Round Table China

Vacations used to mean crowded monuments and a camera roll full of proof you'd been somewhere. This summer, however, travelers are ditching the bucket list for deeper experiences like music festivals, traditional village stays, and hands-on cultural activities that leave a lasting impression. Why is tourism shifting from sightseeing to genuine connection, and how are cities and rural communities adapting to meet this new demand? On the show: Steve, Yushan & Yushun

A new survey asked young Chinese migrants what makes a city finally feel like home. The answers had less to do with money or apartments and more to do with something simpler: human connection. But for millions leaving home for school and work, building those bonds is often the hardest part. So what makes some places easier to call home than others? / A dead appliance. A knock on the door. For millions of people living alone in China, that moment can trigger more anxiety than the repair bill ever could. But when the person on the other side is a woman, something changes. All-female repair crews are quietly winning over customers across the country. Not because they fix things faster, but because they bring a sense of ease that starts before they even step inside (35:14). On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan

A new survey asked young Chinese migrants what makes a city finally feel like home. The answers had less to do with money or apartments and more to do with something simpler: human connection. But for millions leaving home for school and work, building those bonds is often the hardest part. So what makes some places easier to call home than others? / A dead appliance. A knock on the door. For millions of people living alone in China, that moment can trigger more anxiety than the repair bill ever could. But when the person on the other side is a woman, something changes. All-female repair crews are quietly winning over customers across the country. Not because they fix things faster, but because they bring a sense of ease that starts before they even step inside. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan

Two Chinese mathematicians just won math's highest honor in the same ceremony, a first for China. One was a prodigy since childhood. The other found math by accident in a small town. Together they cracked problems that stumped the world for generations, including one unsolved for over a century. Two opposite paths led to the same summit on one historic night. On the show: Steve, Yushan & Yushun

That greenish-gray spot on your garlic isn't just an annoying kitchen moment, it's a warning sign. This year, erratic weather in China, source of most of the world's garlic, threw the entire growing cycle off balance, and the results are showing up in kitchens everywhere. We dig into what a single moldy clove reveals about a changing planet, and what it means for the food on all our plates. On the show: Steve, Yushan & Yushun

We tend to look for great art in quiet libraries and university halls. But the literary world just got turned upside down by a man who spends his days weaving through traffic. At 56 years young, a food delivery rider has won one of China's most prestigious literary awards. Not in spite of his job, but because of it. On the show: Steve, Yushan & Yushun

It is summertime, and the box office is heating up. Theaters are packed with everything from big-budget spectacles to quiet dramas and domestic hits sitting right alongside international blockbusters. Audiences are voting with their wallets, and the results are not quite what anyone expected. On the show: Steve, Yushan & Yushun

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We have all asked AI for a recommendation, to polish an email, or to diagnose a strange symptom. It is useful and fast, and lately it has become our first stop for answers. Then a story broke out of China about a journalist with a press card and an AI that got it dangerously wrong. Have we stopped questioning the machine? / Vinyl is alive and kicking (16:20)! On the show: Steve, Yushan & Yushun

For over a thousand years, one Chinese city transformed clay into treasures so coveted that kings demanded them, empires tried to copy them, and the material itself became synonymous with the nation that made it. Now, that extraordinary legacy has earned Jingdezhen a spot on UNESCO's World Heritage List. On the show: Steve, Yushan & Yushun