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Chinese Army Casts Envious Eye on Korean TV Drama
China is smitten with a military-themed romantic television series from its neighbor South Korea. But for the Chinese army, it’s a love that’s not meant to be. To say that the show “Descendants of...
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Q&A with TV Association Director You Xiaogang on Censorship
In early March 2016, the leaking of censorship guidelines produced by China’s leading body on television drama production led to criticism from Internet users and television audiences. The guidelines...
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Internet Star Papi Jiang Censored for Foul Language
Papi Jiang, whose humorous video clips are a sensation on the Chinese Internet, has run afoul of China’s censors for her use of swear words. According to a short news article by party newspaper...
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Chinese Filmmakers Punch Back with Virtual Reality
Zou Shiming has boxed his way to two Olympic gold medals for China — first in Beijing in 2008 and then in London four years later. At last week’s Beijing International Film Festival, Zou was once...
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Anti-Graft TV Dramas Return to Prime Time
With an all-star cast and a total investment of 120 million yuan (over $18.5 million), a new television drama will be the first major production with an anti-corruption theme since the predecessor of...
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Arthouse Movie Woes Have Producer on Knees
A tale of David and Goliath featured a movie executive kneeling and kowtowing before the camera on Thursday, asking China’s cinemas to give an arthouse film a bigger shot compared to the blockbuster...
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China’s Virtual Obsession With Guns and Porn
In February, Mark Zuckerberg’s surprise appearance in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress — the largest mobile industry conference on Earth — caused a flurry of activity across social media...
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Alibaba’s Ambitious New Music Platform
Over the past two years, mergers and fierce competition have slowly whittled down the number of Chinese online music platforms. The two that have pulled ahead of the pack are Alibaba Group’s Ali Music...
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Folk Legend’s 75th Passes Unnoticed, But Influence Endures
News outlets and social media accounts across the Western Hemisphere were ablaze with blessings for Bob Dylan on Tuesday as the folk legend celebrated his 75th birthday. In China, where Dylan made his...
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Actor Suspended for Drug Use, Returns as Policeman
After being picked up for using marijuana in Beijing in August 2014, award-winning Taiwanese actor Ko Chen-tung, better known as Ko Kai, is back — this time as a patriotic police officer during the...
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Longtime ‘World of Warcraft’ Fans Eagerly Await Film
Don’t be surprised if you go out in Shanghai on the night of June 7 and see two groups of people charging at each other shouting “For the Horde!” and “For the Alliance!” And if someone stabs a wand in...
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How 2-D Addictions Are Bringing Kids out of Their Shells
An increasing number of children in China are retreating from reality and developing what are known as “2-D complexes” — a strong attachment to two-dimensional characters and the worlds they inhabit....
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Shanghai Disney: The Land of Left-Behind Dreams
When the Shanghai Disney Resort officially opens on June 16, migrant construction worker Xie Jun won’t be there to show off the Fantasyland attraction he helped build to his toddler. By then, the...
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The Fake Gay Men of the Chinese Film Industry
With the tacit consent of the celebrities involved, Chinese media outlets recently have been hyping up non-existent “bromances” between male stars, few of whom are gay. There are all sorts of ways to...
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Poet Worker Documentary Hits Cinemas Through Crowdfunding
Footage of factory workers on an assembly line is countered by images of China’s famous terracotta warriors. It’s a striking, simple metaphor: two of China’s most formidable human forces. As the...
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TV Show Chronicles Rise and Fall of Chinese Print Media
When actress Huang Yi — better known by her stage name, Hai Qing — was preparing to play fictional journalist Zheng Yuqing for a new television series, she spent a month undertaking her own...
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Chinese Net Users Bet on Taylor Swift’s Love Life
Will American singer Taylor Swift’s latest reported fling with British actor Tom Hiddleston last more than a month? Three months? Ten years? Now Chinese fans who think they’re in the know can bet on...
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Call Me Angelababy, Maybe
The name might seem more absurd than contentious. But Chinese media commentators are in a spin over how to refer to the actor who calls herself “Angelababy” — not because the 27-year-old’s moniker is...
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Game Developer to Sue State Media Censors
A 26-year-old mobile game developer is preparing to pit himself against the ultimate boss: China’s media censorship body, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television...
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Online Roast Show Tests Limits of Chinese Sense of Humor
“Roast Convention,” a Chinese version of the American comedy series “Comedy Central Roasts,” broadcast its first episode on Thursday, leaving its viewers sniggering in slight discomfort at the audacity...
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