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Living the Loop: The NPCs Bringing China’s Fantasy Parks to Life

Articles that cut to the core of contemporary China. In-depth, informed, and carefully crafted, every piece is carried by the voices of the story’s participants.

FEATURES

In China’s booming immersive tourism industry, “non-playable characters” are thousands of young performers in costume, working marathon shifts of duels and dances to keep tourists entertained.

For a Team of Chinese Scientists, the Oyster Is Their World

Timely reports on issues and events from across China. Drawing on a vast range of sources, these succinct articles provide insights into the significance of each issue in a wider context.

NEWS

Inspired by oysters’ natural grip, a team of researchers from Zhejiang have created a bio-glue to fuse shattered bones, a world first.

China’s Summer of Climate Whiplash Brings Heat, Floods, and Drought

This summer brought a climate reversal, with floods in the north, drought in the south and other extreme weather.

Painkillers, Tickets, Labubu: What China’s Gen Z Is Leaving at Tombs

Young Chinese are honoring historical figures with playful, personal gifts tailored to each legend’s quirks and stories.

Robots Run, Dance, and Clean in World’s First Humanoid Games

More than 500 robots from 16 countries will compete in the inaugural tournament, with events ranging from Olympic-style sports to real-world tasks like hotel cleaning and medical sorting.

Trainee Faked Her Way Into Elite Chinese Hospitals, 19 Punished

What began as a marital scandal spiraled into a corruption case that sparked public outcry, after a trainee with no medical background entered China’s top hospitals on falsified records and family ties.

Skip Social Insurance, Pay Severance: China’s Top Court Tells Employers

The Supreme People’s Court ruling aims to strengthen labor rights, with workers entitled to compensation if insurance isn’t paid.

In China’s Brain-Computer Clinics, a Long Wait for a Second Chance

Thousands of paralyzed patients are signing up for brain computer interface trials, but only a handful meet strict medical criteria as doctors balance demand with science.

At Least 30 Dead as Torrential Rains Batter Beijing’s Outskirts

Emergency crews are racing to restore access and locate those missing as alerts remain in place across northern China.

Chinese Women, Children Targeted in Cross-Border Voyeurism Ring

The open Telegram group, which had over 100,000 members and has since gone private, was used to exchange covert footage of women and children as well as their contact details.

Ye’s Shanghai Concert Ends in Chaos, Delays, and Refund Demands

Organizers apologized after fans stood in the rain, chanted for refunds, and watched the final songs play without Ye on stage.

Himalayan Lake Burst Kills 9, Disrupts China-Nepal Trade Route

The sudden drainage of a supraglacial lake in the Himalayas swept away key infrastructure and has raised concerns about the ongoing effects of climate change in the region.

China Braces for Summer of Northern Floods and Southern Droughts

Following some of the heaviest floods on record in 2024, the country prepares for what may be an even more disastrous wet season ahead.

A Viral Game Targeting ‘Gold Diggers’ Has China Arguing Over Gender

Praised as anti‑fraud education and slammed as sexist fantasy, ‘Revenge on Gold Diggers’ has sparked widespread debate online.

Sleepless in Shanghai: Movie Marathons Offer a Night to Remember

Costumes, coffee, and comfy slippers — fans flock to all-night screenings of American and Japanese films at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

The Last Stop Club: The Young Chinese Giving Buses a Proper Goodbye

A niche community of bus enthusiasts is documenting final rides, recording engine sounds, and preserving memories of a transit era disappearing under a rapid shift to EVs.

Breathe Easy: Chinese Device Offers No-Needle Diabetes Tracking

The device analyzes acetone in exhaled breath, offering a faster, noninvasive alternative to traditional blood tests.

Why Chinese Fans Are Hiring Detectives for a Dead Kenyan Lion

When their favorite wild lion was killed, a tight-knit group of Chinese fans half a world away launched a global campaign for justice — via billboards in New York to private investigators in Kenya.

In the Ozempic Era, China Readies a Home-Grown Obesity Drug 

Mazdutide, used in the treatment of obesity and metabolic diseases, could become the first domestically-developed dual-target obesity drug to reach the market.

No Oxygen, Coated in Ice: Chinese Paraglider Survives 8,600-Meter Flight

A freak updraft over the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau lifted Peng Yujiang nearly nine kilometers in minutes — and the entire flight was caught on camera.