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China society

China society
Latest news, features and opinion on all aspects of society in China, including crime, education, health, culture, technology and tourism, and the impact of the one-child policy, an ageing population and mass internal migration on the country and its people.
dating app

Video | Chinese dating app lets parents set up dates for their kids

‘Perfect In-laws’ allows parents to communicate with each other to set their kids up, often without them knowing.

Ageing society

Being Chinese | In China, some of us are keeping elderly care in the family – for now

Chinese history

Opinion | Why a TV hit in China about waging peace resonates so deeply

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Animal rights in China

Opinion | Quietly, steadily, animal rights campaigners are making headway in China

With national laws the ultimate goal, progress is being made, one local regulation and court case at a time.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
China consumption

Boom or bust? China’s Lunar New Year spending data is in – here is what we know

Initial figures show record travel, shifting spending patterns and a weak box office.

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Sexual harassment and assault

Video | Is ‘family’ becoming a legal shield for rape in China?

More troubling concerns surface in a high-profile case involving a man who fathered children with a mentally ill woman, lawyers say.

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Chinese culture

Opinion | Lunar New Year doesn’t need a home-cooked feast to be full of flavour

The most important thing isn’t if you cooked the food yourself or followed tradition to the letter – it’s being with people you care about.

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People enjoy their reunion dinner at a restaurant in Hong Kong’s Mong Kok district on February 12, ahead of the Lunar New Year. Photo: Sam Tsang
Lunar New Year

Video | Chinese tourists have a new favourite country this Lunar New Year

Arrivals by Chinese tourists to South Korea are expected to rise by 52% in February 2026.

China consumption

China’s Spring Festival box office faces plot twist after 2025 smashed records

Home-grown films lead the charge but fail to meet the phenomenal success of last year’s Ne Zha 2, which attracted record-breaking crowds.

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Australia

My Take | Social media’s ‘becoming Chinese’ trend can only be a force for good

Respectful experimentation with Chinese lifestyle habits can further understanding and engagement between people of different cultures.

A Lion Dance performance takes place at Trafalgar Square in London, United Kingdom, to celebrate Chinese New Year in January 2025. Photo: Calvin Luo
Mainland China

Video | Dating in China as a senior citizen

Although in their golden years, seniors remain hopeful they can find someone to spend the rest of their lives with.

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Photo: SCMP composite
China's population

Glimmer of hope? Why China’s marriage uptick could spark 2026 birth rebound

Double-digit jump in registration rate, boosted by policy and cultural tradition, offers modest upturn, but demographers are wary of weak fertility intentions.

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China's ageing population

Opinion | A loneliness crisis is the price China is paying for rapid modernisation

As migrant workers head home for the Lunar New Year break, it is a good time to reflect on how the loneliness that has gripped Chinese society can be alleviated.

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Science

How old is Chinese civilisation? A scholar says it really dates back 8,000 years

Leading scholar’s argument stretches the timeline back beyond the widely accepted figure of 5,000 years.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
China travel

China’s visa-free waivers spark Korean travel boom, underpin tourism revival

Shanghai bookings surge as visitors flock to cosmopolitan streets and affordable dining, with analysts predicting the trend will spread inland.

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A food seller prepares dishes at a restaurant in Shanghai on January 21. Photo: AFP
Mainland China

Video | The quadriplegic man who runs a smart farm with just 1 finger

36-year-old Li Xia operates a high-tech farm in southwestern China with just one finger and one toe, using sensors, cameras and a computer.

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China's population

Letters | Fewer newborns in China may point to a more humane future

Readers discuss why a shrinking population is not a policy failure, and the bottled water procurement scandal.

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China's population

‘Loneliness economy’: how China is adapting to a rapid rise in solo living

The viral success of check-in app Are You Dead? has exposed the vast demand for services catering to China’s rapidly growing single population.

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A user checks in using the viral app Are You Dead?, also known as Demumu in English, which surged to the top of the paid app chart on Apple’s AppStore in China last week. Photo: Reuters
China travel

Foreigners flock to China’s ice and snow sights, with 130% inbound tourism spike

Freezing temperatures will not dampen the spirits of snow seekers, as China cements its reputation as the world’s ultimate winter playground.

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China jobs

China’s youth jobless rate edges down – but labour market strains persist

Beijing vows to prioritise job market in 2026, the first year of new five-year plan.

Women and gender

Opinion | In China, the pressure on women to marry is deadly serious

Wedding-day death of Henan teacher highlights desperation of young women caught between modern hopes and traditional expectations.

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Some people in China are sharing AI-generated videos of middle-aged single women crying in hospitals, regretting their choice not to marry or have children. Photo: SCMP composite / Shutterstock / Douyin
China consumption

China’s consumers refuse to open their wallets. Is ‘luxury-phobia’ the problem?

Chinese households are not splashing out on luxury goods partly because they feel ‘stigmatised’ for doing so, scholar argues.

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A Labubu toy hangs from a consumer’s Hermes bag in Beijing. To get consumers spending, China should not stigmatise the pursuit of luxury goods, a professor at Peking University has argued. Photo: Beijing
China's population

Baby bust: China births plunge 17% in 2025 to historic low as population shrinks

With Beijing having accelerated family-support policies and childcare subsidies, analysts warn that structural reforms are vital to arrest the deepening slide.

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Artificial intelligence

Tencent seeks cooperation with other AI firms to better serve vulnerable users

Tencent Research Institute looks to build expert data sets for AI models that could broadly benefit the world’s second most populous nation.

Mainland China

‘Love yourself’ – young China’s new wellness mantra to cope with the rat race

Stagnant job markets and long gruelling hours at work have led to widespread burnout and disillusionment when effort fails to yield rewards.

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Ai ni lao ji, a Chinese expression meaning “love yourself first”, has become a popular mantra for prioritising one’s own happiness. Photo: AP
Ageing society

Outside In | We are speeding towards a demography of loneliness

The swarming sociability of family life is fading as one-person households and lonely deaths rise. Coping with loneliness is now a life skill.

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Around the world, more people are growing up as only children; marrying late, if at all; having children late, if at all; and living alone in old age. Photo: Shutterstock
China’s crackdowns

China targets wealthy influencers with audits, fines as fiscal pressures rise

Big data is used to flag income gaps for top online stars and overseas earners, as regulators recover billions in unpaid levies amid slumping land sales and value-added tax revenue decline.

China's ageing population

Opinion | Without pension reform, China is leaving its rural elderly out in the cold

What looks like a side-effect of ‘coal-to-gas’ heating programmes is really a structural issue: rural pensions are not enough to live on.

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