting out discounts. Then come the talent rooms, where people sing, dance, play the guitar or do anything that might keep you there for a few seconds longer. As I watched, more... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3339188/where-do-lonely-hearts-china-go-now-late-night-live-streams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3339188/where-do-lonely-hearts-china-go-now-late-night-live-streams?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Jan 2026 01:30:15 +0000 Chenfei Zhu Chenfei Zhu It all began with a WeChat message from my friend. We hadn’t seen each other in a while. She had left Beijing for a quieter, more remote town and her social media updates suggested she was diving deeper into guoxue – “national studies”, or the study of traditional Chinese culture – Buddhist philosophy and other spiritual pursuits. Her text read: “You should join our reading group. We’re studying classical Chinese texts. You will definitely love it.” She had been going through a rough patch:... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3316672/why-are-urban-chinese-my-friend-falling-guoxue-scams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3316672/why-are-urban-chinese-my-friend-falling-guoxue-scams?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Jul 2025 01:30:07 +0000 As a bilingual producer with over a decade of experience in China’s entertainment industry and a focus on international collaboration, I can say without hesitation that a big part of my job involves explaining things over and over again. Mostly I explain what we, as Chinese players in the industry, can do or want to do with our international counterparts. And then, when necessary, I explain the other side to the Chinese side. Essentially, on top of my usual job as a content producer, I’m a... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3306855/im-cannes-going-chinese-showbiz-producer-its-fun-except-when-it-isnt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3306855/im-cannes-going-chinese-showbiz-producer-its-fun-except-when-it-isnt?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Apr 2025 01:30:09 +0000