Places & Regions
Why does one island have so many building styles?
Gulangyu's varied buildings record international contact, including an unequal treaty-port history.
Read the storyMy reading room
Browse every story or open your shelf of articles you’ve marked as read.
History, Arts & Traditions
The dams behind Liangzhu’s ancient city
Liangzhu’s jade objects belong to a much larger archaeological landscape of rice fields, raised ground, dams and waterways.
Read the story
Places & Regions
A walk through Suzhou’s Humble Administrator’s Garden
Ponds, winding corridors and islands explain how one of Suzhou’s best-known gardens reveals a landscape in stages.
Read the story
History, Arts & Traditions
Why was a canal bigger than a shortcut?
The Grand Canal moved grain and tied distant regions to the needs of a capital.
Read the story
Places & Regions
Why build a tower in a village?
Kaiping's towers tell a story about protection and families whose lives crossed oceans.
Read the story
Places & Regions
What would you find in an old port?
Quanzhou's history is a reminder that a port is built from people as much as ships.
Read the story
Places & Regions
What feeds the rice terraces?
The most important part of a famous rice-terrace photo may be the forest above it.
Read the story
Places & Regions
The engineering inside Hangzhou’s West Lake views
Dredging, causeways and named views helped turn West Lake into a landscape where practical water management and design meet.
Read the story
Places & Regions
Can a city have a spine?
The landmarks make the plan less abstract. UNESCO’s listed property includes the Bell and Drum Towers, Jingshan, the Forbidden City and the Temple of…
Read the story
History, Arts & Traditions
Is your zodiac sign a calendar?
The twelve animals mark a repeating cycle of time. Personality quizzes are only one way people use them.
Read the story
Everyday China
Was “Chinese wallpaper” made for Chinese walls?
Some Chinese wallpaper was painted for European rooms. The name tells only half the story.
Read the story
History, Arts & Traditions
Can you see how fast someone wrote?
Brush-written characters can show movement as well as words, but they are built on serious practice.
Read the story
Load more
There’s more to read.
Find your next read
A story you haven’t marked as read yet, chosen just for a little change of pace.
Surprise me