Silvia Torriti

China is the world's largest producer and consumers of tobacco, with 300 million smokers and over a million deaths per year. Dozens of provincial divisions have already tightened regulations, and the “Healthy China 2030” plan aims to reduce adult smokers to 20%. For months, Shanghai has been experimenting with bans even in outdoor sensitive areas. Meanwhile, civic activism is growing, and students are also pushing for smoke-free campuses.

Thanks to climate change, the race to uphold local beauty standards that require fair skin is taking on new forms in China, such as the ever-increasing popularity of clothing and accessories that allow full-body coverage (including the face) without the need for sunscreen, both on the beach and in the city.

The rapidly growing market is driven primarily by younger generations seeking to fill the emotional void of a society where fewer children are born.

More and more young workers in Chinese cities are taking advantage of the weekend to travel outside the country at least once a month. Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and Russia are the most popular destinations, but some are even venturing overseas on gruelling tours with very tight schedules.

With China’s demographic crisis deepening, local authorities are ramping up subsidies and even sending mass text messages to promote marriage and family planning among young people. Yet results remain poor: in the first three months of 2025, marriages dropped by a further 8%. Rather than turning to government-backed dating apps and websites, young single Chinese prefer using video chats to find a potential partner.

On the occasion of the conclave, the Chinese Catholic website has retraced the historical origins of the term jiaohuang, used to refer to the Pope. It was first introduced by the great missionary Giulio Aleni in his 1623 geography treatise Record of Foreign Lands. More recently, however, the Catholic community has also begun promoting the term jiaozong, which is seen as more aligned with the spiritual role of the successor of Peter.

Nine hours of lessons a day plus homework in the evening, parental expectations, anxiety about the gaokao, the exam that opens the doors to the best universities. A recent study reveals the widespread feeling of never being good enough. The toll of the long years of the ‘one-child policy’ is also evident in the relational difficulties of today's teenagers.

Just one month after the launch of the new ‘made in China’ artificial intelligence prototype, municipalities and government officials are competing to adopt it in their offices. It is considered an important step forward in the realisation of so-called ‘smart cities’.

While not renouncing tradition, Generation Z is making significant changes in the way they celebrate the holiday these days. From ‘reverse trips’ to invite their parents to the cities where they work to new digital consumption.

During the festivities, local authorities predicted a 9.5% increase in flows in and out of the country compared to 2024. Airlines have increased flights, and the fourth runway at Guangzhou airport has been inaugurated. On the domestic tourism front, 9 billion rail journeys are expected.

The authorities continue to claim that the target of GDP growth of ‘around 5%’ driven by electric car exports will be met in the year to come. But discontent remains widespread and even the anti-corruption crackdown in the Party is fuelling paralysis especially among senior cadres. While worrying analyses by two well-known Chinese economists have been taken off social media.

The International City of Commerce in the south-eastern province of Zhejiang is the place of origin of most of the Christmas decorations sold these weeks all over the world. A gigantic 6.4 million square metre wholesale market open seven days a week for traders from all over the world who are arriving en masse again in 2024.