China Insider

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

Fashion

Adidas Originals and Simone Rocha Unveil FW2026 Collection Anchored by Sculptural Footwear and Reworked Archive Silhouettes

Adidas Originals and Simone Rocha's FW2026 collection, debuted at London Fashion Week in February 2026, pairs archive tracktops with pearl-and-crystal footwear.

Sep 71 min read
Food & Beverage

Subway China and Rolife Launch DIY Miniature Store Campaign With Themed Venues in Shanghai and Beijing

Subway China and Rolife launched a joint campaign on August 31, giving meal purchasers a DIY miniature Subway store kit and opening themed venues in Shanghai and Beijing.

Sep 61 min read
Fashion

Diesel's FW2026 Campaign Sends Life-Size Cardboard Models to Five Cities for Street-Level Portraits

Diesel's FW2026 "Multiplicities" campaign plants life-size cardboard model standees in real streets across Shanghai, London, Cairo, New Delhi, and Rio.

Sep 51 min read
Culture

Hangzhou's Tiantianli Mall Hosts Four-Day "What Shift You Work" Festival With Xiaohongshu Creator Xiaoshu

Tiantianli mall in Hangzhou runs a four-day anti-office-culture festival with Xiaohongshu creator Xiaoshu from September 3 to 6, 2026.

Sep 51 min read
Marketing

DiDi Runs Harbin Summer Pun Campaign with Migu Music Tie-In and Hundreds of City Touchpoints

DiDi launches a Harbin summer promotion linking a 2-yuan fare to a cooling pun, with Migu Music NFC cars and hundreds of city touchpoints.

Sep 41 min read
Food & Beverage

JD's 7 Fresh Coffee Opens Fully Unmanned Beijing Café, Sets Guinness Record With 202 Cups in an Hour

7 Fresh Coffee, the coffee brand launched by JD.com in late 2025, opened a fully unmanned, 24-hour smart café at Galaxy SOHO in Beijing on 16 August 2026.

Sep 41 min read
Food & Beverage

DQ Opens World's First "Zero-Modification, Fully Autonomous" Robot Restaurant in Shanghai

DQ and robotics firm Sharpa have opened a fully autonomous robot Blizzard bar in Shanghai, with the robot "小Sha" operating unmodified store equipment for four days.

Sep 31 min read
Sports & Wellness

Adidas Maps a Three-Stripe Running Route Across Shanghai's Wutong District to Launch HYPERBOOST

Adidas routed a Shanghai night run across three streets to trace its three-stripe logo, tying HYPERBOOST's Tmall launch to six local neighbourhood businesses.

Sep 31 min read
Gaming

IKEA and Xbox Launch Nine-Piece YXSTABY Furniture Collection at Gamescom 2026

IKEA and Xbox have unveiled the nine-piece YXSTABY collection, translating thumbstick and D-pad designs into furniture, debuting at Gamescom 2026.

Sep 21 min read
Consumer Goods

Fenbid Turns Shanghai and Beijing Metro Stations Into Pain-Relief Art Galleries

Fenbid has reimagined five Western masterpieces as pain scenarios across metro stations in Shanghai and Beijing to advertise its analgesic range.

Sep 21 min read
Retail

The World's Richest Man's Mom Was Spotted Shopping at Miniso — and Buying Plushies

Shoppers at Miniso's global flagship on Shanghai's Nanjing East Road got a surprise this week when Maye Musk — mother of Elon and a billionaire-adjacent celebri

Sep 12 min read
Fashion

Crocs and Pokémon Launch 30th-Anniversary Collection Led by Poké Ball Clog

Crocs and Pokémon mark the franchise's 30th anniversary with a Poké Ball clog, two Jibbitz charm packs, and a three-shoe character wave.

Sep 11 min read