culture

A free exhibition at the British Library, supported by Blick Rothenberg, explores the active role Chinese communities have played in British society in the 300 years since the first recorded Chinese person arrived in the UK up until the present day, writes CBBC’s Juliette Pitt Tracing back the origins, exploits and stories of the British Chinese community, who can trace their heritage to regions across East and Southeast Asia, ‘Chinese …

Why are people in China going crazy for a pink fox called LinaBell that debuted at Shanghai Disneyland, and what can British cartoon brands like Peppa Pig learn from her popularity? Unlike Mickey Mouse or Elsa from Frozen, LinaBell has never appeared on the big screen; yet this fluffy pink fox has still captured the hearts of thousands of visitors to Shanghai Disneyland — as well as millions of Internet …

Understanding the China in 2021 is about more than just looking at the numbers. These 5 recent books on the Chinese economy attempt to make sense of it in the context of the country’s past, present and future, its people and its politics. Land of Big Numbers, Te-Ping Chen When we think about China, we often think about it in terms of hard facts: GDP, export volume, population growth. Chinese-American …

Paul French interviews Te-Ping Chen, author of ‘Land of Big Numbers’, about how a combination of journalism and story writing can deepen our understanding of China’s fascinating but often voiceless characters This column usually looks at business books, case studies, histories, or economic treatises, but this time we’re focused on fiction. Te-Ping Chen is a Chinese-American writer and journalist who has been based in both Hong Kong and Beijing with …

Whether you want to learn more about China’s tech sector, its opaque policy making apparatus or what the country’s Gen Z youth are into, there’s a podcast for it. Here are our pick of the top shows to get into now According to a survey conducted in 2020, the number of listeners of podcasts, audiobooks and other audio shows is now estimated to be around 542 million – and that’s …

Mascots aren’t just for kids’ brands in China. From Burberry’s cute critter WeChat stickers to the time-honoured KFC Colonel, having a cartoon representative may be more valuable than you realise. Matt Wills of Floob Creative explains why. M&M’s, Michelin, Monopoly, Nintendo, KFC and Pringles – all household names, and all have mascots that are synonymous with their brands. What helps these brands connect with their customers is a relatable, recognisable …

Chika Mora is the founder of inclusive events platform What’s Good Beijing. She has been in China for four years and knows the importance of finding a community away from home. She tells her story to Judith Mwai I originally came to Beijing back in 2017 on a teaching fellowship through Princeton in Asia. I had been an early childhood educator for about three years at that point and felt …

Paul French tracks down mysterious author and businessman Jack Leblanc to find out more about his new book, Why Your CEO Failed in China Back in 2008, an anonymous foreign businessman in China decided to call himself Jack Leblanc and examine why so many businesses failed in the PRC. His thoughts back then were published as ‘Business Republic of China’, a warts-and-all take on running a foreign venture in China. …

IN THIS SERIES, WE LOOK AT CHINA-BASED ENTREPRENEURS, THE BUSINESSES THEY HAVE DEVELOPED AND HOW THEY HAVE COPED WITH RECENT OBSTACLES CREATED BY THE PANDEMIC. THIS WEEK, AJ DONNELLY OF CULTURAL KEYS Since I was young I have always loved traditional Chinese culture, which I learned about from studying Chinese martial arts from a young age. For as long as I could remember, I had wanted to move to China, …

Paul French talks to Christopher Sheedy about his book Unlocking The Emperor’s Door, crammed with insights into Chinese company culture after his experience working at Tiens Group Sheedy has worked all over the world and was given the opportunity to work closely with Li Jinyuan, the founder and Chairman of Tiens Group – known locally as Tianshi – a large multi-level marketing company headquartered in Tianjin selling everything from traditional …