communities-subcultures
At 2,700 metres in the Hengduan Mountains of northwest Yunnan, the Mosuo people have spent several centuries solving a problem that currently preoccupies sociologists, therapists, and divorce lawyers across the post-industrial world: what happens when romantic love is an unstable foundation for a family? Their answer — refined over generations,
On the ground
Here is a fact that will rearrange something in your brain: in 2003, scientists unearthed the world's oldest cheese, not in France or Switzerland, but in China. Buried with mummies in the Tarim Basin of western China, a 3,600-year-old kefir-style fermented dairy product was pulled from a
On the ground
Pu'er, Dianhong, Green... Yunnan is tea country. The dark, earthy brick that sits quietly in specialty shops in London and Melbourne began life here, in the folds of southwest China — where the air itself feels faintly medicinal, and where the ground beneath your feet has been shaped by
China. Zested.
💡Long before it appeared on the itineraries of travellers, digital nomads, and curiosity hunters, Dali was the seat of an independent Buddhist kingdom, shaped by its own worldview and its own philosophy of power. Its legacy can still be read in the landscape today. The Three Pagodas rise just north
Turns out, they are not as random as you thought.
What a Misread Chinese Word Tells Us About AI-enabled Robots
Final Thoughts (for now)
This post is the investigative companion guide to “The Labubu File: A Chinese Toy Story” from the ‘Mandarin Unpeeled’ podcast. If you haven’t listened yet, I recommend starting there and following us for the full story. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe now Once upon a time, Popmart
The New Comfort Trend To Try?
👉🏼 This post is the investigative companion guide to “The Labubu File: A Chinese Toy Story” from the ‘Mandarin Unpeeled’ podcast. If you haven’t listened yet, I recommend starting there and following us for the full story. When you think of ‘cute’, the first word that comes to mind is
Come and Meet ‘Mess in the Wind’
![[Commercial mystery series] The Labubu File: A Chinese Toy Story](/content/images/size/w600/2026/02/ghariza-mahavira-BgcZs0I0dZs-unsplash.jpg)
What your news headline missed 🗞️🤯
Bizarre? Or pragmatic?
Your zesty shortcut to decoding China — beyond the headlines
The strategy playbook that China actually reads isn't the one on your shelf.
