Round Table China

A new trend is emerging across Chinese cities, where young people explore abandoned factories, unfinished buildings, and closed hospitals. They document these journeys online under labels like“urban ruins exploration,” championing a distinct“ruins aesthetics.”However, this popular pursuit is not without real danger. It raises urgent questions about safety, the pressures driving the trend, and what happens in spaces that exist beyond the reach of everyday oversight. / Is the "swag gap" killing relationships (14:41)? On the show: Niu Honglin, Steve & Yushan

What if we stopped grading students? This is no longer a hypothetical question. From primary schools in China to university classrooms in the United States, educators and policymakers are running a bold experiment. They are removing exams from the center of education to see what happens. If we change how we measure performance, will the real experience of learning finally improve? On the show: Niu Honglin, Steve & Yushan

Forget personal reading goals. This is about a national ambition. Imagine a government that sees its core job as clearing the path between you and a good book. This is the vision now driving China, transforming reading from a quiet hobby into a public project. We explore the reality of a society built for readers. / Motivational Monday (19:29). On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushun.

What if your car could legally say,“I'll take it from here?" China just crossed that threshold, issuing its first permits for conditional self-driving cars on public roads. But what does“conditional”actually mean for drivers—and what tough turns still lie ahead on the path to full autonomy? On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushun.

The distinctive scrape of skates carving ice now echoes in unexpected corners of China. From the tropical south to the northern heartland, a new generation is embracing hockey's grit and speed, recently celebrated in a historic championship sweep. This is a story of a sport on fast-forward: a nation attempting to skate the long journey from curious novelty to genuine contender in record time. / Round Table's Happy Place (21:35)! On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan

In a small county in China, a quiet revolution is reshaping a global jewelry industry. In Zhecheng, central China's Henan Province, lab-grown diamonds are produced at a fraction of the traditional cost. This phenomenon is a clear signal of how China's formidable local economies are becoming pivotal drivers of global markets. What does this county-level prowess mean for the future of global manufacturing and consumption patterns? On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan

The global push for carbon reduction is reshaping supply chains in unexpected ways. As aviation looks for viable paths to decarbonize, attention has turned to materials that already exist in everyday life. Waste, once treated as an endpoint, is increasingly viewed as a starting point. Used cooking oil is being elevated into a prized raw material in China as sustainable aviation fuel. Are environmental goals, industrial capacity, and global demand happily colliding here? / AI hits the streets: from sidewalks to startups (13:42). On the show: Niu Honglin, Laiming & Yushun

Hainan is making headlines these days, because of the island-wide special customs operations at Hainan Free Trade Port. Behind the policy language and tariff schedules, we ask a simpler question: how will this reform change people's daily life? For businesses, workers, investors, and residents, Hainan's customs transition is more than just about trade, but also cost, opportunities, mobility, and a new future for the island. On the show: Niu Honglin, Laiming & Yushun

The global erosion of oral traditions continues not for lack of value, but because modern life leaves little room for slow, spoken memory. As languages vanish and elders pass on, entire ways of understanding the world disappear with them. Yet, the revival of Yimakan, from near-extinction to international recognition, demonstrates a powerful alternative. It shows that cultural heritage can survive not by being frozen in the past, but by finding a vital place in the present. / The joy and benefit of being bad at something (17:27). On the show: Niu Honglin, Steve & Fei Fei

China's aging society is turning to an innovative solution. The Time Bank allows volunteers to earn care credits by helping others today, securing support for their own future needs. This model transforms neighborly help into a sustainable system. How is this modern mutual aid network redefining elder care? On the show: Niu Honglin, Steve & Fei Fei