Vue lecture

A Chinese Robot Beat Usain Bolt’s 100-Meter Record. Should We Be Impressed?

China’s humanoid robots are achieving superhuman feats of athleticism. But how that translates into the real world is still an open question, experts said.

© Achmad Ibrahim/Associated Press

  •  

China Sentences Evergrande Founder to Life in Prison

Hui Ka Yan’s punishment caps the downfall of a property empire whose collapse set off a prolonged crisis in the Chinese economy.

© Xinhua,via Associated Press

Hui Ka Yan, the founder of Evergrande, in court on Thursday in Shenzhen, China, in a photo released by Chinese state media.
  •  

Chinese Comic Investigated After Singing a Riff of a Patriotic Song

Guo Degang, one of the country’s best-known comedians, was reported to the authorities, as the arts continue to be a focus for ideological crackdowns.

© Shiho Fukada for The New York Times

Guo Degang performing cross talk in Beijing in 2011. The comedy genre, also known as xiangsheng, mixes scripted and improvised sketches.
  •  

Chinese Comic Investigated After Singing a Riff of a Patriotic Song

Guo Degang, one of the country’s best-known comedians, was reported to the authorities, as the arts continue to be a focus for ideological crackdowns.

© Shiho Fukada for The New York Times

Guo Degang performing cross talk in Beijing in 2011. The comedy genre, also known as xiangsheng, mixes scripted and improvised sketches.
  •  

In a Faltering Chinese Economy, Working-Class Stories Strike a Chord

Poems, essays and books written by working-class writers have garnered recognition in recent years — as well as increasing government attention.

© Jade Gao/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Hu Anyan’s memoir, “I Deliver Parcels in Beijing,” became a best seller in China and was later translated into English. It is a diaristic account of the 19 jobs he held over two decades across China.
  •  

At Ex-Premier Zhu Rongji’s Funeral, China’s Past Shadows Its Present

Beijing wants to portray today’s China as carrying forward Zhu Rongji’s era of growth, but for many Chinese, the optimism of that time has since faded.

© Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

The Chinese flag flying at half-staff at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Tuesday for the former premier Zhu Rongji.
  •  
❌