Aurora Tan (@AuroraTan38652)

Off to Shanghai today! Got a ride with a Didi driver with hearing impairments, and this isn’t my first time traveling with a driver with hearing differences. The bilingual notice hanging on the back seat lays out simple communication tips: tap his shoulder, then exchange messages by text once the car is fully parked. It’s incredibly heartening to watch inclusive job opportunities grow for folks with hearing differences—every person deserves fair, accessible ways to earn a living. Funny enough, I was only in Shanghai one month ago, and work is already sending me back. One of my favorite perks of this role is getting to revisit cities I truly adore. It’s not just my fondness for Shanghai, either. There’s always something new unfolding here. As one of China’s most globally connected cities, it never stops evolving: fresh art exhibitions, cutting-edge tech debuts, vibrant cultural gatherings, and endless untold stories to uncover. No two visits ever feel identical. I’m boarding the high-speed rail out of Beijing. The route stretches roughly 1,300 km (820 miles), yet I’ll arrive in around four and a half hours. The Beijing-Shanghai high-speed line just celebrated its 15th anniversary, clocking over 2.3 billion passenger trips since launch—such an astonishing milestone to reflect on! To top it off, Beijing is sweltering through another heatwave, while Shanghai greets me with soft drizzle. I’ll gladly swap 35°C scorching heat for an umbrella any day!

Fuxing bullet train pulled out of the newly opened Xi'an East Railway Station on Tuesday, officially launching the Xi'an-Shiyan high-speed railway. Boasting a total length of 257 km and a top design speed of 350 km/h, this high-standard railway connects Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, with Shiyan in Hubei Province. The line cut the travel time between Xi'an and Wuhan to 2 hours 41 minutes, down from the previous 4.5-hour detour route. The trip between Xi'an and Shiyan has been slashed from over 6 hours on conventional trains to barely an hour.

Viral Chinese 6yo inline skater hits different! She sobs through grueling daily training, yet absolutely nails it at the competition. All the hard tearful practice pays off in such a cool way. Respect to this tiny tough athlete!

It’s bird migration season again in China, and parks, wetlands, and lakes are quietly filling up with people carrying binoculars instead of shopping bags. Some come hoping to spot rare species. Others say birdwatching has become a way to slow down for a few hours — to stay quiet, wait, and pay attention to something other than screens and notifications. China is home to more than 1,400 bird species, and four of the world’s nine major migratory bird flyways pass through the country. Every year, hundreds of millions of migratory birds cross mountains, coastlines, deserts, and wetlands here on journeys stretching thousands of kilometers. In recent years, growing wetland protection and habitat restoration efforts have also helped fuel a noticeable birdwatching boom. And maybe that’s part of why bird photos have suddenly become everywhere lately — not just because the birds are beautiful, but because more people are starting to notice they’re there at all！