China’s Media Is Struggling to Overcome Its Racial Stereotypes of Africa

Dani Madrid-Morales
Quartz
For most Chinese people, the Spring Festival is a time to honor family ties, friendships and acquaintances.

Who Owns Red Envelope Cash – Parents or Children? A Chinese Court Decides

Kinling Lo
South China Morning Post
Chinese internet users have been arguing about whether red envelopes – filled with cash and given as gifts during the Lunar New Year – should go to children or their parents, after a court published rulings on several cases.

Chinese New Year Means a Spending Spree across East Asia

Xin En Lee
CNBC
The Lunar New Year, which kicks off on Feb. 16, is East Asia’s most important holiday season.

China’s All-Seeing Social Control Network Brings an End to Fugitives’ Festive Fun

Nectar Gan
South China Morning Post
With most of China getting into the swing of the Lunar New Year holiday, two crime suspects in the southern city of Guangzhou could have been forgiven for thinking the local police force was taking a break too.

Flu Fears Spread in China Ahead of Lunar New Year Holiday

Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal
Chinese health authorities said the worst influenza season in recent years was straining the country’s resources and some experts warned that the Lunar New Year holiday, when hundreds of millions of Chinese go on the road, could make things worse.

‘You Are Our Lucky Star’: Chinese Media in Overdrive on Xi Jinping’s New Year Tour

Tom Phillips
Guardian
Xi Jinping has flown into one of rural China’s most deprived corners to champion his war on extreme poverty before the country’s week-long Lunar New Year holiday.

Depth of Field

03.22.17

Refugees from Myanmar, Migrant Workers, and the Lantern Festival

Ye Ming, Yan Cong & more from Yuanjin Photo
This month, we feature galleries published in February that showcase photographers’ interest in China’s borders and its medical woes, the lives of its minorities and their traditions and customs, and—in the case of Dustin Shum’s work—in a visual...

Depth of Field

02.16.17

Riding into the New Year

Yan Cong, Ye Ming & more from Yuanjin Photo
As preparations for the Chinese New Year got underway, Liang Yingfei set up a roadside studio and asked migrants traveling home by motorbike to stop for a quick photograph. While in Cambodia for the Angkor Photo Festival & Workshops, Jia...

Call Me, Maybe? Trump Reaches out to China’s President in a Letter

Simon Denyer
Washington Post
The letter wishing China a “prosperous Year of the Rooster” came 11 days after China celebrated its Lunar New Year’s festival. President Trump has yet to speak to Xi Jinping since his inauguration, even though he has spoken directly or met at least...

Ivanka Trump Effect: New Year Wishes from President’s Daughter Welcomed in China

Benjamin Haas
Guardian
Beijing media says visit to embassy in U.S. could help ‘balance president’s harsh posture’ but relationship with Washington remains strained

U.N. Social Media Posts Removed in China After Backlash

William Ide
Voice of America
A massive backlash on social media in China has apparently led the United Nations to take down two Lunar New Year posts on refugees and poverty from their Chinese Weibo social media site.

Chinese New Year Fireworks So Dangerous That Only Few Get to Witness

Karson Yiu
ABC
In Nuanquan village, there is traditional a pyrotechnic display so unique and dangerous that it is still only found here.

5 Things to Know About the Chinese New Year

Nash Jenkins
Time
China’s biggest and most ceremonious holiday is a chance to honor one’s ancestors and prepare for the good fortune to come.

Traditional Red Envelopes Are Going Digital Thanks To China’s Largest Internet Companies

Catherine Shu
TechCrunch
This year, Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent are all offering their own version of online red envelopes.

Millions of Chinese Migrant Workers Head Home for New Year

Voice of America
Every year tens of millions of Chinese migrant workers head home in the largest annual mass migration of people.

How China's Celebration of the Year of the Monkey Breaks Down by the Numbers

Jonathan Kaiman
Los Angeles Times
Here’s a further look at the celebrations and some more related numbers.

China Sends 6,000 Police to Quell New Year Train Station Chaos

Tom Philips
Guardian
Tens of thousands still waiting for transport at Guangzhou main rail depot.

39 Hours Inside The Biggest Human Migration On Earth

Matthew Sheehan
Huffington Post
China's Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's rolled into one, the holiday unfolds on an entirely different scale. 

Traffic Peaks as Lunar New Year Holiday Ends

Meng Jie
Xinhua
The last day of the holiday saw about 9.7 million train trips, 1.4 million by plane, and 73.6 million by highway.

Culture

02.20.15

‘Still Not Married?’ A Graphic Guide to Surviving Chinese New Year

Roseann Lake
Maya Hong is a Beijing transplant from a small town outside of Harbin, the icy city not far from China’s border with Siberia. Though proud of her glacial origins and skilled at combating subzero temperatures, over the years Hong, 30, has had to add...

Media

02.19.15

Why 700 Million People Keep Watching the Chinese New Year Gala, Even Though It’s Terrible

Rachel Lu
The Chinese New Year Gala, which aired live on February 18 on Chinese Central Television (CCTV), is a four-and-half hour variety show with song and dance, comedic skits, magic tricks, acrobatic acts, and celebrity cameos. The show celebrates the...

Media

02.10.15

Chinese Corruption, Now Officially Hilarious

Rachel Lu
Corruption is finally funny—at least, according to the Chinese Communist Party. That’s because comedic performances in the upcoming February 18 performance of China’s annual New Year Gala, a variety show on China Central Television (CCTV) expected...

China Labor Strife Rises; Death of a Foreman

Chun Han Wong
Wall Street Journal
As the Lunar New Year homeward migration approaches, workers press for back-wages.

Sinica Podcast

02.14.14

Dissecting the 2014 Spring Festival Gala

Kaiser Kuo, David Moser & more from Sinica Podcast
A casual survey suggests that ninety-eight percent of Sinica listeners have at some point joined Chinese friends or family in watching the annual television spectacular known as the “Spring Festival Gala.” Sadly, whether from excessive pork...

Culture

02.10.14

Will Xi Jinping Stop the Music?

Sheila Melvin
In late November of 2013, I sat chatting in a California concert hall with one of the PRC’s most famous first-generation pianists. Normally at this time of year, the pianist told me, he would be heading off to China to perform multiple New Year’s...

Media

02.12.13

Joke About Gay Romance on Chinese New Year Gala Lights Up Blogosphere

Is “bromance” in the air? Not according to state-run China Central Television (CCTV).{vertical_photo_right}Thousands of fans yelled “Get together” in unison when piano prodigy Li Yundi made a guest appearance at Chinese-American pop sensation Leehom...