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Can China Actually Go Green?
China’s environmental strides came out of the clash between grassroots activists and the state, argues a new book by a Chinese journalist. But now that...
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Stranger Than Life
We recommend five Chinese-language books that draw on real-life experiences, from an LGBTQ short story collection to a reality-TV inspired novel.
The Perfect Dictatorship?
A new book argues that “smart authoritarianism” enabled China's economic growth while keeping draconian control over its society. But is it really possible for the...
Awards Ceremony for the 2026 Winners
Journalist Barbara Demick and translator Michael Berry talk about their winning books "Daughters of the Bamboo Grove" and "The Running Flame," at our prize ceremony.
China and the Mediterranean
The Middle Kingdom and the Middle Sea have had contact for millennia. Two books explore how China has viewed the Mediterranean, and the state of...
Frank Dikötter on the Rise of the Party
The historian talks about the early days of the Chinese Communist Party, and how they prevailed in 1949, in a China Books Review book talk...
Tiananmen in Fiction
After 37 years, the Tiananmen Square protests and crackdown of 1989 have been preserved in novels as much as in memory. But does the Anglophone...
Ep. 33: Murder in Hong Kong with Simon Elegant
The Hong Kong-born novelist and journalist talks us through his new novel "City on Fire," a whodunnit thriller set against the 2019 protests.
China’s Workers’ Literature Revival
Once a socialist genre beloved of Mao, laborers’ or “battler” literature has seen a revival in the era of the gig economy. Two new books...
Xu Zhiyuan on Chinese Intellectuals
A journalist, author, bookstore owner and vlogger talks about the legacy of Liang Qichao, the changing nature of China’s intellectual scene, and whether studying history...
Love is a Losing Game
A new documentary on young Chinese men’s romantic struggles shows the underbelly of a society where the winners take all.
Endymion Wilkinson’s China Bookshelf
The sinologist and former diplomat walks us through his teak-wood bookshelves on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand, and recommends five books out of...
