China has spent billions of dollars upgrading its rail infrastructure, but migrants, students and others complain that the system is less accessible to them now than it was before
China
Year of the Snake: Scenes from Chinese Lunar New Year
Dragon dances, fireworks and festive decorations usher in Chinese Lunar New Year, the Year of the Snake. Here are scenes from celebrations in China and elsewhere in the world.
Chinese Relatives Pressuring You to Marry? Try a Rent-a-Boyfriend
With the Chinese New Year coming up many young Chinese men and women are choosing to rent a partner for the holdiays
Will Chinese New Year Fireworks Make Beijing’s ‘Crazy Bad’ Air Worse?
As celebratory diversions go, the fireworks used to mark China’s Spring Festival wreak a huge amount of carnage. On Feb. 1 a truck delivering fireworks in central Henan province exploded, causing a bridge collapse that killed …
Chinese Environmentalists Lose Fight to Stop Nu River Dams
One of the sayings trotted out when people try to explain Chinese politics is, “The mountains are high, and the emperor is far away.” It is meant to describe the limits on the power of the central government and the ability …
China’s First Defense: Bodyguards Train to Protect Chinese Interests Abroad
In sub-zero winter temperatures, these trainees at a derelict army base outside Beijing wake before dawn to practice martial arts and evasive driving. It’s all part of preparations to provide security for the growing number of …
Lost in Thailand: How a Lowbrow, Low-Budget Film Became China’s Biggest Hit
The plot feels like a rehash of “The Hangover Part II” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” but why is the film such a hit?
As Chinese Debate the Need for Political Reform, an Outspoken Blogger Is Attacked
Li Chengpeng, a trenchant social critic, has many fans, but also many foes.
Beijing Chokes on Record Pollution, and Even the Government Admits There’s a Problem
This weekend, my family barricaded itself behind closed doors, with only the briefest of toilet breaks for our dog. As the air pollution in Beijing reached record highs, the view from our 16th-floor downtown apartment dwindled to …
Crusading Chinese Journalists End Their Strike, but Don’t Expect Media Freedoms to Follow
An unprecedented strike by reporters of a crusading publication has put the spotlight on the heartless mechanism of press control in China and the ways, both adamant and subtle, that journalists use to try to get around it
Censorship of Newspaper’s New Year Message Touches Off Protest in China
A dispute over a New Year’s editorial has generated an unusually heated public debate, with some reporters and editors threatening to strike and many readers rallying to their defense
China’s Anti-Corruption Toolkit: No Flowers, Expensive Booze or ‘Empty Talk’
Woe to premium rice-wine distillers, potted-plant purveyors and weavers of red carpets. A slew of new regulations issued in recent days to curb corruption and limit showy displays by Chinese officialdom have claimed some unusual …
Chinese Authorities Drop Inciting Subversion Case Against Laid-off Teacher
The authorities in western China have dropped their case against a laid-off teacher turned street musician who was accused of undermining the state in a series of online postings. Chen Pingfu, 55, had been charged with …