Interesting to see The Guardian on the conceptual pairing of these 2 distinct trends today. If you want to stay updated on China’s online culture, consider subscribing to my Eye on Digital China newsletter, where my analysis of the “kill line” discourse & Chinamaxxing was published five weeks ago.

For a broader view, see @manyapan.bsky.social’s post here. Satisfying nugget for Hu haters: “As none of his predictions seem to be aging well, some netizens joked: ‘The only one who can beat Hu Xijin is the Hu Xijin of the next day.’”

Thought this was interesting, because it's clearly complicated - "Another viewpoint missing from these official media talking points is how the conflict is directly affecting China, diplomatically or economically, and how China’s own interests are being harmed in this war."

This is why I love Beijing taxi drivers, and this one minute just happened to catch it all ✔️complaining about rising prices & living costs ✔️scolding & sighing about Beijing traffic ✔️some social commentary ✔️a little communist joke

I’ve been closely tracking Chinese social media reactions to the developments in Iran over the past few days. In the end, the findings of my research say much more about China’s online discourse than about what’s happening in Iran. Read on whatsonweibo or Substack: open.substack.com/pub/eyeondig...

Wondering where to watch the CMG Spring Festival Gala? Join me live in 1.5 hours as I follow the show and share real-time updates - the highs and the lows. No paywall, no registration required. whatsonweibo.com/inside-chunw...

Hello, is it me you're looking for? Yes! Lionel Richie is joining the CMG Spring Festival Gala tonight, together with Jackie Chan. This is already iconic. #CMGChunwan

Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years. It's frontpage news on China Daily, and the Weibo hashtag is there (#黎智英被判20年#), but Weibo apologizes: "the topic's contents cannot be displayed."

I haven't paid much attention to him since he started flirting with election denial in 2020 (x.com/StephenMcDon...), but @manyapan.bsky.social's argument against characterising his recent statements as a straightforward "pro-Beijing turn" seems persuasive: x.com/manyapan/sta...

Since looking back on 2016 seems to be the thing people are doing right now, it feels like a good moment to dive back into my photo archives. 2016 was a special time for China. 🧵👇

One to add to the list of "the prettiest KFC I've ever seen"

It was an early morning train and I wasn't quite awake yet, but conversations with this nice guy from Fengjie woke me up a bit – especially when he asked me if I was from Xinjiang (this actually happens quite frequently..)

On way home after hutong walk with Beijing friend, I mentioned I needed a powerbank before leaving. "Let’s order one," he said. "Can't, need it within 1 hour." Got laughed at. Powerbank was waiting on doormat by time we got back. Barely took 20 minutes. Thanks Xiaomi & Meituan, sorry to doubt you😅

Happy to randomly run into little Wukong here in Beijing. It's undeniably the cat that made the most impact in China news this year. I hope the art dedicated to her will stay around for a while 🐾

The Xiaohongshu-for-foreigners bubble has burst. Months after the hype, when Americans flocked to RedNote, the app's now riddled with loopholes: accounts flagged as “security risks”, need to submit passport, face+ID photo, phone verification, only for the process to fail. Exit for foreign creators?

My first ever talks in Holland coming up soon/Leiden Oct 22, this in The Hague on Oct 23 leidenasiacentre.nl/event/jeffre... & Nowhere bookstore in The Hague on Oct 24. (Btw, I’ve long found lots of value in What’s on Weibo by @manyapan.bsky.social so delighted to see the 23rd talk mentioned by her)

Before heading into the new week, let’s dive into some of the stories that trended. ➡️ During Nanchang’s fireworks show, a man drew attention shouting and holding something that sparked panic. Moments later, he was kicked down and taken away by police. It turned out to be a major misunderstanding.

That's a particularly sweet SWAT officer

Traditional 哭嫁 (crying marriage), the bride parts with her family. The "happiest day of your life" comes with sorrow & some added drama. OP wrote: "I’ve heard of 喜丧 (joy-in-mourning: funeral for long-lived elder),but this is the first time I’ve seen 丧喜"(mourning-in-joy, made up word for this scene😅)

Whenever reports surfaced about the harsh conditions on the set of renowned director Wong Kar-wai, mainstream media and fans often brushed off his tyrannical habits as the "quirks of a genius." This time, it feels different. Read more at: www.whatsonweibo.com/the-wong-kar...

Different take: This strain of content regulation feels written by a parent-teacher association: well-intentioned but poorly thought through, heavy-handed enforcement of vague concepts. But the sentiment- fear of social media blackpills is very relatable. chinamediaproject.org/2025/09/26/t...

Really, you don't wanna mess with the dancing grannies. You can interfer with their music, spray them with water, but they're gonna come for you in the end. Better invest in earplugs for those early morning dance routines 😅

China is facing a serious donkey shortage. And the headline “We have cows and horses, but no donkeys” (“牛马有的是，就缺驴”) is sparking viral discussion online, not just because of the actual donkey crisis but due to wordplay in Chinese of having too many obedient workers in the workplace vs stubborn ones.

48-year-old Li Junyong (李俊永), who runs a small fried chicken stall in Jingdezhen, has a snappy multitasking style and tight rules on who he serves, when, and how. His earnest approach to his chicken stall business has turned him into a viral sensation under the nickname "Chicken Chop Brother" (鸡排哥)

Soft power stond voor China lang voor kalligrafie, kookkunst en Confucius instituten. Maar nu meet China zich een heel ander imago aan. Hoe krijgt het dat voor elkaar? Met @tomvandeweghe.bsky.social , @manyapan.bsky.social en @silviasun.bsky.social vrtnws.be/p.LNx8PJne1

A great deep-dive into viewers' true opinions!

How did "731", one of the most anticipated recent Chinese war films, go from patriotic hype to online backlash? I dove into official narrative, audience reception & everything particular about this movie - that was a "10" but dropped to 3.1 acc to IMDb: www.whatsonweibo.com/evil-unbound...

Perhaps you’ve heard about the online controversy surrounding the Chinese restaurant chain Xibei and the debate on pre-made food. If you have no idea what’s going on and need a clear explainer, we’ve got you covered. Read this one to stay updated: www.whatsonweibo.com/chinas-prefa...

Een Chinees AI-filmpje met een soldaat uit de tweede wereldoorlog.

Vergeet het leed, China overwon! Dat is het verhaal dat China over WOII wil vertellen. China noemt het zelf: het einde van de ‘verzetsoorlog tegen de Japanse agressie en oorlog tegen het fascisme’. Met AI brengen ze zelfs soldaten uit de Tweede Wereldoorlog tot leven. @manyapan.bsky.social vertelt.

From the "BBC smog" to "AFP filter": for years, Chinese netizens have joked about how Western media photos make China look darker and gloomier. But during this year’s VDay parade, China's "villain look" was embraced with some netizens thinking AFP wasn't AFP-ing enough, fixing their photos for them.

China herdenkt de oorlog met spierballen en spektakel. Het controversiële gezelschap van Xi Jinping was een grote blikvanger maar @manyapan.bsky.social vindt het minstens zo belangrijk om te kijken naar wat er op het plein in Peking en de Chinese online-mediakanalen gebeurde. tinyurl.com/2s8bcaan

Just in case it wasn't clear enough, an extra military parade public-facing message, emphasizing: this is not for decoration nor for show. All it takes is one command and all of these soldiers and their weapons, tanks, drones, missiles are ready for the battlefield.

Yao Ming can never really keep a low profile at these events, can he. #militaryparade

"Can you sell?" "No those are not for sale. Those colorful balloons, however! You could take some with you" 😅 #militaryparade #meme

"Kim Jong-un looking at Xi Jinping pointing at things."

The meme you knew would come #militaryparade

Wanted to cancel my Netflix account because I feel Netflix lately isn't keeping its facts straight. Then it told me this and it kinda confirmed that for me.😂

It's the final countdown. Wednesday is 🇨🇳 V-Day. What's behind China's social media storylines about the major military parade? I've looked at 225 official media hashtags so you don't have to. For that and more, check out the latest packed premium newsletter 👉 www.whatsonweibo.com/newsletter/n...

The 55,000 yuan ($7,783) Louis Vuitton "lobster"🦞 purse is trending on Chinese social media because people think it resembles a cockroach. It does, though! 🪳

It's the train topics that always go trending. There's a big discussion about instant noodles on China's high-speed trains, as some stations have stopped selling instant noodles in light of broader measures to "maintain cleanliness." This triggered the big noodle debate.

What's trending on Weibo today? Here's a quick top 3 overview I just published, from Lhasa to Labubu: www.whatsonweibo.com/china-trend-...

Good news after the scandal involving the corrupt abbot of the Shaolin Temple: the high price of 400 yuan ($55) for burning incense at the temple has now been canceled. You get 3 sticks for free! Wonder if they'll still sell those monk ice-creams though 😅

Just sent out the latest What's on Weibo newsletter. From Telegram to temple, diving into #Maskpark Gate, the Shaolin scandal, and more. Subscribers will find it in their inbox now, or you can subscribe & read it online here 🙌: whatsonweibo.com/newsletter/n...

On July 16, residents in Yuhang, Hangzhou, noticed something fishy about their tap water - it turned brown and smelled foul. Since then, the “stinky water incident” has been trending, with growing anger over the official response and media handling. Read: www.whatsonweibo.com/something-in...

CNN just published a feature on the young Chinese people who call themselves 'rat people': living nocturnal lives, staying in bed, and doing the bare minimum to cope with everyday pressures. I also shared some thoughts for the piece 🐀 Watch it here: edition.cnn.com/2025/07/23/w...

Hot off the press 🔥 my newsletter packed with insights on major trending topics > a deep dive into the 'Sister Hong incident', the controversy around a Chinese student expelled over a fling with the Ukrainian 'Zeus', the Wahaha inheritance battle, and more. Read: www.whatsonweibo.com/newsletter/n...

"Nanjing Sister Hong" became one of the biggest trending topics on Chinese social media this July: a man crossdressing as a woman, offering sex to 100s of men, secretly filming them to sell the footage online. Story got so big that people are now joking that even Trump was among the secret visitors.

China’s digital governance, the power of Chinatown, or EU-China relations-I’ve created an event calendar listing all kinds of interesting China events. Many of them are accessible online. Check it out here & let me know if there’s an event that should be added: www.whatsonweibo.com/events/

In recent months, we have lost a significant portion of our funding. Yet we remain committed to helping the world better understand China at this critical juncture in global politics. We are asking for your help to keep our websites up and running. giving.chinadigitaltimes.net/page/serverc...