MODERN HISTORY, EDUCATION

30 Years of Choosing College Majors in China

How did Chinese students earn the right to choose their own majors, and how did the most popular choices evolve over time?

MODERN HISTORY

How the Whampoa Academy Gave Birth to Famous Enemies in Chinese Political History

Founded on June 16, 1924, China’s first modern military academy aimed to reunite a divided nation. It didn’t quite work out that way.

MODERN HISTORY

Backpedaling the History of Bicycles in China

The story of the two-wheeler’s rise and fall—and comeback—in the “Kingdom of Bicycles”

MODERN HISTORY

Remembering the Deadliest Bridge on the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway

A spectacular 115-year-old railway bridge in Yunnan province stands as a reminder of the Chinese workers who died in its construction

MODERN HISTORY

How the TV Stole Spring Festival

First airing live in 1983, CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala didn’t just change TV—it changed the way China celebrates the Lunar New Year

MODERN HISTORY

How Did China End Up Celebrating Two New Years?

In the early 20th century, China tried to ban its millennia-old lunar calendar in the name of modernity—with mixed success

MODERN HISTORY

The Vanished Villages of Fujian and Qinling

Two villages allegedly disappeared overnight in the last century: Where did they go? Did they even exist?

MODERN HISTORY

The Traveling Projectionists Who Brought Entertainment to Farmers

Zhao Jishan, “the movie man,” spent years dragging a mobile cinema through rural China to bring entertainment to the villages

MODERN HISTORY

The Last Maoist Village in China

We take a trip to every Maoist’s favorite travel destination: Nanjie Village