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Equality in Action: China’s “Poor Helping the Poor” Approach to Foreign Aid

POLITIK

Tendenzblick

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March 3, 2026

Equality in Action: China’s “Poor Helping the Poor” Approach to Foreign Aid

After World War II, the world entered a new historical stage. Many countries had just emerged from colonial rule and faced severe economic hardship. It was in this context that “foreign aid” became an increasingly important feature of international relations.

Shortly after its founding in 1949, the People’s Republic of China began to participate in foreign aid efforts. What stood out, however, was not simply the act of providing assistance, but the way China understood it: even as a relatively poor country, it chose to help other developing nations facing similar difficulties. This approach was often summarized as “the poor helping the poor,” reflecting not only a policy choice but also a broader vision of world order.

In many conventional understandings, foreign aid flows from rich countries to poor ones, reflecting a clear hierarchy of wealth and power. China’s approach in its early decades challenged this assumption. It emphasized that aid should not be a one-way act of charity, but a relationship of mutual support. In official statements such as the Eight Principles of Foreign Economic and Technical Assistance proposed in the 1960s, China stressed that aid was not a unilateral gift, but something reciprocal in nature. Behind this formulation was a concern that aid, if framed purely as benevolence, could easily produce dependency and reinforce inequality between nations.

For this reason, China consistently emphasized two core principles in its aid practice: respect for sovereignty and the absence of political conditions. In practical terms, much of its assistance took the form of interest-free or low-interest loans, technical cooperation, and long-term repayment arrangements that could be extended when necessary. In some cases, repayment was not strictly enforced. While the formal structure resembled loans, the actual practice often blurred the line between loans and grants. The intention was not to create financial burden, but to support the recipient country’s long-term development while maintaining a relationship based on equality.

This philosophy was also reflected in major infrastructure projects such as the TAZARA Railway, which connected Tanzania and Zambia. At a time when many Western institutions considered the project too risky, China chose to provide extensive support. Chinese leaders framed such assistance as part of a broader historical responsibility: helping other newly independent nations was also a way of contributing to a more just international order, and ultimately strengthening the collective position of developing countries as a whole.

Underlying this approach was the idea that helping others also meant helping oneself—not in a narrow transactional sense, but as part of a shared historical process. China argued that countries emerging from colonialism faced common challenges, and that solidarity among them could help reshape a world order long structured by inequality. Aid, in this sense, was not merely about transferring resources, but about transforming relationships.

Of course, this model was not without tensions. Foreign aid almost always occurs in conditions of unequal capacity, and achieving genuine equality within such asymmetry is inherently difficult. China’s approach can be understood as an attempt to manage this tension: acknowledging material differences while resisting the transformation of those differences into permanent hierarchies of dependence. The emphasis on “mutuality” was an effort to preserve dignity on both sides, even when resources flowed unevenly.

From today’s perspective, the foreign aid practices of the Mao era clearly reflected their historical context and carried a strong ideological and moral ambition. Yet they also raised a question that remains relevant: must relations between countries always be defined by exchange and power imbalance, or is it possible to imagine forms of cooperation grounded in shared development and mutual recognition? China’s early foreign aid experience offered one such attempt to answer this question differently.

China’s foreign aid in its early decades was not only about external assistance or diplomatic influence. It was also an experiment in rethinking how countries relate to one another in a deeply unequal world. By trying to turn “mine” into “ours,” it sought to explore the possibility of solidarity across differences. While far from perfect and shaped by its time, this approach remains an important reference point for understanding both China’s diplomatic history and broader debates about the meaning of development and equality in international relations.

Source: CGTN

Shanxi: A Journey into the Heart of Ancient Chinese Civilization

KULTUR

Tendenzblick

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March 1, 2026

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Shanxi: A Journey into the Heart of Ancient Chinese Civilization

Shanxi Province, located in northern China on the Loess Plateau, is widely regarded as one of the most important birthplaces of Chinese civilization. For many international visitors, Shanxi may not be as globally recognizable as cities like Beijing or Shanghai, yet it offers something equally valuable: a remarkably well-preserved window into traditional Chinese culture. Because so many ancient buildings, temples, and historical towns remain intact, Shanxi is often considered as an open-air museum of ancient China. Travelers who wish to understand the deeper roots of Chinese history, architecture, religion, and daily life will find Shanxi an ideal destination.

One of Shanxi’s most impressive characteristics is its extraordinary collection of ancient architecture. In fact, many of the oldest surviving wooden buildings in China are located in this province. A striking example is the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, built in 1056 during the Liao Dynasty. It is the oldest and tallest surviving wooden pagoda in the world. Remarkably, the structure was constructed almost entirely without metal nails, relying instead on complex wooden joinery techniques developed by ancient Chinese craftsmen. Despite earthquakes and centuries of weathering, the tower has remained standing for nearly a thousand years, demonstrating the advanced engineering knowledge of traditional Chinese builders.

Another architectural and artistic treasure is the Yungang Grottoes in the city of Datong. Carved into sandstone cliffs during the 5th century, these grottoes contain tens of thousands of Buddhist statues and reliefs. The sculptures vary in size from small figures to giant Buddha statues several meters tall. The artistic style reflects a fascinating mixture of cultural influences, including Indian Buddhist art, Central Asian styles, and early Chinese aesthetics. Because of this cultural fusion, the site is considered an important historical record of the cultural exchanges that took place along the ancient Silk Road.

Religion has also played a significant role in shaping Shanxi’s cultural landscape. One of the most important religious sites in China is Mount Wutai, located in northern Shanxi. Known as one of the Four Sacred Mountains of Chinese Buddhism, it is traditionally believed to be the earthly residence of Manjusri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom. The mountain area contains dozens of ancient temples, monasteries, and pilgrimage routes. Every year, Buddhist pilgrims from across China and other parts of Asia travel here to pray and meditate. The architecture found here reflects a combination of Han Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, making it a unique cultural and spiritual center.

Not far from Mount Heng stands another remarkable structure, the Hanging Temple. Built into a vertical cliff face more than 1,500 years ago, this temple appears to float above the ground. Wooden pillars support the buildings, which cling to the rock wall in a dramatic and seemingly impossible position. The temple is particularly unique because it combines elements of three major Chinese philosophical traditions: Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. This coexistence reflects the long-standing Chinese belief that different philosophies can harmoniously exist together.

For visitors interested in urban history and traditional commerce, Pingyao Ancient City is one of the most fascinating destinations in China. This well-preserved city dates back more than 2,700 years and still retains its complete city walls, traditional streets, temples, and residential courtyards from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Walking through Pingyao feels like stepping back in time. The city was once the financial center of China during the 19th century. It was here that the earliest Chinese banking institutions, known as “piaohao,” were established. These early banks created a nationwide money-transfer network that supported merchants traveling across the country. Because of this financial innovation, Shanxi merchants, known as the Jin merchants, became one of the most powerful business groups in Chinese history.

The wealth accumulated by these merchants can still be seen in the region’s famous courtyard mansions. Two of the most representative examples are the Qiao Family Compound and the Wang Family Compound. These large residential complexes consist of multiple interconnected courtyards arranged along strict symmetrical layouts. The architecture reflects the hierarchical structure of traditional Chinese families, where different generations and branches of the family lived in separate sections of the compound. Decorative carvings in brick, wood, and stone depict symbols of prosperity, moral teachings, and traditional stories. For many visitors, these mansions provide a vivid glimpse into the lifestyle and values of wealthy Chinese merchant families during the imperial era.

In addition to cultural heritage, Shanxi is home to dramatic natural landscapes. One of the most famous is the Hukou Waterfall, the largest waterfall on the Yellow River. Unlike many waterfalls that are known for their height, Hukou is famous for its immense power. The river suddenly narrows as it flows through a steep canyon, forcing massive volumes of water through a tight opening. The roaring sound and rising mist create a spectacular scene that many Chinese people associate with the strength and perseverance of the nation. Another natural landmark is Mount Heng, one of the Five Great Sacred Mountains of China. The mountain has long been a place for religious ceremonies and spiritual cultivation, as well as a strategic military location due to its rugged terrain.

Shanxi’s cultural experience extends beyond architecture and landscapes to include vibrant folk traditions. The province is considered one of the birthplaces of Chinese opera. Local opera styles such as Jin Opera are still performed today, featuring elaborate costumes, distinctive vocal techniques, and stylized movements. Traditional festivals often include lively drum performances, lion dances, and community celebrations that reflect the region’s strong sense of cultural identity. Another important folk art is paper-cutting, a traditional handicraft widely practiced in rural areas. Intricate red paper designs are often displayed during festivals and weddings, symbolizing happiness, prosperity, and good fortune.

Food culture is another highlight of traveling in Shanxi. The province is famous throughout China as the “home of noodles.” Because wheat grows well in the region’s climate, local people have developed an extraordinary variety of wheat-based dishes. Among the most famous is knife-cut noodles, where dough is sliced directly into boiling water with a special blade, creating thick, chewy noodles with an irregular shape. Other varieties include hand-pulled noodles, oat noodles, and small pasta-like shapes known as “cat-ear noodles.” Shanxi cuisine is also known for its use of vinegar, particularly the region’s famous aged vinegar, which has been produced for hundreds of years and adds a rich, tangy flavor to many dishes.

Shanxi’s greatest strength as a travel destination lies in its authenticity and depth. While many modern tourist destinations focus primarily on entertainment or spectacle, Shanxi offers visitors an opportunity to experience the genuine historical and cultural foundations of China. Ancient temples, preserved city streets, traditional family compounds, religious pilgrimage sites, and local culinary traditions together form a living cultural landscape. For international travelers seeking to move beyond the surface of modern Chinese cities and truly understand the historical roots of Chinese civilization, Shanxi provides an unforgettable journey into the heart of China’s past.

Source: Xinhua, China Daily, CGTN, CNR

China’s Leasing Giant Ping An Driving ESG via Renewable Projects and Education

Uncategorized

Tendenzblick

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February 27, 2026

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China’s Leasing Giant Ping An Driving ESG via Renewable Projects and Education

Under the guidance of China’s national “dual carbon” goals, durability has become the defining color of high-quality development. As a subsidiary of the Ping An Group specializing in financing and leasing, Ping An International Financial Leasing has, since its establishment, leveraged its close connection with the real economy and its “financing plus asset” business model to consistently uphold the concept of sustainable development.

The company has deeply integrated green finance into its business strategy and practice, becoming an important financial force driving industrial upgrading and green transformation. Focusing on green industries and serving national and public interests, Ping An Leasing actively responds to national strategies, earnestly promotes green finance, and integrates its professional capabilities with industry needs. It deploys financing and leasing services in major construction projects such as hydropower, wind power, and water conservancy, allowing financial resources to flow into new infrastructure and renewable energy sectors.

In hydropower, the Zala Hydropower Station in Tibet, the region’s first station with an installed capacity exceeding one million kilowatts, serves as a key power station for transmitting electricity from Tibet to other regions. The project is significant for promoting high-quality development in Tibet, regional sustainability, and ecological protection. Leveraging the scale of funds and multiple stakeholders, Ping An Leasing precisely aligned with the China Water Conservancy And Hydropower Engineering Bureau No.4 Co’s requirements, developing professional and accurate financial service plans for key project milestones, including river diversion, dam capping, water impoundment, and station commissioning. Customized repayment schedules based on project cash flow maximized capital efficiency and ensured smooth project implementation. Once operational, the hydropower station is expected to generate 3.946 billion kWh annually, saving 1.3 million tons of standard coal each year, significantly advancing clean energy development and utilization.

In the photovoltaic sector, Ping An Leasing keeps pace with new energy industry policies and trends, continuously supporting the development of the solar power industry. When informed that the Golmud A Photovoltaic Power Station in Qinghai Province faced expansion delays due to funding shortages, Ping An Leasing immediately responded, conducting in-depth research into procurement methods and capital requirements. By aligning dedicated credit resources with the station’s funding needs and construction schedule, the company removed financial barriers to capacity expansion, ensuring stable green power output that lights up thousands of households.

In charging infrastructure development, Ping An Leasing approaches the industry with innovative financing and leasing models, empowering urban infrastructure enterprises and creating resonance between emerging industries and green development. A leading charging service operator in Nanjing, with the company’s assistance, mobilized existing equipment assets and supplemented working capital, enabling rapid, large-scale business expansion and establishing itself as a key component of the city’s new energy ecosystem.

In the commercial new energy vehicle sector, Ping An Leasing explores niche areas such as short-distance port transportation, interprovincial transport, and urban delivery, designing innovative financing and leasing products for pure electric light trucks and battery-swapping heavy trucks. By offering diversified green finance products and innovative services, the company reduces vehicle acquisition costs, helps logistics companies phase out high-pollution, high-energy-consumption vehicles, and promotes the adoption of green, clean, and low-carbon energy systems in the logistics industry, filling gaps in green finance services and accelerating the sector’s transformation.

Collaborating with industry partners and clients, Ping An Leasing has brought financial support to rural revitalization. In July 2025, the 13th stop of the “Golden Sunshine Road” project visited Zhulinzhai Primary School in Qiaotou Township, Hekou Yao Autonomous County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. Despite challenging transportation and construction conditions, the company, together with partners, completed a 30 kW distributed photovoltaic system in 20 days. The solar station, which converts sunlight into electricity through the photovoltaic effect, is expected to generate more than 25,000 kWh annually, fully covering the school’s teaching, living, and electronic equipment power needs, creating a stable and green learning environment for students and teachers.

The “Golden Sunshine Road” project, which aims to illuminate classrooms and dreams with green energy, focuses on the electricity needs of schools in remote areas. Since its launch in 2017, Ping An Leasing has donated distributed photovoltaic systems to schools in 13 remote regions, including Baise in Guangxi, Yulin in Shaanxi, Kashgar in Xinjiang, Tiandong in Guangxi, Wuwei in Gansu, Tongren in Qinghai, Heqing in Yunnan, Xichang in Sichuan, Bijie in Guizhou, Genhe in Inner Mongolia, and Honghe in Yunnan. By 2025, the company had cumulatively donated 204.8 kW of distributed photovoltaic systems, bringing green electricity to over 2,700 children in remote areas.

The “Building Dreams with Golden Bricks” initiative strengthens rural education infrastructure through industry expertise. Launched in 2020, the project focuses on renovating and upgrading campus facilities. In October 2025, the sixth stop visited Sikai Town Central Primary School in Zhaojue County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, where Ping An Leasing, in collaboration with industry partners, built a standard basketball court and provided sports equipment, offering students safe, professional spaces for physical education. Previous stops included regions in Hubei, Qinghai, Shaanxi, and Sichuan, benefiting over 5,000 students with new cafeterias, kitchens, basketball courts, and washrooms, enhancing rural school infrastructure and laying the foundation for educational revitalization.

Source: clover aviation capital, tibet news cn, xinhua cgtn, china daily, economic observer

China’s Huishan: From Township Reform to Innovation-Driven Modernization

KULTUR

Tendenzblick

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February 25, 2026

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China’s Huishan: From Township Reform to Innovation-Driven Modernization

In 2026, China officially entered the 15th Five-Year Plan period. At the start of each planning cycle, amid profound global technological and industrial shifts, reflecting on the past and drawing lessons from history is essential. Over nearly fifty years of economic reform, two trajectories stand out: one began with the “household responsibility system” in Xiaogang Village, Anhui, solving basic food security; the other originated in Yuanqiao Township, Wuxi, Jiangsu, with the “One Contract, Three Reforms” initiative, which propelled rural industrialization and had a profound impact on Chinese modernization.

In Huishan District, Wuxi, the birthplace of the “One Contract, Three Reforms”, the echoes of that history are still vivid. By 1982, four years after Xiaogang Village implemented household contracting, the system was spreading nationwide. In Yuanqiao Township, 18 of 19 production teams contracted land to households, dramatically improving productivity, while the remaining team suffered crop losses due to heavy rains. This contrast prompted the township Party committee to consider whether reform could extend from the fields to factories.

With limited land and abundant labor, agriculture could not absorb all workers. Following the principle of “develop industry around agriculture, promote agriculture through industry,” Yuanqiao Township pioneered collective enterprises. Initially focused on repairing machinery and producing small components, they soon expanded into textiles, chemicals, and machinery. However, these enterprises still operated under agricultural-style management: leaders appointed from above, workers paid equally regardless of effort, and minimal accountability, which stifled vitality. Inspired by a successful individual enterprise contract the previous year, the township explored the idea of factory director responsibility systems.

A struggling clothing factory became a pilot for a “fixed profit submission, flexible bonus” system. Factory director Yang Hanbin implemented piece-rate work and performance-based pay, turning the factory profitable within a month. The model extended to other factories, and by March 1983, Yuanqiao Township officially launched the “One Contract, Three Reforms.”

The “One Contract” referred to fully contracting enterprises with specific performance targets, including profits and other economic indicators. Contracts could be signed by an individual, a small team, or the management collectively, selected through self-nomination, appointment, bidding, and democratic election. The “Three Reforms” included: first, replacing the enterprise leader appointment system with a selection-based system; second, replacing fixed worker recruitment with contract-based employment; and third, replacing fixed wages with flexible pay. The reforms immediately activated the local economy, with total agricultural and industrial output in the township rising 74% that year.

The essence of the “One Contract, Three Reforms” was decentralizing management and profit rights to enterprises and workers, aligning responsibilities with rewards, and enabling those capable to benefit. It sparked the rise of southern Jiangsu township enterprises and provided lessons for broader economic reforms. This success relied on individuals: supply chain workers traveled nationwide to secure orders, enduring hardship and forging a resilient spirit; young managers and technical personnel proactively learned modern management practices, invited experts, and solved technical problems, enabling enterprises to survive and grow.

By the 1990s, township enterprises underwent property reforms, transforming from small workshops into leading, innovation-driven companies. China Conveyor, starting from three small houses, entered the automotive equipment sector and later expanded into new energy and embodied intelligent robotics. Si-neng specialized in power electronics and photovoltaic inverters, developing fully domestic solutions and achieving global competitiveness.

Local governments also evolved, fostering new energy, electronics, and biomedicine, strengthening traditional industries, and planning for future sectors such as AI, aerospace, humanoid robotics, and resource recycling. The manufacturing foundation, skilled workforce, and flexible networks from the township enterprise era allowed Huishan to become an industrial magnet, integrating traditional strengths with emerging sectors.

In aerospace, Wuxi Aerospace Industrial Park hosts 330 high-tech enterprises, achieving a 90% local supply rate for critical components within a 50-kilometer radius, forming a full-chain ecosystem. Smart equipment and new energy companies, including LAND SPACE, have emerged as industry leaders. With 1,102 high-tech enterprises and the industrial clusters plus specialized parks model, Huishan’s industrial landscape has matured.

Innovation extends beyond industry to research and talent aggregation. Huishan partnered with universities to establish research institutes, promoting targeted corporate R&D and technology transfer, forming an “academy corridor” that attracts top-tier talent. Financial mechanisms, including industrial mother funds, specialized funds, and virtual capital pools, provide comprehensive support. Functional zone and administrative reforms ensure efficient allocation of land, funds, and projects, enabling strategic development.

Reform has also reshaped urban functions and cultural heritage. The Huishan New City TOD project, high-speed rail hubs, and logistics networks integrate transportation, consumption, industry, and innovation. From the rise of township enterprises to high-tech innovation, and from industrial transformation to urban and cultural development, Huishan’s development genes remain continuous while evolving through practice.

Source: south reviews, wuxi gov, yzwb, our jiangsu

China’s Central State-Owned Enterprises Accelerate AI Industrial Applications

East Asia

Tendenzblick

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February 23, 2026

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China’s Central State-Owned Enterprises Accelerate AI Industrial Applications

In recent years, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies, China has been accelerating the implementation of its AI strategic framework. On February 10, 2026, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) convened a meeting to further deploy the “AI+” special initiative among central state-owned enterprises.

The meeting emphasized that central enterprises should strengthen investment-driven development, actively expand effective investment in computing power, promote the coordinated development of computing power and electricity, improve full-chain data governance capabilities, and continuously consolidate the foundational infrastructure of the artificial intelligence industry.

The meeting stressed that central enterprises must firmly grasp the development trends of artificial intelligence technology and industry. Taking the formulation and implementation of the 15th Five-Year Plan as an opportunity, they should identify their positioning and advantages in the field of artificial intelligence, establish scientific and effective industrial cooperation and management mechanisms, and further play a strategic supporting and demonstration role in national development. Central enterprises are expected to become key providers of intelligent computing infrastructure, important drivers of AI applications across industries, and organizers of systematic industrial deployment, thereby better serving the overall national development agenda.

The meeting also pointed out that central enterprises must strengthen their sense of responsibility and urgency in developing the artificial intelligence industry. They should actively adapt to the global wave of technological and industrial transformation, seize new opportunities in AI development, and enhance independent innovation in key core technologies, particularly breakthroughs in large-model technologies. Efforts should be made to transform more research outcomes from experimental prototypes into marketable products and industrial applications.

At the same time, enterprises are encouraged to cultivate application scenarios by deeply integrating artificial intelligence with their core businesses and industrial needs, exploring high-compatibility, high-value, and highly reliable application areas in order to promote large-scale deployment of AI technologies.

In fact, SASAC has been actively promoting the “AI+” initiative among central enterprises in recent years. These enterprises have focused on key sectors such as energy, manufacturing, and telecommunications, collaborating with leading companies to create more than 1,000 application scenarios.

For example, China FAW, Dongfeng Motor Corporation, and China Changan Automobile have introduced intelligent robots into automobile manufacturing processes, enabling robots to operate directly on factory production lines and increasing assembly efficiency by approximately 30 percent. In terms of data resource development, central enterprises have led the construction of 11 industry-level trusted data spaces and established four major data industry consortia covering transportation, energy, green development, and finance. In July 2025, SASAC officially launched the AI open-source platform “AI Huanxin” for central state-owned enterprises. Since its launch, the platform’s user base has increased tenfold, providing free public access to 2,200 domestic intelligent computing chips, more than 4,700 models, and over 1,200 datasets, thereby significantly supporting the growth of the AI industry ecosystem.

Artificial intelligence technologies are also being increasingly integrated into the actual production processes of central enterprises. China National Petroleum Corporation, for instance, has developed the Kunlun Large Model which is the first industry-level large model in China’s energy and chemical sector to receive national approval. Its parameter scale has evolved from 33 billion to 70 billion and eventually to 300 billion parameters, and it now supports more than one hundred industrial application scenarios. One example is the seismic forward and inverse modeling large model, which has improved the efficiency of solving seismic wave equations by ten times and shortened exploration project cycles by more than 20 percent, significantly enhancing oil and gas exploration efficiency.

As AI applications continue to deepen, China has also accelerated its top-level policy planning. In August 2025, the State Council proposed six key areas of action including technology, industry, consumption, public services, governance, and international cooperation. According to the plan, by 2027 the penetration rate of intelligent terminals and intelligent agents is expected to exceed 70 percent, and by 2035 China aims to fully enter an intelligent society. Experts believe that central enterprises possess large-scale application scenarios in key sectors such as energy, transportation, telecommunications, and finance, making them important testing grounds and incubators for AI technology deployment. As such, they play a core role in implementing national strategies, driving technological innovation, and building industrial ecosystems.

In practical implementation, several central enterprises have already established representative application cases. For example, China Mobile has developed an AI-enabled public cloud full-process threat response system for billion-scale cloud threats. By integrating capabilities from foundational models such as Jiutian and DeepSeek, it has created a security cloud-brain intelligent operations platform capable of managing thousands of security devices across the entire network and processing more than seven billion pieces of security data daily. As a result, the average handling time for security incident tickets has been reduced by 82.5 percent, the automated processing rate for security alerts has reached 99 percent, and the false alarm rate has been reduced to 0.2 percent.

State Grid has also applied artificial intelligence to the inspection and maintenance of power transmission and transformation equipment through the use of drones, intelligent substation inspection systems, and robotic power operation technologies, improving the efficiency of fault analysis and handling by approximately 50 percent.

China CRRC has focused on “AI + equipment manufacturing,” building 13 core application scenarios across three major areas: research and design, production and manufacturing, and operation and maintenance services. In the aerodynamic drag simulation of high-speed trains, for example, an intelligent simulation large model has reduced computational time from 24 hours to around 10 seconds, greatly improving research and development efficiency.

Despite these significant achievements, the large-scale deployment of artificial intelligence in central enterprises still faces multiple challenges. First, there are still difficulties in integrating AI technologies with complex industrial scenarios. Many enterprises report that general-purpose large models still need improvement in supporting vertical industry models. At present, companies mainly rely on small models or distilled lightweight large models.

While these models have relatively lower deployment costs, they still suffer from limited generalization capability, weaker interpretability, and the persistence of hallucination problems, which make it difficult to fully meet the requirements of production-level applications. At the same time, general solutions provided by technology companies often fail to adapt to specific industry needs, while industry experts within enterprises may struggle to translate vague business pain points into precise technical requirements, creating a gap between technological supply and industrial demand.

Secondly, the high cost of AI deployment remains another constraint. In traditional manufacturing sectors in particular, a large number of legacy machines were not originally designed for data collection and often lack sensor interfaces or rely on closed communication protocols. Retrofitting such equipment with sensors and gateways for digital transformation involves high costs, long implementation cycles, and significant technical challenges. Moreover, industrial AI applications typically require equipment upgrades, production line transformations, large-scale data collection and processing, and the integration of industry knowledge, which increases investment costs and raises concerns among enterprises regarding the return on investment.

In addition, the insufficient supply of high-quality data has also limited the further development of AI applications. Many central enterprises still face challenges in data governance, including inconsistent data standards, incomplete sharing mechanisms, and unresolved data security concerns. These issues lead to a shortage of high-quality datasets, limited cross-industry data circulation, and underutilization of the value of data as a production factor. At the same time, the shortage of interdisciplinary talent has become increasingly prominent. Many enterprises lack professionals who possess both deep industry knowledge and expertise in artificial intelligence. According to research estimates, by 2025 the demand for AI talent in Beijing alone will reach about 540,000, with a shortage of approximately 210,000 interdisciplinary professionals.

In response to these challenges, central enterprises plan to develop long-term strategies centered on the “AI+” initiative in order to better transform artificial intelligence technologies into real productive forces. They will strengthen national-level platform development and resource coordination, support central enterprises in leading the establishment of AI innovation platforms and high-quality datasets, and promote collaboration among industry, academia, and research institutions to jointly tackle key technological challenges.

Efforts will also be made to accelerate market-oriented reforms of data elements by unifying data standards, improving data quality, strengthening security supervision, and promoting data sharing and circulation. Finally, talent development and incentive mechanisms will be improved through cooperation between central enterprises and universities to cultivate interdisciplinary AI professionals, while establishing evaluation and incentive systems for compensation and technology commercialization that better align with the characteristics of the AI industry, thereby laying a solid foundation for the long-term development of China’s artificial intelligence sector.

Source: news cn, SCMP, China Daily, scio gov cn, xinhua, bijiannet

The Collapse of China–Japan Relations: Japan’s Distortion of World War II History and Revival of Militarism

THINKVIEWS

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February 21, 2026

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The Collapse of China–Japan Relations: Japan’s Distortion of World War II History and Revival of Militarism

For years, China and Japan have tried to stabilize their relationship through summit meetings, carefully worded joint statements and gestures of “people-to-people friendship.” Yet public opinion polls in both countries now show mutual dislike hovering around 90 percent. That stark reality forces a difficult question: what if the real problem is not simply diplomatic miscalculation, but something much deeper—how the two societies see each other?

Much of the current tension can be traced back to 2012, when the dispute over the Diaoyu Islands erupted into a full-blown crisis. Japan’s decision to “nationalize” the islands triggered protests in China and hardened attitudes in Japan. But the episode did not emerge from nowhere. It revealed the collapse of an older formula that “the foundation of friendship lies among the people.”

That formula assumed a distinction between Japanese militarists and ordinary Japanese citizens. In theory, if governments clashed, civil society could still anchor the relationship. In practice, however, Japanese public opinion had already shifted. During the years when Junichiro Koizumi repeatedly visited the Yasukuni Shrine, more than half of Japanese respondents began expressing unfavorable views of China. After 2012, negative perceptions surged even higher. Japanese leaders were no longer acting against public sentiment; they were operating within it.

After World War II, Japan’s image of China went through dramatic transformations. In the early postwar years, many Japanese intellectuals admired the Chinese Revolution. The establishment of the People’s Republic in 1949 was seen by parts of the Japanese left as a fresh start—an anti-imperialist success story that contrasted with Japan’s own wartime defeat.

That optimism did not last. As Cold War lines hardened and China entered the Korean War, conservative voices gained ground in Japan. The image of a “new China” gradually shifted toward that of a “Red China.” The decisive turning point, however, came during the Cultural Revolution. Reports of political violence and chaos shattered earlier romanticism. Japanese scholars began to treat China not as a moral beacon or revolutionary partner, but as an object of detached study.

Out of this shift emerged what might be called “modern China studies” in Japan—research rooted in social science methods, realism, and national interest. China became something to observe, measure and evaluate, rather than embrace. This approach carried intellectual authority. It appeared objective, empirical and aligned with universal values such as democracy and human rights. Over time, it shaped media narratives and public opinion.

From this foundation grew a series of arguments that continue to influence Japanese debate: China as unstable, China as opaque, China as rising power, China as threat. Even when analysts predicted China’s economic takeoff in the 1990s, the tone was often strategic rather than sympathetic. Whether forecasting collapse or ascent, the underlying posture remained one of distance, and often of skepticism.

This matters because foreign policy in a democracy does not float above society. Politicians, journalists, scholars and civic activists form what might be called a “citizen diplomacy” ecosystem. They write, debate, publish and appear on television. Their ideas circulate, harden into public sentiment, and eventually constrain elected leaders. In Japan, this ecosystem has been active and pluralistic. Arguments about China, supportive, critical or alarmist, have competed in public forums and influenced policy debates.

China, by contrast, has struggled to build an equivalent international knowledge presence. When history cannot be fully researched at home, it becomes difficult to engage confidently in global academic debates. The result is a structural imbalance: Japan produces influential analyses about China that circulate internationally, while Chinese scholarship has less impact on how the world understands China.

This imbalance also shapes bilateral disputes. When tensions flare, over wartime memory, textbooks or territorial claims, Japanese narratives are often backed by networks of scholars, media platforms and civic organizations. Chinese responses tend to rely more heavily on official statements and moral denunciation. Accusations of militarism or appeals to historical justice may resonate domestically, but they rarely shift foreign public opinion if they are not supported by sustained, credible research and international dialogue.

The problem is not that China lacks arguments. It is that arguments alone do not constitute influence. Influence requires institutions, archives, independent scholarship and open debate, forms of intellectual production that can enter global conversations as equals. Without them, a country risks being studied, interpreted and even judged primarily through other people’s frameworks.

The contrast with South Korea is instructive. In negotiations with Japan over the comfort women issue in 2015, civic groups and scholars played a visible role in shaping both domestic opinion and international awareness. Although the agreement was controversial and later reassessed, the process demonstrated how organized civil society and academic research can amplify a country’s moral claims in global forums. China’s disputes with Japan, including over the Diaoyu Islands, have not benefited from the same depth of internationally networked scholarly engagement.

Ultimately, the deterioration of China–Japan relations cannot be explained solely by nationalism or by the personalities of leaders such as Shinzo Abe. Nor can it be solved by staging more summits or invoking the language of eternal friendship. The roots lie in decades of shifting perceptions, in how each society narrates history, and in who controls the production of knowledge about the other.

In today’s world, power operates not only through military strength or trade volumes, but also through ideas. National dignity and strategic interests are first contested in what might be called the symbolic arena—universities, publishing houses, newsrooms and public debates. If one side dominates that arena, it shapes the terms of discussion before diplomats even meet.

Rebuilding a stable relationship between China and Japan will therefore require more than tactical compromise. It will require a serious investment in historical research, greater openness to difficult chapters of the past, and a willingness to engage foreign scholars and publics on equal intellectual footing.

Source: paper people, bjnews, opentimes, xinhua

Geely Galaxy’s Northern Europe Expedition: Proving the Global Strength of China’s New Energy Vehicles in Extreme Cold

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Tendenzblick

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February 19, 2026

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Geely Galaxy’s Northern Europe Expedition: Proving the Global Strength of China’s New Energy Vehicles in Extreme Cold

In 2025, China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) market reached a historic milestone as the penetration rate of NEVs surpassed 50%. Amid the rapid rise of domestic brands, the industry’s head effect has become increasingly pronounced. Among the standout players is Geely Galaxy, which entered the “Million Galaxy” era with annual sales exceeding 1.23 million units, becoming one of the fastest new energy brands in the industry to reach the one-million annual sales mark. This momentum continued into 2026. In January, despite broader market pressure, Geely Galaxy achieved monthly sales of 82,000 units, helping Geely Auto reach total sales of 270,200 vehicles and secure the top position in China’s automotive market at the start of the year.

While sales growth has been strong, Geely Galaxy has continued to place equal emphasis on product validation and technological development. From late January to mid-February 2026, the brand launched a large-scale winter testing expedition in Northern Europe, conducting an extreme cold endurance test covering more than 1,000 kilometers within the Arctic Circle. A total of 25 vehicles representing 11 models, including the Galaxy V900, M9, E5, Xingjian 7 EM-i, Xingyao 8, A7, Xingyao 6 and Xingyuan, participated in the expedition, covering multiple powertrain technologies such as pure electric, hybrid and methanol-based power systems.

On February 9, as the testing convoy reached the Arctic interior under conditions of polar night and severe cold, Geely Galaxy completed a milestone challenge: a more than 1,000-kilometer cross-border winter test from Sweden to Norway without recharging or refueling, ultimately reaching the Arctic Ocean. Several hybrid models, including the V900, M9, Xingjian 7 EM-i, Xingyao 8, A7 and Xingyao 6, successfully completed the journey without energy replenishment. This marked the first time a Chinese new energy vehicle brand had carried out a cross-continental winter expedition to the Arctic Ocean.

In addition to the long-distance endurance test, Geely Galaxy vehicles also conducted specialized verification at the Colmis testing ground in northern Sweden, near the Arctic Circle. The site is located in an extremely cold region where winter temperatures can drop to as low as −40°C and where thick natural snow and high-quality ice surfaces can last for up to 150 days each year. These conditions make it one of the most recognized winter testing environments in the global automotive industry. Compared with conventional winter testing environments in China, Northern Europe presents even more demanding conditions. Extremely low temperatures are combined with consistently high humidity levels, often exceeding 90 percent, creating an environment that places greater demands on vehicle sealing, anti-fog capability, thermal management efficiency and the environmental perception abilities of intelligent driving sensors. In addition, the prolonged polar night brings extended periods of low-light conditions, posing further challenges for vehicle perception and safety systems.

During the winter tests, Geely Galaxy carried out systematic validation based on real-world extreme-cold usage scenarios. The tests focused on areas such as winter ADAS performance, adaptability to high-humidity and low-temperature environments, traction and load performance on icy roads, and overall thermal management efficiency. Engineers also evaluated vehicle stability on low-friction surfaces, overall sealing reliability and durability under freeze-thaw cycles. Through these high-intensity tests, the vehicles’ reliability and performance under severe winter conditions were thoroughly assessed.

Behind these results lies a series of targeted technological optimizations. To address traction challenges on snow and ice, engineers conducted in-depth calibration of the torque management systems in all-wheel-drive models, enabling millisecond-level torque distribution and improving stability on slippery surfaces. The vehicles’ thermal management and defrosting systems were also optimized to ensure clear visibility and efficient cabin heating in extremely cold and humid conditions, while compliance solutions for upcoming Euro 7 emission standards were tested in advance. At the same time, engineers addressed typical cold-weather issues such as frozen door handles and fogging cameras through dedicated design improvements. In terms of powertrain innovation, methanol-powered vehicles successfully achieved ultra-low-temperature cold starts during the tests, overcoming a long-standing challenge associated with extreme cold engine ignition.

The Northern European winter expedition also highlights Geely Galaxy’s broader “global R&D and global validation” capability. The company has established a comprehensive testing network covering a wide range of environmental conditions, including extreme cold, high heat, humidity and high altitude. Major facilities include the Hangzhou Bay Comprehensive Test Center, the Hainan humid-heat testing base, the Heihe cold-weather testing base, the Turpan high-temperature testing base, the European testing center and the Yunnan high-altitude testing base. Together these facilities form a global development cycle integrating research, validation and iterative improvement. Through this network, Geely’s testing activities now span five major testing regions, more than 70 countries and over 100,000 testing scenarios, recreating around 90 percent of real-world driving environments. Each year the company tests more than 8,000 vehicles and accumulates over 100 million kilometers of testing mileage. Looking ahead, Geely plans to establish 16 testing bases worldwide to further strengthen its all-weather, all-terrain and full-scenario development capabilities.

The significance of these efforts also reflects broader trends within China’s rapidly expanding new energy vehicle industry. In 2025, China’s NEV production and sales both exceeded 16 million units, while Chinese new energy passenger vehicles accounted for 68.4 percent of the global market, rising to 71.9 percent in the fourth quarter. As the industry moves from rapid expansion toward a new phase focused on quality and reliability, regulatory requirements are also becoming stricter. In 2026, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology introduced updated regulations for automotive production and product approval, elevating reliability testing from an internal company standard to a mandatory regulatory requirement. Under the new rules, new energy vehicles must complete at least 15,000 kilometers of reliability testing before approval. Geely Galaxy’s intensive winter testing in Northern Europe represents an active response to these evolving standards and demonstrates the brand’s commitment to pushing the industry from volume leadership toward standard leadership.

For Geely Galaxy, the Arctic expedition is not only a demonstration of technological capability but also an important step in its global expansion strategy. Europe remains one of the most technologically demanding automotive markets in the world, and the extreme conditions of Northern Europe can expose potential issues that might remain hidden in conventional testing environments. Challenges such as frozen door locks, fogging sensors and reduced perception capability in low-light conditions are far more likely to appear in such climates. By conducting localized validation under these conditions, Geely Galaxy ensures that its vehicles are designed from the outset to meet global regulations and real-world usage scenarios in different markets.

Source: sohu, the paper, shenxuanche, sina, autohome, xueqiu

How Chinese Companies Won Against Israeli Anti-Dumping Measures Amid Global Trade Uncertainty

POLITIK

Tendenzblick

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February 17, 2026

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How Chinese Companies Won Against Israeli Anti-Dumping Measures Amid Global Trade Uncertainty

In recent years, Chinese enterprises going global have faced profound changes. In today’s highly uncertain trade environment, companies must not only navigate market fluctuations but also operate under rising compliance standards, pressures to “de-risk” supply chains, and increasing localization requirements.

Meanwhile, the focus of international trade friction has shifted. Increasingly, the challenges come from anti-dumping and countervailing investigations, where a single ruling can transform a market from “accessible” to “closed.” Behind these shifts lies a broader turn in the global economic landscape.

Since the advent of the so-called “Trump 2.0” era, the United States has deeply instrumentalized tariffs and industrial policy, creating external volatility through cycles of negotiation, pressure, and escalation, thereby reducing the predictability of global trade.

At the same time, many economies, under the pressures of industrial competition and domestic demand, have strengthened trade defense mechanisms, combining import reviews, trade remedy measures, and subsidy investigations.

This has accelerated a global shift from “efficiency-first” to “security- and industry-first” trade logic. Against this backdrop, China’s cost advantages are increasingly interpreted as “distortion,” “dumping,” or “subsidy,” making the ability to build strong evidentiary chains and procedural defenses a decisive factor in international trade outcomes.

Amid this challenging context, a two-year-long Israeli anti-dumping investigation into Chinese aluminum extrusions concluded with a full victory for China in January 2026. During the preliminary phase, extremely high anti-dumping duties were considered, but after persistent legal argumentation and evidence submission, Israeli authorities ultimately decided not to impose any duties, resulting in an industry-wide no-measures outcome.

The case illustrates the deeper dynamics in trade remedy practice surrounding methodology, evidentiary rules, and the limits of public interest, and offers a clear roadmap for Chinese enterprises navigating high-volatility, high-barrier markets.

Anti-dumping investigations fundamentally compare export prices with a “normal value” to calculate dumping margins and determine applicable duties. Under market economy conditions, the normal value is usually determined either based on domestic sales in the exporting country or constructed from the enterprise’s own production costs, including reasonable overhead and profit.

However, in practice involving Chinese exporters, a controversial method known as the “surrogate country” approach has long been applied. In such cases, foreign authorities often exclude or ignore verifiable Chinese cost data, instead using third-country data as a basis. Objectively, this inflates the normal value and systematically disadvantages Chinese companies. In the Israeli aluminum extrusions case, this became the central point of contention.

In the preliminary ruling, Israeli authorities deemed the Chinese aluminum extrusion industry “seriously distorted” and selected Turkey as the surrogate country, resulting in an average duty of 110%, with a maximum of 146%. Full enforcement would have effectively closed the Israeli market and imposed massive liabilities on shipments already in transit.

In response, Chinese lawyers represented the Chinese aluminum extrusion industry, working closely with government agencies and industry associations to coordinate over ten companies in responding to questionnaires, fact verification, legal submissions, and procedural communication, ensuring consistent information and coherent advocacy across the sector.

Through multiple written submissions and hearings, Chinese lawyers demonstrated that the surrogate country methodology violated both WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement rules and Israeli domestic law, lacked transparency and verifiability, and relied on cost parameters significantly higher than actual Chinese production costs, failing to reflect market-based calculations.

During the defense process, Chinese lawyers emphasized the market-oriented nature of Chinese cost data while integrating public interest and substantive rules into their arguments. Israeli domestic production capacity for aluminum extrusions is limited and cannot meet market demand, whereas China’s comprehensive and flexible industry system can supply the necessary products, particularly critical given supply disruptions due to regional conflict.

Additionally, high anti-dumping duties would ultimately be borne by importers and end consumers, increasing construction costs and inflation while harming public welfare. On causation and injury, Chinese lawyers highlighted that difficulties faced by Israeli enterprises stemmed primarily from war and macroeconomic fluctuations rather than Chinese imports, showing that preliminary high duty rates were inconsistent with public interest.

In the final ruling, Israeli authorities acknowledged that Turkey’s data was not viable and instead used Chinese enterprise data to construct the normal value. Average duty rates for cooperating companies fell to 37%. Following this, through continued coordination with the Ministry of Commerce and China’s embassy in Israel, and sustained participation in procedural hearings and written submissions, the Israeli Ministry of Finance officially decided not to impose anti-dumping measures, resulting in a no-measures outcome. The Ministry’s report noted that imposing duties would have added approximately 600 million new shekels in economic burden, increased construction costs, and negatively affected housing and infrastructure reconstruction, confirming the decision to cancel duties.

This case highlights several key lessons for enterprises facing trade remedies in today’s complex international environment. First, public interest provisions serve as a crucial safety valve, especially in sectors related to essential goods or infrastructure. Second, maintaining control over data and methodology is critical; ensuring that a company’s own cost data is recognized is fundamental to reducing duty rates. Third, injury and causation assessments must be carefully delineated to prevent authorities from attributing macroeconomic, war-related, or business-management impacts to dumping. Most importantly, enterprises must respond proactively, rather than avoid participation, and establish a coordinated mechanism across enterprise, government, and industry associations, integrating data support, policy communication, legal advocacy, and diplomatic channels.

Overall, trade remedy systems have evolved from technical calculation tools into arenas of institutional boundary negotiation, policy choice, and public interest considerations. In today’s unprecedented global shifts, rules do not automatically favor any party, but rigorous, continuous efforts ensure they respond.

Source: WTO, cnal, zqb, diple, jingtian, regtechtimes, shidai

China Merchants Bank Unveils a Fully Self-Developed Large Model Ecosystem to Transform Operations and Service Excellence

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February 15, 2026

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China Merchants Bank Unveils a Fully Self-Developed Large Model Ecosystem to Transform Operations and Service Excellence

As digital transformation enters deeper waters, holistic intelligence has become an industry-wide consensus. As a pioneer, China Merchants Bank has taken the lead in independently developing a full-stack large model technology system, offering the industry a practical paradigm and reusable methodology for evolving from “point intelligence” to “system intelligence.”

The bank has built a fully self-controlled large model stack spanning infrastructure, models, and applications, achieving tangible progress across each layer. At the infrastructure level, a series of foundational innovations have driven industry-leading performance in core computing utilization and single-card token throughput.

Built entirely through in-house research and development, the platform delivers leadership in functionality, performance, and cost efficiency. It features a financial-grade heterogeneous computing cloud foundation, a low-latency, high-efficiency inference platform based on heterogeneous cards, and a cluster-based training platform supporting agentic reinforcement learning.

Proprietary training and inference frameworks have improved end-to-end inference performance by more than 50 percent. The bank has also contributed 40 key features to major open-source projects and earned maintainer status in two leading open-source communities, underscoring its role in advancing the broader technology ecosystem. From a cost perspective, token processing expenses are approximately 70 percent of those charged by mainstream public cloud providers.

On the model layer, China Merchants Bank has developed a structured model matrix that balances quality, efficiency, and security. It has deployed more than 40 cutting-edge open-source foundation models across multiple modalities and parameter scales, optimizing operators to enhance inference performance and resolving heterogeneous computing adaptation challenges for models such as DeepSeek and Qwen.

At the same time, the bank has extensively reengineered model architectures to create more than 60 specialized domain models covering customer service, client management, middle- and back-office operations, and research and development. These tailored models significantly improve accuracy and operational performance in financial scenarios.

At the application level, the bank has established one of the most comprehensive and deeply integrated business-technology collaboration systems in the industry. Through planning optimization, token consumption has been reduced by 55 percent; context compression has tripled the number of conversational turns; and parallel tool execution has shortened processing time by 13 percent.

More than 12,000 users are covered by the platform, with business staff accounting for over 40 percent, reflecting a broad-based adoption beyond technical teams. Supported by a data-model-evaluation toolchain, application development cycles have been compressed to as little as eight days, enabling rapid iteration and value realization.

This full-stack capability has translated technological strength into frontline business value. To date, more than 800 application scenarios have been deployed across retail banking, corporate banking, risk management, operations, office administration, and R&D. These applications span knowledge Q&A, report processing, risk and compliance review, document verification, and software development, comprehensively improving employee productivity, lowering operational thresholds, and enhancing customer experience.

In software development, the bank has launched its proprietary DevAgent, an intelligent R&D agent built on a multi-round “perception–planning–execution–feedback–evolution” ReAct framework. By understanding natural language instructions, sensing the developer’s coding environment, and retrieving enterprise knowledge, DevAgent delivers task-level development capabilities, including cross-file and large code block generation. It now completes tens of thousands of development tasks each month, significantly accelerating product iteration and improving engineering efficiency.

In retail banking, an AI-powered investment research assistant provides relationship managers with quantitative analysis and intelligent product screening. Tasks that once required analyzing more than 1,000 indicators and hours of manual report consolidation can now be completed within minutes, dramatically improving responsiveness and professionalism in client service. In wholesale banking, a digital assistant supports data queries, analytics, and list retrieval for branch and head office staff, reducing high-frequency data retrieval time from minutes to seconds.

Beyond internal efficiency gains, the bank has embedded AI deeply into customer-facing services. Upholding its commitment to inclusive finance, China Merchants Bank integrates technological innovation throughout the service lifecycle. Its mobile app offers real-time multilingual translation, enabling foreign residents in China to switch key interfaces and product information instantly into different languages.

For Chinese enterprises expanding overseas, AI-powered document processing and risk control models have compressed traditional account opening and due diligence timelines to roughly one-third of their previous duration, enhancing both efficiency and cross-border risk management.

In inclusive finance, the bank has introduced voice-enabled services that allow customers to complete transactions with a single spoken instruction. Multimodal technology converts complex wealth management graphics into audio prompts, enabling visually impaired users to independently conduct financial operations. An AI-powered telephone assistant now supports more than 300 business scenarios through voice interaction, improving accessibility for elderly customers and dialect speakers.

China Merchants Bank’s experience validates the feasibility of diverse technological pathways and provides the financial industry with a mature, reliable, and scalable engineering methodology for large model implementation.

Looking ahead, the bank will continue to anchor its strategy in technological innovation, expanding both the breadth and depth of its services. On a foundation of security and compliance, it aims to build more adaptive, human-centered, and sustainable financial experiences, growing together with customers, partners, and society in an increasingly intelligent era.

Source: the economic observer, sz gov cn, cmb china, eeo

2026 Year of the Horse Celebrations: Spring Festival Traditions in Shanxi

KULTUR

Tendenzblick

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February 13, 2026

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2026 Year of the Horse Celebrations: Spring Festival Traditions in Shanxi

Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, is the most important festival for the Chinese people, marking a time for praying for blessings, warding off misfortune, and welcoming the new year.

In the ancient land of Shanxi, the customs surrounding the celebration are particularly long-standing and rich. In the lunar calendar, the first day of the first month is called New Year. Traditionally, after the Laba Festival, people in Taiyuan start preparing for the New Year, with the atmosphere growing more festive each day.

On the twenty-third day, the Kitchen God is honored, and the twenty-fourth marks a thorough house cleaning day. From this point, preparations reach a peak. Taiyuan locals used to follow the saying: “25th, grind tofu; 26th, finish work; 27th, go to the market; 28th, paste decorations; 29th, buy liquors; 30th, make dumplings.” Every day is full of tasks until the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, when the outdoor cleaning is finished, new clothes are prepared, dumplings are made, and offerings such as incense and lamps for welcoming deities are arranged.

On New Year’s Eve, families stay up all night, a practice called “Ao Sui.” At the rooster crow, incense is burned, lamps are lit, offerings are placed, fireworks are set off, deities welcomed, and ancestors worshipped, followed by family greetings. Children kowtow to elders, who in turn give red envelopes for good luck. Traditionally, breakfast is finished before sunrise, and people set out to visit relatives and friends, exchanging greetings like “Happy New Year,” “Wishing you wealth,” or “A year of happiness.”

Merchants pay special respect to the God of Wealth during the New Year. Before the late Qing dynasty, worship was held on the fifteenth day of the third lunar month and the twenty-second day of the seventh month. After the Republican era, it became customary to offer incense and food at the God of Wealth altar only during the New Year before visiting business associates.

The fifth day, “Po Wu,” was traditionally a day to stay home; the sixth was suitable for travel and marked the reopening of businesses. The seventh day, “Renri,” celebrated human beings’ birthdays, with favorable weather believed to ensure prosperity. On the eighth day, stars are worshipped at dusk, with seven lamps lit to honor the Big Dipper and bring good fortune. The tenth day, “Shi Bu Dong,” commemorates the day mice are said to marry. From the thirteenth to the sixteenth, the Lantern Festival brings bright lights and lively folk performances. The twentieth is “Xiao Tian Cang,” and the twenty-fifth “Lao Tian Cang,” when market officials are worshipped, and firecrackers are set off. Only after the Tian Cang festival does the New Year excitement fully wind down.

The Shanxi “Wang Huo” tradition during the New Year symbolizes the renewal of fire at the turning of the year. Historical records from the Ming dynasty by Lu Shen describe households setting up large furnaces with stones and coal, burning through the night in a practice called “Bu Tian,” recalling the legendary repairs of the sky by Nüwa. Shanxi’s abundant coal resources shaped the tradition, with different regions preparing fire differently: in northern Shanxi, large coal blocks form the fire tower; central and southern Shanxi use wood, cypress branches, and straw; southeastern Shanxi shapes mud sculptures filled with coal, often in forms like zodiac animals or lions. In rural areas, fire towers are lit on New Year’s Eve, doors are decorated with cypress, and children eat boiled pumpkin, symbolizing a fresh start. Offerings of millet are made to ancestors, and the fifth day marks yard cleaning.

From hanging prayer bells on Mianshan Mountain to visiting the Great Pagoda Tree in Hongtong, from worshipping at Jiezhou Guandi Temple to witnessing the carp leap over the Yellow River dragon gate, each ritual embodies hopes for the new year and reflects Shanxi’s rich cultural heritage.

Mianshan, famous as the retreat of Jie Zitui and birthplace of the Cold Food Festival, is a sacred site for blessing. During the New Year, people hang prayer bells along the cliffs, the wind causing them to chime, carrying wishes for the year ahead.

The Great Pagoda Tree in Hongtong, immortalized in the folk song “Ask me where my ancestors are, in Hongtong under the Great Pagoda Tree,” draws descendants from all over to seek their roots.

Jiezhou Guandi Temple, the largest and best-preserved temple dedicated to Guan Yu, sees throngs of worshippers during the New Year, praying for safety, prosperity, and success, while Guan Yu’s spirit of loyalty and courage inspires generations.

In Gao Ping City, the Yan Emperor Mausoleum hosts grand ancestor-worship ceremonies on New Year’s Day, drawing tens of thousands of visitors who follow ancient rites of drumming, offerings, and bows to honor the cultural progenitor Yan Emperor, wishing for a year of favorable weather, family well-being, and national prosperity. As a global site for ancestral veneration, the Yan Emperor Mausoleum has organized cross-strait folk worship ceremonies for over a decade, enhancing international recognition and boosting local cultural tourism.

Shanxi’s New Year customs, with their deep cultural roots, diverse forms, and vibrant atmosphere, allow all who partake to experience the enduring traditions and hopes of a new year.

Source: sn news, sxgp gov, chinesefolklore, jinsui, gmw, sxwbs