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The Soundscape of Shanghai
The air of Shanghai is saturated with an immeasurable number of sounds: the braying of street vendors, the pumping anthems of dancing grannies, the ice cream truck jingle of the city sweeper, the...
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Companies, Investors Pouring Into China’s Bike-Sharing Market
This article is part of a series looking back at some of the most noteworthy China stories of 2016. Forever’s instantly recognizable black-and-chrome bicycles have roamed Shanghai since the company’s...
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Is China’s Property Bubble About to Burst?
I’m a four-time homebuyer in Shanghai, and I’ve always regretted the first three apartments I sold. The first one was a few blocks away from Hongqiao Airport. My wife and I bought it when we settled...
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The Fall and Rise of the Rentier Class
“Are you one of this fund’s LPs?” An investors’ reception at No. 27, the Bund, Shanghai. As attendees murmur politely to one another under the clink of glasses and raucous toasts, this seems the most...
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Beating the Property Bubble
For many women, having one’s own home is a symbol of freedom and economic independence. In Shanghai, however, it is much more common for women not to own property until they are engaged to be married....
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Why Officials Must Fight Against Rivers Polluted for Profit
Back in 2001, I met up with an ex-girlfriend whom I hadn’t seen since leaving college a decade earlier. We decided to go for a stroll along Shanghai’s Suzhou Creek, north of the city center. What we...
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The Real Estate Developers Behind China’s Museum Boom
At a recent panel discussion at Columbia University, architects, artists, and historians convened to discuss a curious topic: namely, the fact that over 400 museums have been built throughout China in...
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Shenzhen Closes Door on Blind Migrants
Xiao Guangting became a qualified masseur, found a job, married the woman he loved, and became the father of a son, all during his nearly two decades in Shenzhen, southern China. But the 39-year-old...
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NGOs Predict Poor Air in Beijing for 30 More Years
Air pollution levels in many Chinese cities may be improving, but it will still be years until they meet national and international standards, say two NGOs. Beijing will meet national standards for PM...
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Universities Offer Lifelong Learning to China’s Elderly
Through a window, the sun casts a warm light on the gray-and-white hair of about 60 students. “For fear of, for fear that,” the students repeat after a teacher several decades their junior. The scene...
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Shanghai Updates ‘Seven Don’ts’
Shanghai has updated its guidelines for being on your best behavior: After 22 years, the “Seven Don’ts” have been given a makeover for 2017.“Don’t let pets disturb neighbors” and “Don’t cut in line”...
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The Vigilantes of China’s Bike Sharing Economy
On a recent wintery Saturday afternoon, Li Junyao and Zeng Ruiying were leading a team of six people on a hunt through the labyrinthine alleys of Guangzhou’s old town, in southern China. They’re...
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Migrant Food-Delivery Workers Struggle to Belong in Beijing
Bo Xianghua, 37, wakes up at 9 o’clock sharp every morning to prepare for the day ahead. He puts on his leather pants, bright blue jacket, and boots — and grabs his helmet and red scarf — before...
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Shanghai Migrant Workers Told to Vacate ‘Urban Village’
Newly posted relocation notices have instructed the 3,000-plus residents of Zhayin Village, one of Shanghai’s few remaining “urban villages,” to move out by the end of the month, just in time for...
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The Growing Mortgage Crisis Facing China’s Poor
The rapid development of the Chinese housing market has increased the financial burden on urban households, and has exposed the national banking system to higher risks of a property bubble. To stave...
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How China is Reworking Japan’s Decluttering Craze
Two years ago, it would never have occurred to me that I could make money just by tidying up other people’s things. I first learned about Japanese home organization techniques while working as the...
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How Public Safety Concerns Really Escalated Quickly
I was first introduced to proper escalator etiquette when I was working as a journalist covering the handover of Hong Kong 20 years ago. One day, as I sat exhausted in front of the TV, a strange...
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Why ‘Urban Labs’ Hold the Future for Chinese Cities
Periods of rapid economic growth and urbanization frequently go hand in hand with innovation. Contemporary Chinese cities fulfill all the conditions for experimenting with new architectural styles and...
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Police Target Celebrity Drug District With Crime-Busting App
A new app inspired by China’s shamelessly snoopy middle-aged ladies, or dama, has been developed by police to ferret out Beijing’s celebrity drug users. Launched last August, the app has finally...
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Changing the Course of History at a Shanghai School
For the last two years, I have taken most pride from helping to revolutionize the way history is taught at one of the best schools in Shanghai. In 2014, our history faculty decided to overhaul the...
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