Chaoyang Trap

China Dreams of Electric Words

The curious case of the “Electronic Dictionary”: BBK master race + dither punk sinofuturism + playdating for two decades + homebrew tamagotchi

S02 Episode 7

NSFW S02 Episode 7: Horny on Mainland

Pornography in China: desiring the potato queens + erotic-cultural imperialism + porn stars as teachers + smut hooliganism

S02 Episode 6

Shaxian Can't Be Fucked With

We investigate the Shen Yun of fast food joints, the dollar pizza of urban China, the country's favorite drunk carb fix: Shaxian Delicacies.

S02 Episode 6

Putting the Hack in Hakka Noodles

Pizza dough radicals + The secret history of Shaxian Foods + “a very sad flowchart” + the Chongqing noodle gentrification theory

Rewilding

Rewilding #3: Rear Waves

An evolving dictionary of the Chinese web: Receding dreams + cut chives + positive energy orgies + Chinese youth react to daddy vibes

S02 Episode 5

Assassin’s Screed

“No hookups, yes Jubensha” + more Sleep No More + a history of escape rooms in China + the revolutionary potential of bad endings

S02 Episode 4

The Cloud in Sally Rooney's Room

Is Sally Rooney the undeniably universal millennial experience as the rest of the world claims? Jaime interviews Na Zhong, the Simplified Chinese translator of Sally Rooney’s three novels to date, to find out

S02 Episode 4

The Zine and the Unseen

Why China’s fashion magazines are losing their edge + class over sass + “Capitalism sucks for everyone”

Rewilding

Rewilding #2: Wind Vents & Flying Pigs

In Part 2 of a new series, we discuss Flying Pigs and 风口-pop philosophy.

S02 Episode 3

The Any% History of Nintendo in China

The iQue is worth remembering not just as a failed experiment but a big “what if” moment in China’s gaming history.

S02 Episode 3

Flashing for Fun and No Profit

What if China's Flash games carry not just a glow of nostalgia, but “possible dormant futures that have merely been deferred”?

Rewilding

Rewilding #1: Boundary Ball

Part 1 of a new series: an evolving dictionary of the Chinese internet. A close-up on the words that grow in the labyrinthine swamp of online life in China.

S02 Episode 2

All Steamed Up

A look into the multilayered dynamics, between creators and users, regulators and gamers, and the “local” and “foreign” on Steam.

S02 Episode 1

Between ROC and a Hard Place

This episode is about Taiwan’s influence on Chinese music. How it’s shaped Chinese pop culture even as its origins are deliberately obscured or denied.

S01 Episode 9

Wanghong Vibe Check

Wanghong city starter pack inside

S01 Episode 8

(Chinese) Dudes Rock

Nihilistic self-improvement + Tinder guy reacts to Feminism + The Virgin/Chad/Speedrunner spectrum

S01 Episode 7

“Bee Mystery” [Citation Needed]

If it’s longer than 50 words, you can almost guarantee the Wikipedia entry for nearly any Chinese county, district or small city is weird.

S01 Episode 7

The Magical Realism of SpongeBob Slippers

“The bricolage of senior-citizen fashion subverts the platform logic of influencer marketing.” Or, put another way, how SpongeBob slippers can be a symbol of the revolution.

S01 Episode 6

Is YimaoRen Okay? Is Anyone Okay?

Chatting with co-creator Maomao about the sticker’s pandemic origins, choatic process, and McDonald’s collabs.

S01 Episode 6

Lurk. Shitpost. Hustle. Repeat.

A Fuyan-kuma sticker pack is somewhere between experimental narrative comic, flash poetry, mood board, and meme.

S01 Episode 5

King of Fairy Tales, King of Posts

China’s “king of fairy tales” doesn’t write much about unicorns and mermaids—rather, most of his writings are interspersed with social commentary and political critique, cleverly veiled for a young audience.

S01 Episode 5

Two-Way Mirror

After Chinese TV drama The Untamed (陈情令, “CQL”) took the world by storm in 2019, international fans clamored for all kinds of adjacent media: the original novel and all its adaptations, endless thirst-feeding interviews, and reality show appearances by actors promoting a drama.

S01 Episode 5

“ZQSG for YYDS”: How Idol Fans are Made

From “international idol group” to Big Yoghurt democracy.

S01 Episode 3

Xiao Hai Goes to RMB City

The first thing Xiao Hai (小海) mentioned when we met up was that one time he slept on a bench outside UCCA in the summer of 2016, when he first arrived in Beijing. He didn’t have a place to stay at the time, but he wanted to do something with art.

S01 Episode 3

When Professor Notices You: Why Is China’s Ryuichi Sakamoto Fandom So Weird?

Sakamoto has inspired a highly specific kind of adulation, which, when closely examined, reveals gaps in China’s own music industry. But if Sakamoto is the Professor, what has China’s music scene learned from him?