Singles Day Mania and More
Hello TWOC readers!
After months of hard work from our writers, editors, and illustrators, we’re excited to bring you this year’s final issue of The World of Chinese magazine.
Issue #101 takes you through three decades of China’s internet, from the country’s first official internet connection in 1994 to today’s rambunctious digital environment—where superstar livestreamers make billions, internet trolls roam, WeChat has become a ubiquitous “super-app,” and concerns over online addiction among children are growing.
Read on to get a first look at our latest issue and discover more of our best reporting from this month, including:
Why rural children are hooked on smartphones, and what’s being done about it
How one man (supposedly) sold 25 billion yuan worth of products during Singles Day
What happened to a community hollowed out by an official fishing ban
👇
Battling Phone Addiction in China’s Rural Schools
Part of our new magazine’s cover story explores a worrying trend of cellphone addiction among rural Chinese youth, particularly the 12 million “left-behind children” whose parents live in far-away cities to make ends meet. In response countryside kids being glued to their phones, schools and communities are taking innovative steps to lure them back to a life away from screens. But with village children facing a lack of entertainment and supervision from guardians, can these efforts truly break the digital spell?
12 Hours in the Lipstick King’s E-Commerce Empire
One man making a killing from the digital boom is Li Jiaqi, the livestreaming e-commerce luminary better known as “Lipstick King” for his mind-boggling cosmetics selling power. During a 12-hour livestream this Singles Day shopping festival, he captivated over 10 million viewers with a hypnotic showcase of products and skills well beyond marketing savvy. One of our writers sat through all of it (so you don’t have to).
A Lakeside Village Struggles to Adapt to China’s Landmark Fishing Ban
Meanwhile, a small fishing community by Poyang Lake faces a more somber reality far removed from the money-making machine of Chinese e-commerce. Three years into a 10-year fishing ban aimed at preserving local ecosystems around Nanji township in Jiangxi province, local fishers are struggling to adapt and find new ways of making their livelihoods.
What We’re (Not) Playing
A better title for Love Is All Around would be “Scumbag Simulator.” This overtly sexist dating simulator has recently gone viral in China for its crass storyline that has players step into the shoes of a failed entrepreneur who, inexplicably, attracts the advances of multiple women. The story features a predictable plot and a cast of utterly detestable characters. Depressingly, the game has over 20,000 overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam, though some at least seem to take the subject matter as a joke: “In reality, if I spend 300 yuan to take a beautiful woman out for a meal, she calls me a simp, but with this game, I spend 30 yuan and get to date six women,” wrote one Chinese reviewer on the platform.
One Last Thing...
If you enjoyed the documentary Invisible Summit we recommended in our last newsletter—a film about how mountaineer Zhang Hong became the first blind Asian person to climb the world’s tallest mountain—you’re in for a treat!
In the latest episode of our Middle Earth podcast hosted by Aladin Farré, the film’s director Fan Lixin (Last Train Home) and his producer Liu Yuan share how they filmed Zhang’s extraordinary journey and what they learned during the making of the movie.
If you enjoy our content, consider becoming a supporter to help keep us independent (and the office coffee flowing).
