4 h. ago A viral question for young Chinese people living alone: 'Are you dead?'

A viral question for young Chinese people living alone: 'Are you dead?'  NBC News

Events

16 h. ago How Chinese ritual uses unboiled egg balancing on mirror or knife to detect spirit possession

Traditional Chinese folk superstition sees some families seek help from “egg-standing exorcists” who try to balance raw eggs on mirrors or kitchen knives to detect spirit possession. If the egg manages to stand upright, legend has it that a wandering spirit has taken over the person’s body. Traditionally, a superstition known as Cai Zhuang Ke, which is often referred to as “spirit possession”, is used to determine whether a sudden illness or extreme lethargy is caused by a wandering spirit or...

Politics

31 h. ago Chinese man earns US$39,000 in 2 years teaching adults to ride bicycles amid surging demand

A master’s degree student in China, who has taught hundreds of adults and children to ride bicycles over the past two years and earned 270,000 yuan (US$39,000) from it, recently went viral on social media. The man, whose surname is Li, is a third-year master’s degree candidate at Shanghai University of Sport (SUP) majoring in sports education, as reported by the news outlet The Cover. Li shared that years ago, he and a friend recognised the demand for bike-riding instruction and decided to...

Politics

35 h. ago Chinese woman seeks online help to slaughter pigs, attracting over 1,000 volunteers to her farm

A woman in southern China who did not know how to slaughter a pig turned to the internet for help, unexpectedly sparking a heartwarming viral reaction that attracted over 1,000 enthusiastic volunteers and transformed the event into a festive gathering. The story began on January 9, when a woman nicknamed Daidai from Hechuan, Chongqing, posted a short video on social media inviting netizens to assist in holding down two pigs for slaughter, while also extending an invitation to enjoy a traditional...

Politics

59 h. ago Chinese woman swallows raw fish gallbladder, hoping to relieve headache, ends up in ICU

A woman from eastern China ended up in the intensive care unit (ICU) hours after swallowing a raw fish gallbladder, believing it would cure her headache. The 50-year-old woman, surnamed Liu, from Jiangsu province, adhered to the folk remedy that claimed raw fish gallbladders could clear heat, detoxify the body, and alleviate a persistent migraine that had been troubling her. On the morning of December 14, Liu bought a 2.5kg grass carp at the market, extracted the gallbladder at home, and...

Politics

64 h. ago Japan ramen eatery bans ‘troublesome’ China customers, charges a lot more for English menu

A Japanese ramen restaurant has ignited controversy by slapping a ban on Chinese customers, accusing them of being troublemakers. Iekei restaurant in the Western city of Osaka announced on social media on January 4 that it had banned all Chinese people. It said a Chinese person had caused trouble in the restaurant, forcing it to call the police. The post said 90 per cent of the trouble it has with foreigners involves Chinese customers. The move triggered controversy and accusations of racism....

Economics

69 h. ago US charges 26 people with rigging college, Chinese basketball games

US charges 26 people with rigging college, Chinese basketball games  Reuters

Politics

3 d. ago US charges 20 people with rigging university, Chinese basketball games, NBC reports

US authorities have charged 20 people with rigging college basketball and Chinese Basketball Association games, according to a federal indictment released on Thursday, including some individuals previously charged in an NBA-related gambling investigation. The charges were unsealed by federal prosecutors in Philadelphia following a grand jury and accuse the defendants of conspiring on games from September 2022 until February 2025. During the 2022-2023 CBA season, the individuals sought to...

Politics

6 d. ago 'Are You Dead?': The viral Chinese app for young people living alone

'Are You Dead?': The viral Chinese app for young people living alone  BBC

Events

7 d. ago ‘Strictly forbidden’: China warns hikers off Aotai Line after 3 die on infamous trail

Chinese authorities have again stressed that hiking on the deadly Aotai Line in northwestern China is illegal after three more people died on what Chinese media has described as the country’s “most dangerous hiking route”. “It is strictly forbidden to conduct unauthorised hiking traverses and similar activities [on the Aotai trail],” the General Administration of Sport’s mountaineering management centre said in a notice on Friday. “Recently, five individuals undertook an unauthorised crossing of...

Events

8 d. ago How PLA could use ‘decapitation’ strike to counter Taiwan’s ‘porcupine’ strategy

Taiwan’s asymmetric warfare plan – also known as the “porcupine” strategy – could pose a significant threat to a PLA campaign against the island, a mainland Chinese military magazine has warned. But the People’s Liberation Army could counter that strategy with an American-style “decapitation” strike, according to the article in the November issue of Naval and Merchant Ships. It analysed how the porcupine strategy played out in Taiwan’s annual military exercise in July – known as Han Kuang –...

Events

9 d. ago China ‘instant reply providers’ offer solace by promptly responding to client ventings online

A new profession known as “instant reply providers”, or miao hui shi in Chinese, has trended on mainland social media. For a price, people who do the job offer quick and soothing replies for those who are angry, upset or in need of an emotional outlet. Not only do they respond very quickly, so-called instant reply providers are good listeners and offer emotional support. They can earn as much as 10,000 yuan (US$1,400) a month, according to a report by Guangming Daily. The charges for their...

Politics

9 d. ago Philippine navy confident it can navigate South China Sea dispute: ‘up to the challenge’

The Philippines has expressed confidence in countering China’s widening influence in contested waters as its navy presses ahead with expanding its fleet, joint activities with foreign partners and the use of unmanned systems. Analysts say these measures would boost the interoperability of the Philippine military across the sea and air, as the South China Sea dispute continues to dominate its security planning. “We are up to the challenge [posed by] the People’s Liberation Army Navy, Chinese...

Politics

9 d. ago Trump’s comment that Taiwan issue is ‘up to Xi’ stirs defence concern in Taipei

US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the Taiwan issue is “up to” Chinese leader Xi Jinping has stirred fresh concerns about the United States’ defence commitment among some on the island. Responding to Trump’s remarks, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Friday that Taiwan was an inalienable part of China’s territory and that the Taiwan question was purely China’s internal affair. Mao said that resolving the Taiwan issue was a matter for the Chinese people alone and...

Politics

9 d. ago Online appeal by Chinese woman to boost granny’s funeral attendance gains 130 million views

Dozens of internet users in China turned up for the funeral of a 90-year-old grandmother after her granddaughter made an online plea for attendees. “My grandma passed away. It is a blessing funeral. Can you come to see her off?” the woman said in a post which went viral on the evening of December 22. A blessing funeral, or xi sang in Chinese, refers to proceedings after the death of a person aged 80 or above. According to traditional beliefs, if a person dies at a rather old age, it means his or...

Economics

3 w. ago ‘Can’t buy true love’: Chinese man abducted as child returns to birth family after reunion

A man in China who was abducted at the age of four has reunited with his birth parents and severed ties with the family who brought him up. On December 12, Peng Congcong, now 26, originally from Jiangxi province in southeastern China, shared an online post looking back at his first year after reuniting with his birth family. Peng said his family moved to Beijing when he was four and he was abducted after being lured away while playing alone near a market. His devastated parents reported him...

Society

3 w. ago China axes 8 from top advisory body CPPCC, including 4 defence firm chiefs

Four former defence company bosses have been sacked by China’s top political advisory body amid an ongoing anti-corruption campaign in the military and related sectors. They are among eight members removed from the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) under a decision passed by the body’s National Committee in Beijing on Wednesday, according to state news agency Xinhua. Revocation of CPPCC membership – rather than resignation – typically signals suspicions of serious...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Saturation attacks’: drone swarms key for wartime victory, Chinese military outlet says

The key to achieving wartime victory through expendable drones lies in “saturation attacks based on numerical superiority”, according to the Chinese military’s mouthpiece as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) accelerates its development of unmanned systems. The PLA Daily published a commentary on Tuesday titled “Exploring the Winning Formula for Unmanned Attrition Warfare” written by Zhou Xiaoli, Zhang Changfang and Zhu Qichao, although the outlet did not specify their institutional...

Events

3 w. ago ‘Saturation attacks’: drone swarms key for wartime victory, Chinese military paper says

The key to achieving wartime victory through expendable drones lies in “saturation attacks based on numerical superiority”, the official paper of the People’s Liberation Army has said as the Chinese military speeds up its development of unmanned systems. In a commentary on Tuesday titled “Exploring the Winning Formula for Unmanned Attrition Warfare”, the PLA Daily said that it would be imperative to “flexibly deploy low-cost unmanned systems to continuously deplete the opponent’s high-value...

Events

4 w. ago Chinese man sues fiancée for US$7,000 in gifts, dating expenses, claims she eats too much

A “petty” Chinese man has faced online scorn after he sued his fiancée to get back all the money he had spent on her because she “ate too much”. A court hearing involving the ex-couple went viral on social media after it was reported on December 9. According to the Chinese media outlet Zonglan News, the man, surnamed He, sued his girlfriend, surnamed Wang, to secure the return of a 20,000-yuan (US$2,800) initial bride price payment his family had made to her family. He also demanded that Wang...

Politics