Round Table China
China Plus
300 episodes
Round Table is a premier English radio/podcast show, straight from Beijing. Hear what's buzzing on the Internet and the main streets, see the latest lifestyle trends, and feel the pulse of life in China, Round Table is your golden ticket. With dynamic cultural exchanges between hosts from diverse backgrounds, we take you on a journey deep into modern China. We invite you to join our conversation! Shoot us an email or a voice memo at roundtablepodcast@qq.com. Let the fun begin!
Episodes page 2 of 6
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The apartment complex campus problem
Living on campus has long been a standard part of university life in China, but that is now starting to change. Instead of staying within campus walls, many students are moving into residential buildings, as…
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WorldSkills in Shanghai
In Shanghai this week, the WorldSkills Competition has brought together around 1,400 young competitors from 68 countries. They are repairing cars, programming drones, and working with a level of precision that comes…
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IN VIDEO: Nineteen rules that could change home care in China
Bringing someone into your home to clean or care for your family feels like a private arrangement. In China, it is also a thirty-million-person industry, one that has long run on informal deals, unclear hours, and…
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He delivered food, then made history
Deep in the Italian Alps lies a course so punishing that it has broken some of the world's best athletes. This year, it was conquered by Zhao Jiaju, a Chinese runner who once delivered takeout for a living. A year…
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Behind schools' phone bans
China is pushing harder to remove phones from classrooms, and a new Chongqing regulation marks a notable escalation. Schools there can now ban smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches, but this measure sits inside a…
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The Why: big tech's battle for keyboards
Every text you send, every search you run, every question you ask an AI passes through the same quiet piece of software beneath your fingertips, and it is watching all of it. In 2026, China's biggest tech companies are…
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China's first AI-BCI medical standard
China has now approved the world's first national standard for BCI medical devices that use AI to interpret brainwaves, setting rules for how brain data is collected and accessed. The question now is whether that…
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Bonus: Cooling vests
In 45-degree heat, air conditioning is a luxury millions can't reach, so researchers at the Beijing Institute of Technology are building something you wear instead. Round Table's Yushan sits down with Ji Wenjie and Fu…
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Nineteen new rules for home care
Bringing someone into your home to clean or care for your family feels like a private arrangement. In China, it is also a thirty-million-person industry, one that has long run on informal deals, unclear hours, and…
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When presentations become a party game
You walk into a room and find a stage waiting for you. Someone hands you a presentation you have never seen before. The slides make no sense, the crowd is waiting, and your only job is to keep talking. In Beijing,…
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The Hyrox Beijing incident
A competitor at HYROX Beijing left a bowel accident across the sleds, mats, and rowers, forcing the other athletes onto contaminated equipment. She still finished first. With no clear rule to handle it, the incident…
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China's new canal: the Pinglu Canal
China has just opened its first major canal since 1949. The Pinglu Canal stretches 134 kilometers and represents one of the most significant infrastructure projects in the country's modern history. What could this…
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IN VIDEO: Can you practice your way to survival?
Paying to get knocked around by fake hurricane winds. Wading through a flooded garage that's dry on the other side. Getting swept up in a man-made torrent. It sounds like something to avoid — until you realize people…
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Where do we draw the AI music line?
It sounded like a hit, it charted like a hit, and radio played it like a hit. There was just one catch. No human made it. Now Australia has become the first country to shut fully AI-generated music out of its official…
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China's new standards on kids' cosmetics
A little girl opens a treasure box and finds a tiny eyeshadow palette, a lipstick, and a blush. To her, it's a toy. To her parents, it's a question mark. China is about to tighten the rules on makeup made for kids aged…
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Seven gourds, one grandpa, and the price of going viral
It begins in a quiet corner of Shaoxing, on a balcony full of gourds, with an old man happy to wave at whoever shows up. It starts as the kind of story that makes you smile. Then the crowds get bigger, the cameras get…
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Generation Global EP8: Cooling vests
In 45-degree heat, air conditioning is a luxury millions can't reach, so researchers at the Beijing Institute of Technology are building something you wear instead. Round Table's Yushan sits down with Ji Wenjie and Fu…
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When being heard becomes a business
Across China, people are paying strangers for what friends used to give for free — a listener to vent to, or someone to offer custom compliments and rebuild confidence. Maybe connection isn't the problem. Maybe trust…
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From disaster simulation to real-life preparedness
Paying to get knocked around by fake hurricane winds. Wading through a flooded garage that's dry on the other side. Getting swept up in a man-made torrent. It sounds like something to avoid — until you realize people…
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CIFTIS 2026: when services and technology meet the city
The most interesting developments at this year's China International Fair for Trade in Services may be happening outside the venue. Beijing's western districts now have new waterfront spaces, routes and transport, all…
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Generation Global EP7: What BRICS means for you
BRICS is meeting in India this week, and the group has grown well beyond its original five economies. Trade, technology, climate and jobs keep expanding the agenda, but a simpler question lingers: does any of it reach…
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IN VIDEO: The 60,000 km path to discovery
China's highways were once built for function alone. But a new 60,000-kilometer national plan is now tailoring routes specifically for road trips, threading together the Great Wall, the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, and…
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The Soapbox: the ninety-minute lunch uproar
A bank in Hubei decided to close for ninety minutes each afternoon so staff could take a proper break. The public response was anything but calm. Office workers scrambled, elderly customers voiced frustration, and…
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Shenzhen's school uniforms back in focus
The back-to-school season has long meant overpriced uniforms and endless waiting, but Shenzhen offers a different model. Parents buy standard school shirts at corner stores, supermarkets, or through delivery apps for…
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Freshmen, friends, and the fear of fitting in
A new generation just arrived on campus, and they are rewriting the rules of friendship. They scroll with confidence but clam up in person. They crave connection, yet keep everyone at arm's length. From social anxiety…
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The subway that erases provincial borders
You live in one city and work in another, and the only thing standing between you and your desk is an hour long crawl through traffic, until now. Beijing's newest subway line does not stop at the city line. It keeps…
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The 2026 gray zone of modern romance
In a relationship, we used to know what crossed the line. Now it is a hidden text, a dating app you are still on, or a friend your partner has never heard of. A new survey of 2,000 people reveals just how blurry the…
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The 60,000 km path to discovery
China's highways were once built for function alone. But a new 60,000-kilometer national plan is now tailoring routes specifically for road trips, threading together the Great Wall, the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, and…
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The internet cafe 2.0
The old internet cafe is dead. Dim lights, sticky floors, and cheap instant noodles are gone. In their place are sleek lounges with premium seating, gourmet food, private pods, and showers. These new spaces are just as…
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Train hard, heal harder
We are more active than ever, but our bodies are paying the price. A fitness boom is fueling a massive surge in sports rehabilitation, from boutique clinics to high-tech recovery tools. The business of healing is…
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IN VIDEO: Where East meets the Arab world
China and Egypt, two ancient civilizations, share deep cultural and historical roots. Today, a new generation is building on that foundation through culture, business, trade, and technology. CGTN podcast Round Table's…
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Generation Global: where East meets the Arab world
China and Egypt, two ancient civilizations, share deep cultural and historical roots. Today, a new generation is building on that foundation through culture, business, trade, and technology. Round Table's Yushan sat…
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The CD comeback: a feel-good music industry story
Vinyl gets all the attention, but CDs are actually the ones growing faster, and it's not nostalgic collectors buying them. It's a generation that grew up streaming everything and never owned a CD player in their life.…
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When science class gets real
Forget the textbook. This fall, science class in China begins outside, where students are running real experiments, hitting real dead ends, and rethinking their approach when things do not go as planned. The goal is…
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China Finds: how a compass shapes a culture
In Chinese, the cardinal directions are woven into everyday language in ways that often go unnoticed. Ordinary expressions carry traces of an older worldview, one that assigned meaning to every point on the horizon.…
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AI for everyone, one class at a time
A new divide is emerging in China between those who know how to use AI and those who don't. Office workers are adapting quickly, but what about the street vendor, the retiree, or someone who's never touched a computer?…
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Can culture keep you young?
A new study suggests that regular museum visits and theater outings could slow the biological aging process. The idea is enticing because it requires no prescriptions and no gym time. But researchers are still working…
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Why does everyone suddenly want to go to trade school?
China's top Gaokao scorers are now choosing vocational undergraduate programs over elite universities, drawn by higher starting salaries and job security in an automated economy. The surge in popularity is a clear sign…
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Do you "pre-prepare" your kids for school?
A two-month summer break sounds like freedom. But for many children in China, it comes with a new set of assignments: previewing lessons, completing workbooks, and preparing for the semester ahead. Parents see it as a…
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One-person companies, small-town dreams
Solo founders are leaving China's biggest cities for county towns, where the cost of living is a fraction of what they paid. AI has made location less relevant, and smaller counties are wroking to attract these…
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IN VIDEO: Why China is scrapping its titles
For years, a shouted slogan at one of China's most popular restaurant chains made a single chef a household name. Then this summer, it disappeared overnight. Across industries, thousands of so-called masters are…
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Is reading dying? Spoiler: it's complicated
The obituaries for reading are written every week. Young people scroll past books, grades dip, professors mourn a lost age of deep thought. But the data refuses to cooperate with the gloom. In some corners of the…
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The second World Humanoid Robot Games
At the World Humanoid Robot Games, machines run, dance, fight, and even play football. The spectacle is futuristic, but watching them compete is as awkward as it is impressive. For every graceful motion, there is a…
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The Soapbox: Are you a "Lao Deng" yet?
A single word, a former boss, and a social media post that changed everything. What started as a personal grievance quickly turned into a legal fight, but the real story is not about the word itself. It is about who…
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The story of your ice cup
The ice cup market in China is heating up in more ways than one. As consumers develop a taste for clearer, slower melting ice in their iced coffee and other chilled beverages, a wave of new players has rushed in to…
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Master of none: why China is scrapping its titles
For years, a shouted slogan at one of China's most popular restaurant chains made a single chef a household name. Then this summer, it disappeared overnight. Across industries, thousands of so-called masters are…
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A moment to pause
No new episode of Round Table in your feed today. We're pausing briefly because we're cooking up something special behind the scenes, and we can't wait to share it with you soon! We'll be back on schedule tomorrow. In…
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Lights, camera, YOU!
A working film set opens its doors to the public, and the result is more than just a quirky day out. Visitors suit up, follow a director's lead, and walk away with their own short film. It feels like a fun escape, but…
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China's 2026 guide to romance
It's Qixi season in China, and love is in the air in ways you might not expect. Couples are celebrating everywhere from city parks to cruise ships, while a new generation is finding connection through apps, algorithms,…
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Kids, chores, and why dad doesn't see the laundry
You ask your kid to help clean up and they look around like there's nothing to do. It's not attitude, but a glimpse into something researchers call cognitive labor, the invisible load of noticing what needs to be done…
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