News.
What we're reading, writing, and arguing about — every week.
MarketingA $0.25 flop became China's box-office sleeper hit — and brands went feral chasing it
It opened in theaters and made 169 yuan — about 23 US cents — across its first nine days. No official account, no trailer, no poster.
MarketingAt ChinaJoy, Taobao turned anime merch into literal grain — and collectors loved it
Every subculture has its own vocabulary, and in China's anime fandom, guzi (谷子) is the word that means everything.
MarketingHeytea Gave Qixi Back to the Weaving Women — Literally
Every year around Qixi, brands race to sell the most elaborate version of romance.
MarketingKuaishou's Qixi Ad Ditches the Couples — and Gives a Village's Elders the Weddings They Never Had
For most of China's older generation, the grandest thing about their marriage was the paperwork.
Food & BeverageMARNI turned one of China's most famous teas into a Gelato — in Hangzhou, of course
MARNI's traveling flower shop has been doing something quietly clever for over a decade.
MarketingTaobao Threw August Babies a Birthday 'Slab of Noodles' — and It Got Weird
If you were born in August, Taobao wants you to feel seen — specifically, seen holding a giant bag of snacks, standing next to a black-and-gold shopping cart th
FashionNike and Kim Kardashian's SKIMS are opening their first joint flagship in Shanghai
A single construction hoarding in Shanghai is doing a lot of talking.
TechByteDance turned a missing sock into a 3.5-minute noir thriller — no cameras, no actors
A sock disappears into a washing machine.
MarketingTaobao turned a 90s hit song into a bird-watching dating show for Qixi
Thirty-two years after Lin Yilun spent half of 1993 singing about a love bird that had flown the coop, he's finally getting around to watching them fall in love
MarketingA Chinese supermarket's product descriptions went viral — and they're genuinely funny
If you've ever scrolled a Chinese grocery delivery app and noticed the product descriptions are suspiciously human lately, you're not imagining it.
MarketingA Bar and a Language App Are Hosting a Chess Night for People Who Suck at Chess
There's a certain type of person who will never willingly sit down at a chess board — not because they don't find it interesting, but because chess has a way of
BeautyPechoin Is Rewriting Qixi — and Dropping the Romance
Every August, China's Qixi festival — often billed as "Chinese Valentine's Day" — drowns in a flood of couple-focused ads: roses, rings, and romantic clichés cr