EDUCATION

Degrees of Disillusionment: What’s Driving China’s Certification Craze?

Young workers are turning to qualifications, exams, and certificates to stay ahead in a competitive job market and to feel productive in their spare time

STREET TALK

Scent of the Office: What Does Hard Work Smell Like?

Chinese netizens have a new term to describe their exhausting office culture—“work smell”

HISTORY

Inside the Secret Files China Still Keeps on Every Worker

Every Chinese worker has a “dang’an” (personnel file), but hardly anyone ever sees inside them

STREET TALK

How Chinese Netizens Answer the Toughest Questions on Social Media

How do you share four cups of water between five leaders? And other interview questions from the Chinese internet.

LIFE

After Hours: The Unseen Lives of China’s Public Sleepers

From migrant workers seeking refuge to budget-conscious tourists, public sleeping in China reveals a tapestry of urban social dynamics