China Insider

News.

What we're reading, writing, and arguing about — every week.

Gaming

Wallace burger chain teams up with horror game Identity V in China's most random crossover yet

Wallace, China's ubiquitous budget burger chain, just dropped the most unexpected collaboration of 2024: a full partnership with NetEase's horror mobile game Id

Jun 301 min read
Food & Beverage

Heytea's Disney Store Just Got a Major Kaleidoscope Makeover

Heytea just unveiled the third iteration of its iconic Shanghai Disney store, and this time they're going full kaleidoscope mode 🌈 The popular tea chain reopene

Jun 301 min read
Fashion

A Chinese fragrance brand just opened a 'pharmacy' for your mood — inside a 700-year-old academy

Picture this: you walk into a 700-year-old imperial academy in Beijing, past ancient archways and quiet courtyards, but instead of a musty museum, you're greete

Jun 283 min read
Food & Beverage

That Time a Chinese Lemon Tea Brand Accidentally Made the Best Erling Haaland Merch

Here's a sentence I didn't expect to write: a Chinese lemon tea chain just stumbled into making the most charming piece of World Cup merch, and it involves a ti

Jun 282 min read
Entertainment

Shanghai turned SpongeBob’s background fish into the city’s most relatable summer attraction

If you thought SpongeBob and Patrick would be the biggest stars of a SpongeBob exhibition, Shanghai has other ideas.

Jun 271 min read
Fashion

Alo Yoga Just Officially Entered China — Lululemon, You've Been Put on Notice

Alo Yoga — the brand you've seen on Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner, and Jisoo roughly a thousand times — has officially entered China.

Jun 272 min read
Travel

Shanghai Hongqiao Airport now has a waiting lounge for pets

Shanghai Hongqiao Airport now has a waiting lounge for pets, because apparently cats and dogs also deserve better airport vibes.

Jun 251 min read
Food & Beverage

KFC and aespa Just Dropped a $8.60 Combo That Comes With Unreleased K-pop Photocards

Here's a sentence I never thought I'd write: K-pop girl group aespa now has an official fried chicken bucket named after them. Welcome to 2026.

Jun 252 min read
Food & Beverage

Wendy's Is Coming to China After 30 Years – But Can It Actually Survive?

Wendy's, the US burger chain that's been "one of the big three" alongside McDonald's and Burger King in America, just announced they're finally coming to China.

Jun 252 min read
Food & Beverage

Pop Mart just opened a dreamy dessert shop in China's most aesthetic seaside town

POP MART has opened its first permanent POP BAKERY store in Aranya, Qinhuangdao, and it is not exactly trying to be subtle.

Jun 243 min read
Retail

A shopping mall brought in 40 tons of mud for an indoor rice-planting contest

A shopping mall in Ningbo just turned one of China’s most familiar farming scenes into a full-scale indoor spectacle: rice planting, but inside a mall.

Jun 233 min read
Marketing

Taobao's AI Will Try On Clothes for Your Dad So He Doesn't Have To

Dads. They'll fix a leaking roof solo, argue with strangers online, and refuse to go to the doctor for years — but ask them to step into a fitting room?

Jun 232 min read