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China society

China society
Latest news, features and opinion on all aspects of society in China, including crime, education, health, culture, technology and tourism, and the impact of the one-child policy, an ageing population and mass internal migration on the country and its people.
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Chinese history

Opinion | Why a TV hit in China about waging peace resonates so deeply

Swords into Ploughshares can tell us a lot about Beijing’s approach to the crisis in Iran, cross-strait relations and this year’s ‘two sessions’.

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Animal rights in China

Opinion | Quietly, steadily, animal rights campaigners are making headway in China

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China consumption

Boom or bust? China’s Lunar New Year spending data is in – here is what we know

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Sexual harassment and assault

Video | Is ‘family’ becoming a legal shield for rape in China?

More troubling concerns surface in a high-profile case involving a man who fathered children with a mentally ill woman, lawyers say.

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Chinese culture

Opinion | Lunar New Year doesn’t need a home-cooked feast to be full of flavour

The most important thing isn’t if you cooked the food yourself or followed tradition to the letter – it’s being with people you care about.

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Lunar New Year

Video | Chinese tourists have a new favourite country this Lunar New Year

Arrivals by Chinese tourists to South Korea are expected to rise by 52% in February 2026.

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China consumption

China’s Spring Festival box office faces plot twist after 2025 smashed records

Home-grown films lead the charge but fail to meet the phenomenal success of last year’s Ne Zha 2, which attracted record-breaking crowds.

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Moviegoers walked past posters for 2025 blockbusters Ne Zha 2 and Captain America: Brave New World at a cinema in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Photo: SCMP
Australia

My Take | Social media’s ‘becoming Chinese’ trend can only be a force for good

Respectful experimentation with Chinese lifestyle habits can further understanding and engagement between people of different cultures.

Mainland China

Video | Dating in China as a senior citizen

Although in their golden years, seniors remain hopeful they can find someone to spend the rest of their lives with.

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China's population

Glimmer of hope? Why China’s marriage uptick could spark 2026 birth rebound

Double-digit jump in registration rate, boosted by policy and cultural tradition, offers modest upturn, but demographers are wary of weak fertility intentions.

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A couple participates in a group wedding in August, in China’s Guangdong province. Photo: Getty Images
China's ageing population

Opinion | A loneliness crisis is the price China is paying for rapid modernisation

As migrant workers head home for the Lunar New Year break, it is a good time to reflect on how the loneliness that has gripped Chinese society can be alleviated.

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Travellers wait with their luggage at Tianjin Railway Station as people begin returning home ahead of the Spring Festival in Tianjin, China, on February 7. Photo: AP
Science

How old is Chinese civilisation? A scholar says it really dates back 8,000 years

Leading scholar’s argument stretches the timeline back beyond the widely accepted figure of 5,000 years.

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China travel

China’s visa-free waivers spark Korean travel boom, underpin tourism revival

Shanghai bookings surge as visitors flock to cosmopolitan streets and affordable dining, with analysts predicting the trend will spread inland.

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Mainland China

Video | The quadriplegic man who runs a smart farm with just 1 finger

36-year-old Li Xia operates a high-tech farm in southwestern China with just one finger and one toe, using sensors, cameras and a computer.

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Photo: AFP
China's population

Letters | Fewer newborns in China may point to a more humane future

Readers discuss why a shrinking population is not a policy failure, and the bottled water procurement scandal.

Children and adults take rides in a park in Fuyang, Anhui province in 2025. Photo: AFP
China's population

‘Loneliness economy’: how China is adapting to a rapid rise in solo living

The viral success of check-in app Are You Dead? has exposed the vast demand for services catering to China’s rapidly growing single population.

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China travel

Foreigners flock to China’s ice and snow sights, with 130% inbound tourism spike

Freezing temperatures will not dampen the spirits of snow seekers, as China cements its reputation as the world’s ultimate winter playground.

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China jobs

China’s youth jobless rate edges down – but labour market strains persist

Beijing vows to prioritise job market in 2026, the first year of new five-year plan.

China’s youth jobless rate has grown in recent years, with many graduates struggling to find work that matches their qualifications. Photo: Shutterstock
Women and gender

Opinion | In China, the pressure on women to marry is deadly serious

Wedding-day death of Henan teacher highlights desperation of young women caught between modern hopes and traditional expectations.

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China consumption

China’s consumers refuse to open their wallets. Is ‘luxury-phobia’ the problem?

Chinese households are not splashing out on luxury goods partly because they feel ‘stigmatised’ for doing so, scholar argues.

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China's population

Baby bust: China births plunge 17% in 2025 to historic low as population shrinks

With Beijing having accelerated family-support policies and childcare subsidies, analysts warn that structural reforms are vital to arrest the deepening slide.

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A nurse feeds a newborn at a hospital in Nanjing, China. The nation’s birthrate plunged by double digits last year. Photo: Getty Images
Artificial intelligence

Tencent seeks cooperation with other AI firms to better serve vulnerable users

Tencent Research Institute looks to build expert data sets for AI models that could broadly benefit the world’s second most populous nation.

Tencent Research Institute is looking to improve the output of generative AI services when interacting with the elderly and other vulnerable users in society. Photo: Shutterstock
Mainland China

‘Love yourself’ – young China’s new wellness mantra to cope with the rat race

Stagnant job markets and long gruelling hours at work have led to widespread burnout and disillusionment when effort fails to yield rewards.

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Ageing society

Outside In | We are speeding towards a demography of loneliness

The swarming sociability of family life is fading as one-person households and lonely deaths rise. Coping with loneliness is now a life skill.

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China’s crackdowns

China targets wealthy influencers with audits, fines as fiscal pressures rise

Big data is used to flag income gaps for top online stars and overseas earners, as regulators recover billions in unpaid levies amid slumping land sales and value-added tax revenue decline.

China is cracking down on live-streamers who are not paying their fair share of taxes. Photo: Shutterstock
China's ageing population

Opinion | Without pension reform, China is leaving its rural elderly out in the cold

What looks like a side-effect of ‘coal-to-gas’ heating programmes is really a structural issue: rural pensions are not enough to live on.

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A worker sweeps snow in the town of Zhengding in north China’s Hebei province on January 5, 2020. Photo: Xinhua
China’s private sector

Changing tastes: China’s new affluent consumers seek quality not extravagance

Rise of upper middle class reshapes China’s retail market, driving demand for quality goods and creating a battleground for global brands.

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China consumption

Horse power: brands in China seek sales boost with Lunar New Year items

Distiller Kweichow Moutai among the companies launching limited-run Year of the Horse products to jolt revenues during the festive season.

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