Featured Article
Zhengzhou: Cradle of Civilization (May 7, 2026, China Partnership)
Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan Province in north-central China, and has a population of about 13 million. The city is known as one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. Zhengzhou is an ancient Chinese capital, and the area around the city still has many well-known ruins. House church pastors say there is a vibrant Christian heritage in Zhengzhou, but that, as people have moved to the city from the countryside, churches have struggled to disciple believers through urbanization.
Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs
No Party, No Party (May 3, 2026, China Talk Substack)
Last week, the Chinese Ministry of State Security published a bombshell report on its official WeChat account: the United States government secretly funds think tanks to push “lying flat” (躺平) upon Chinese youth, brainwashing them into believing that “working hard is for losers.” But while Brookings was busy influencing Chinese twenty-somethings, China’s government was not sitting idle. An exclusive ChinaTalk investigation has uncovered Beijing’s quiet counter-offensive: a two-front campaign to foment loneliness abroad and good vibes at home.
Why Beijing Wants Provinces to Find Their Own ‘Productive Forces’ (May 7, 2026, South China Morning Post)
As Beijing increasingly sees the country as a chessboard, the central government is no longer simply asking every province to grow faster; it wants them to grow differently. Reporting on the end of the 14th five-year plan and preparation for the 15th five-year plan frames provinces and cities as specialized implementation units, reflecting a territorial division of labor. The central government wants provinces to find their rightful place in national development and act in accordance with their local conditions.
‘They Have Built a Machine that Pulls Out Their Mother Tongue’: Why Tibet’s Children ‘Think They Are Chinese’ (May 7, 2026, The Guardian)
Weeks after a Tibetan-speaking five-year-old started preschool, she had “completely stopped speaking Tibetan,” according to her mother. Nine months later, although the child could still understand Tibetan, she only answered in Mandarin, and at best a few single-word answers in Tibetan after some time. Instead the girl “keeps saying that she can only speak Chinese…that she is Chinese and not Tibetan,” according to a researcher who met the family. “The mother thinks that the daughter is just repeating what she is constantly told at school and that the government aims to eradicate Tibetan.”
Xi’s China: Dazzling Technology, Military Muscle—and an Economic Mess (subscription required) (May 10, 2026, The Wall Street Journal)
More than a decade into Xi Jinping’s rule, China’s military has grown more formidable, its factories dominate global manufacturing and its technology pioneers are closing the gap with Silicon Valley. Yet big parts of its economy are a mess. A colossal property bust has destroyed trillions of dollars in wealth, consumer confidence has been gutted and the job market has grown bleak.
Religion
As a Matter of Faith (May 8, 2026, ChinaSource)
From April 8 to 11, 2026, a group of 120 Chinese church leaders, representative of theological institutes, schools, organizations, and supporters—along with scholars from a spectrum of disciplines relevant to the study of Chinese theology and Church history—gathered at the historic YMCA CityView Hotel in Hong Kong’s Kowloon district. For many, it felt like a family reunion—the meeting of old friends who had worked together and met at these events for decades—promoters of the common cause of a Chinese theology grounded in Christian traditions, rigorous in its scholarship, and contextually engaged.
The Theological Coming of Age of the Chinese Church (May 12, 2026, ChinaSource)
Over a decade ago, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences hosted an annual gathering that insiders nicknamed the “Immortals’ Symposium.”1 Hundreds of Chinese scholars converged to present papers on Christianity. It was a curious era: most scholars who studied Christianity weren’t Christians themselves, while the Christians who showed up to theological conferences were mostly from overseas. Mainland Chinese Christian theologians at the time could have fit comfortably around a single round table.
Christianity in China Today (May 12, 2026, China Partnership)
Although we’ve had a podcast for several years now, this year we’ve decided to expand our format. In addition to telling long-form stories of the Chinese church, we’re also going to be posting regular, monthly episodes discussing topics related to the church in China. In the first installment of this new monthly format, we tackled a huge issue: what does Christianity in China look like in 2026? Here’s a short excerpt from that conversation. Please check out our podcast and follow on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you stream your podcasts.
Society / Life
China In Pictures (X Account, @tongbingxue)
This X account is full of fascinating photos from China past and present.
What China Actually Thinks: Inside the Numbers on America, Taiwan and War (May 6, 2026, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations)
Chinese public opinion is often overlooked in discussions of US-China competition, yet it shapes how Beijing defines threats, prioritizes interests, and calibrates its foreign policy. As tensions span trade, technology, Taiwan, and regional security, understanding how Chinese citizens view these issues offers critical insight into both domestic constraints and external behavior. In this interview recorded on March 31, 2026, Nick Zeller, Renard Sexton, and Yawei Liu discuss findings from China Pulse, a joint survey project by The Carter Center and Emory University.
Translation: “Why Do Urban Chinese Have So Many Misconceptions About the Countryside?” (Part Two) (May 8, 2026, China Digital Times)
In their recent conversation, Zhou set out to answer what Peng described as his one core question: “How far apart, really, is rural reality from city-dwellers’ impressions?” The first half, published previously, challenged the purported benefits of rural land ownership and self-sufficiency, as well as the notion that life is much cheaper in the countryside. The second, translated below, discusses the limits of traditional frugality and the dibao social safety net. It investigates the political and social forces obstructing communication between countryside and city, and explains how Zhou, Peng and others are working to restore it.
How China’s Urban Youth Are Stitching Their Way to Peace of Mind With the Rise of Crochet (May 9, 2026, The World of Chinese)
In China’s high-pressure cities, young people are turning to crochet to slow down and heal, but as the hobby booms, some fear commercialization is unraveling its quiet appeal.
Humans Distilled: When Coworkers Become Codes (May 11, 2026, The World of Chinese)
But Zhang’s “cyber resurrection (赛博复活 sàibó fùhuó)” has raised a new set of questions: Is it ethical to monetize the dead or, in a more critical turn of phrase coined by netizens, perform this kind of “cyber tomb raiding (赛博盗墓 sàibó dàomù)?” Should a person’s knowledge and experience be extracted, replicated, and continuously reused after they’re gone?
Economics / Trade / Business
Why Gen Z Is Abandoning Beijing for Greener Fields Elsewhere in China (May 9, 2026, South China Morning Post)
Online content writer Phoebe Zhao is packing her bags to leave Beijing after two years in the Chinese capital. But the 26-year-old is not heading back to her hometown in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province. She is opting instead to pursue postgraduate study in Shanghai, hoping it will serve as a springboard to career opportunities in the surrounding Yangtze River Delta.
The Shadowy Network of Chinese Oil Refineries Funding Iran (May 11, 2026, CNN)
A few hundred miles from where Chinese leader Xi Jinping will roll out the red carpet for President Donald Trump this week, a shadowy ecosystem has long been at work pumping billions of dollars into Iran’s economy—now helping keep Tehran afloat in defiance of the US. These are the ports, pipelines, and oil refineries of Shandong province and its borderlands, where the hulking architecture of oil storage tanks and spindly profiles of smokestacks jut up from barren, coastal flatlands. Here, so-called “teapot refineries”—small, independent oil companies that operate with the permission of Beijing— quietly process US-sanctioned Iranian crude into gas, diesel and petrochemicals for the world’s second largest economy.
Arts / Entertainment / Media
Translation: The Decade-long Death of a Campus Media Outlet (Part One) (May 5, 2026, China Digital Times)
Last month, a former contributor to the Beijing Normal University student media outlet 京师学人 (Jīngshī Xuérén, “Capital Scholar”) noted that its WeChat public account had been deregistered. Although updates had halted in 2023, the account and its content—more than 600 existing articles—had remained online, and “The Snowman” (雪人 Xuěrén, a pun on 学人 Xuérén) was warmly remembered as an eccentric campus institution and a training ground for emerging journalism students. News of its final demise prompted reflection and criticism online.
Song Dynasty: Ancient Poets Find New Fans on China’s Music Apps (May 7, 2026, Sixth Tone)
From the Tang dynasty’s Li Bai (701–762) to the Song dynasty’s Su Shi (1037–1101), China’s ancient poets are staging an unlikely comeback—as pop stars. Famous poets are increasingly listed as artists on domestic music platforms such as NetEase Music and Tencent Music, complete with profile pages resembling those of modern musicians. And like their contemporaries, they have attracted thousands of followers.
Silence for Sale (May 11, 2026, China Media Project)
Early last year, as the initial public offering of his company in Zhejiang approached, an executive received a disturbing communication from a financial social media account. It contained a list of damaging claims about his company and invited him to respond to prevent the publication of a damning expose. He reached out to the account, and in the end agreed to pay just over 4,000 dollars to make the problem disappear.
An Indie Drama About Leaving China Finds an Audience at Home (May 12, 2026, Sixth Tone)
A film about the life, traditions, and emotional landscape of the Chaoshan region in southern China has struck a chord with viewers for its moving portrayal of local culture and familial bonds.
Health / Environment
One Chinese Town’s Fight Against the Desert Attracts Thousands (May 6, 2026, Sixth Tone)
Volunteers from across China have flocked to a remote northwestern town to join a viral anti-desertification campaign to plant more than 1 million saplings. Starting February, more than 30,000 volunteers have traveled at their own expense to Minqin County in the northwestern Gansu province to participate in the initiative, dubbed “Plant a Tree in Minqin.” The strategy involves cultivating drought-resistant tree species, including saxaul, whitethorns, and licorice.
How Tibetans Became Eco-Guards of Asia’s Water Tower (May 6, 2026, Global Voices)
What is often overlooked is that the Tibetan communities sacrificed their pastoral livelihoods and gave up their settlements to create the national reserves and protect Asia’s water tower. Moreover, they have pioneered the now-institutionalized community co-management model to integrate their livelihoods with conservation needs with the help of domestic and international NGOs. Today, they are still standing on the frontline, protecting Asia’s essential water sources for billions of people along the three rivers.
Science / Technology
What Critics Get Wrong about China’s Digital Silk Road (May 6, 2026, The Diplomat)
The Standard Western critique of China’s Digital Silk Road (DSR) runs as follows: Beijing exports surveillance technology and authoritarian governance norms to developing countries under the guise of digital development, creating technological dependencies that serve Chinese strategic interests at the expense of local populations and global digital freedom. It’s a compelling narrative. It is also incomplete.
Travel / Food
Traveling to China (May 11, 2026, ChinaSource)
Many in our community of readers used to live in China or travel there often and, for a variety of reasons, haven’t returned for several years. Some are considering making a trip and wondering what traveling to and in China is like in the post-COVID era. Earlier this spring, I had the chance to travel to China. What follows are my observations, gleanings, and tips. They are based on my experiences during a nine-day visit that saw me in two cities: Shanghai and Zhengzhou, Henan.
Books
‘What Do You Need This Face to Do for You?’ (May 8, 2026, ChinaFile)
In her new graphic memoir Names and Faces, comic artist Leise Hook illustrates a story of identity, exploring “the in-betweenness of being mixed-race.” Hook relates memories from her childhood, growing up in Michigan, Virginia, and for one year in Japan, with a Chinese mother and a white father, and then on her own as an adult in Beijing and New York. She weaves together her artistic journey with her search for self-understanding. And she interrogates the assumptions people make about her identity, and those she has made herself.
Events
Conference: Nourishing Trust and Friendship: Following the Way of Christ (United States – China Catholic Association)
Join us for the 30th Biennial Conference of the US-China Catholic Association.
Dates: July 31–August 2, 2026
Location: University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX
Opportunity
Invitation to Lead GoLiveServe into Our Next Chapter (Go Live Serve)
The Board of GLS is beginning the search for our next Executive Director. We invite you to join us in prayer and to share this opportunity with those who may be called. GLS warmly invites visionary leaders to take our organization into an exciting new season of growth and impact. For 35 years, we have been a pioneer in bi‑vocational (aka tentmaking) mission. As we look ahead, we are seeking a leader who will bring spiritual depth, strategic insight, and relational wisdom to our community. Building on our strength, this leader will take our ministry across Asia and the Middle East in collaboration with global partners.
Location: US‑based
Website: www.goliveserve.org
Contact: [email protected]
Pray for China
May 14 (Pray For China: A Walk Through History)
On May 14, 1941, missionary educator Wilhelmina “Minnie” Vautrin (华群) died in the United States after 28 years of service in China. Vautrin was the acting president of Ginling Women’s College in Nanjing when the Japanese military attacked in December 1937. Her role in protecting thousands of Chinese refugees has been memorialized by a statue on the college campus and a tribute in the city’s museum; however, the trauma of the attack resulted in her ending her own life. Pray for embattled Christians to rest on God’s promise to carry and deliver them. Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save. Isaiah 46:4
Activating Prayer for China (February 23, 2026, ChinaSource)
Prayer 2026: Off the Beaten Path (January 1, 2026, China Partnership)
Praying Through the ChinaSource Journal (October 13, 2025, ChinaSource)
Praying Through ZGBriefs (August 29, 2025, ChinaSource)
Operation World (April 21, 2025, ChinaSource)
Pray for China (prayforchina.us)
Prayer Walking as a Rhythm of Life (May 30, 2025, ChinaSource)