International gold prices have fallen sharply from their early-year peak, and premium jeweler Laopu Gold has started discounting for the first time after repeated price hikes. Chinese buyers are wondering whether the golden run has finally ended.
China's National Day variety gala still booked its biggest pop names, but the evening's backbone was researchers, grassroots workers and soldiers. Commentators read the lineup as a quiet recalibration of what counts as a national-stage star.
A National Day feature celebrates ordinary laborers — repairers, cooks, warehouse hands — whose satisfaction comes from a job done well, not applause. It is a small window into how Chinese culture honors skilled, unglamorous work.
A Chinese tech writer spent the National Day holiday testing whether an AI agent could handle a seven-day self-driving route through Henan. His conclusion: hand the agent the logistics, but keep the decisions yourself.
A 160-minute crime thriller starring Zhu Yilong leads a crowded National Day slate of fourteen films, while a 1994 Hollywood classic and a 2008 Pixar hit also crowd Chinese screens.
Twelve films crowd China's 2026 National Day holiday slate, with presales past 23 million yuan but no dominant blockbuster in sight. The spread spans crime thrillers, family comedy, animation and imported action, opening from September 30 to October 5.
Ahead of the week-long National Day holiday, Chinese travelers face overbooked hotels, last-minute cancellations, and a surge in bedbug fears. Meanwhile, a rescue in Inner Mongolia highlights the risks of mountain tourism.
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