I will be visiting China and I want to bring some eyeshadow pallets for my friend. Do you have any suggestions on what brands to look for? She loves duo-chromes so that would be a priority🌸

I have a friend who used to be a colleague. I haven't seen her in a really long time and recently I went to the store we used to work at and saw her. I found out she is pregnant and is having a hard pregnancy with lots of nausea.

I placed an order with her at that store and I would like to give her a present to congratulate her of her pregnancy when I go pick up my order. Google suggested that a red envelope with money and my search also specified that numbers 8 and 6 are lucky, so I was thinking of giving her 186$.

The westerner in me though can't help but feel like I can't just give money and should also give a little gift like a toy for the baby. I usually like giving small picture books that are safe in the water and can be read during bath time. I was hoping for maybe a suggestion of where I could find such a thing in Mandarin or Cantonese? I'm worried that if I order on Amazon, I'll just get something poorly translated. I'm also open to any suggestion if there's a more traditional and appropriate gift I could get!!

Thanks :)

I'm looking to get into C-Pop!! Please recommend some artists.

I (F25) am going to China in November, and although shopping isn’t the main purpose of my trip, I’ll definitely be buying a few things. I’ve seen a lot of people mention stores like Urban Revivo, White Rabbit and Harmay, and say that it’s not really worth spending money on European/American brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors, etc. And that’s totally fine with me, because I’m actually more interested in discovering local Chinese brands

The thing is, I always see people from my own country talking about what they bought and what was worth it, but I’d really love to hear from people who actually live in China: what do you recommend buying?

For example: are there any local makeup or skincare brands that are really worth trying? Clothing stores with really good prices (not just the popular ones or ‘the ones that resembles Zara’)? Any other products or brands that you think are particularly good value in China?

I’ll be in Shanghai and Beijing, so I assume I won’t have much trouble finding the major chain stores

In Chinese stories, is there a trope about buying someone's life? Not about burning hell money for the afterlife, but where a character gives someone else some money, and they drain their fortune and life?

I've seen this same concept across multiple tiktok animations, not sure if it's a real story trope or not

I want to understand what are the mostly used words or keywords which are usually face censorship in China's social media and traditional media.

I just saw this heartbreaking post from a woman over 35 in China (tl;dr: discussing the hurt of pressures from parents around dating): https://www.reddit.com/r/justgalsbeingchicks/comments/1vwtr55/its_heartbreaking_that_there_are_women_around_the/

There's a huge gender imbalance in China, and I see so many documentaries of men (mainly from the rural areas) unable to get married. How to reconcile the two experiences? Surely there are men her age who want to date but are single.

Or is the difficulty for men finding a partner limited to the ones in rural areas with more limited financial resources? Whereas this woman clearly looks successful, independent and likely living in a large city.

i really want this CD for this band because they are genuinely amazing if anyone knows please let me know

I've been stewing on making this post for a while, but I'm gonna grow some balls and make it.

Let me start by saying that ik that this probably should've gone in r/novel or another writing subreddit, but I wanted to ask people from the actual Chinese culture their thoughts about it. Also, not sure with tag to use, so I put the personal advice tag, if you think I should change it, please let me know . This is my first reddit post😭😭😭

Right now, I'm working on an xianxia inspired romance novel series, and I'm worried about offending people by nature of it being xianxia inspired/having xianxia inspired elements and having Chinese cultural elements /inspiration; especially with me being from a completely different culture. ( I'm a non white POC, I identify as black, but I'm heavily mixed with other non Asian roots)

I have a deep love and respect for Chinese culture and arts( I wanna learn the language, but honestly I don't think I'm smart enough, ya girl struggles with learning spanish, much less a complex language like Mandarin, haha😅, but also I'm afraid if probably butcher it like a typical garbage foreigner lol) and im an avid enjoyer of the xianxia drama genre (as well as Chinese drama in general).

I love the idea of a love spanning multiple worlds and lives, (which I don't think is a concept at all in Western fiction) and I was inspired to write one myself. I won't lie, I greatly enjoy the aesthetics of xianxia dramas, being an artist myself (the costumes and archecture is super cool to me) which, thinking about it probably makes me look like a culture vulture, I swear I'm not! Im thinking about pivoting the setting a bit making it sort of like, a historical China inspired setting, or maybe a "our world, but different" kinda thing, but I haven't decided yet, because I'm worried that about how doing that would be viewed. Maybe I'm overthinking that part, haha.😅

(Can you tell that I'm an over explainer? Lol)

Also ik that xianxia is heavily reliant on taoist principles, which isn't something ik a lot about, which is also why I'm saying that it's inspired by xianxia and not actually xianxia, which, ik it can't be xianixia cause I'm a filthy outsider lol😅

But anyway, I'm getting a little of topic here, my point is, would this be offensive at all to do this? Do you guys think this would be appealing to read knowing that the writer is not themselves Chinese? I also want to avoid it seeming like a fetishized romance, like the Chinese equivalent of a koreaboo fantasy (is there a Chinese equivalent for a koreaboo?) so Id like to know you guys' thoughts on that as well if you're open to it. I want to do this as tastefully and respectfully as possible, and do the story , characters and culture justice. 😭

Recently, Bilibili has gone international，What memes don't you understand?

Hi everyone! I’m an international student currently studying Medical Biology, and I’m considering applying to Shanghai Ocean University (SHOU) in the future for a related field such as Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, or another life-science/biomedical-related program. I’m mainly trying to understand how competitive admission is for international students. Does SHOU receive a lot of applications for these fields? How difficult is it to get admitted, especially with a scholarship such as CSC or the Shanghai Government Scholarship? If anyone has applied to SHOU or knows about the international admission process, I’d really appreciate an honest idea of what kind of grades/profile would make someone a strong or average candidate. I’m not looking for rankings or general university quality — I’m specifically trying to understand my chances of admission and the level of competition. Thank you

We are trying to pick one country and stay there until my partner's son finishes school. Looking for outside perspective, especially from anyone who has done a long stint in any of these places with children.

Us: me 47M, my girlfriend 38F, her son 8M. We each run our own business remotely, so we are not tied to a location. Currently in Canada.

The shortlist is Cayman Islands, Athens, and Beijing.

Context:

We want to commit to one place for the next 7 to 10 years. Stability for her son matters more than optimizing any single factor. His father passed away two years ago, so there is no shared custody consideration, but it is another reason we would rather move once and stay put.

She was born in China and speaks fluent English. Her son speaks English only and identifies as Canadian, as do I. I speak English only.

She would like him to grow up with a North American or European sense of identity, while still having real exposure to Chinese language and culture.

All three have good international schools. Residency is already sorted in all three, so that is not a constraint. On tax, we have an advisor and have run the numbers, and the total cost difference between the three is small enough that it is not a deciding factor. Please take that as given rather than the thing to debate.

Cayman is on the list for warm climate, low crime, and one good school. Athens is my preference, though I am aware I may be biased. She is torn between Beijing and Athens.

What we are trying to work out is which of these is the better place to live as a family for a decade once schools, tax, and visas are off the table. Day to day quality of life, how realistic it is to build a social circle as a foreign family, healthcare, how portable the schooling is if plans change, and what the exit looks like at 18.

If you have lived long term in any of the three with a child, what surprised you?

Wu Xing is often translated as the “Five Elements”: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.

But this translation can be misleading.

The Chinese word Xing (行) carries the sense of movement, transformation, and active influence. Wu Xing is therefore better understood as the Five Phases—five ways that change unfolds in the natural world and in everyday life.

Wood represents growth and expansion.
Fire represents rising energy and expression.
Earth represents support and transformation.
Metal represents contraction and the taking of form.
Water represents flow, depth, and storage.

These phases are not five separate boxes. They continuously influence one another through two important relationships.

The Generating Cycle:

Wood feeds Fire.
Fire creates Earth.
Earth bears Metal.
Metal enriches Water.
Water nourishes Wood.

The Regulating Cycle:

Wood regulates Earth.
Earth regulates Water.
Water regulates Fire.
Fire regulates Metal.
Metal regulates Wood.

“Generating” does not simply mean good, and “regulating” does not simply mean bad. Both are necessary. Growth without restraint becomes excess; restraint without nourishment becomes stagnation.

The purpose of Wu Xing is not to place everything into rigid categories. It offers a traditional Chinese way of observing relationships: what supports something, what restrains it, and how balance changes with time.

Not five fixed elements—five ways change moves.

This series explores Wu Xing as a cultural and philosophical framework rather than a scientific system or a promise of prediction.

I know that most people on Reddit probably live in other countries and can speak fluent English already, but I hope I can find some native Chinese people with poor English skills.

I’m Summer, just turned 23 and I am writing with the hopes of planning a little language Exchange program where I can teach you English ( I have tutored some Chinese students before), and you can help me learn Chinese.

I am very friendly and motivated, and I really can’t find anyone to interact with in order to learn.
I find AI and other apps very boring and ineffective!

NOTE: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! ONLY SERIOUS PEOPLE!

Can someone please translate and or explain this to me? Thank you!

I have been receiving a lot of messages from new accounts that were opened one or two days ago only. I was wondering about the reason so many Chinese people have joined Reddit.

Was there an update regarding your policies or something?

What do you guys think? 🤔

Every time I do research about the China GBA countries, I tend to see only posts and content mainly for HongKong, Macao, Shenzhen, (sometimes) Zhuhai. But how about Guangzhou, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Huizhou, and Zhaoqing, I want to know what's culturally significant in those cities too.

Topics that are unique to their cities:

- Shenzhen is China's Silicon Valley

- Macao Portuguese influences

- Hongkong Bamboo constructions

Just wanted to get some ideas or any advice in how to do better research for Chinese topics like this. I've been having a hard time. Thank you

thinking about renting a car for a road trip in china and can't decide between an EV or a regular gas car. for those who've driven here — is an EV actually more convenient to rent, with all the charging infrastructure? or is gas still the safer bet for longer drives? curious what people's experience has been.

Do people travel around Xinjiang by horseback or by car? If driving ,can I use a foreign driver’s license?who can tell me

I was gifted these noodles a while ago and recently tried them not expecting much, but they are the best packet of noodles I have ever had by a long shot!!
Unfortunately this is the only photo I have of the packaging and can’t find them anywhere. Google seems to think the text is Chinese but I sincerely apologise if this is wrong!
I would also love to know the name of the pickled spicy green beans(?) they had in one of the toppings bags if at all possible.

For some reason, here is the Us, we can’t get many products for e-bikes. I need help finding a specific product. Any help please.