Chinese skateboarding from the streets to Olympic podiums, Central Asian tourist getaways, and LV in Beijing

Chinese skateboarding from the streets to Olympic podiums, Central Asian tourist getaways, and LV in Beijing

As Chinese sports fans get over the hangover (real or simply time difference-induced) of watching the Euros, excitement is growing for the Olympics, which arrive in Paris next week. Besides actually featuring Chinese athletes, another point of interest at these games is the inclusion of “urban” sports with shorter histories in China. As our lead feature this week touches upon, the freshness of these sports has made them younger and more inclusive: not only are all of China’s skateboarders at this year’s Olympics women, but they’re also all under 20.

Read on to learn more about the skaters hoping to take China to Olympic glory, including 14-year-old Cui Chenxi.

Here’s what else was happening around China last week:

Thanks in part to visa-exempt travel, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are hot (perhaps literally) travel destinations for young Chinese tourists.

Through a well-received pop-up event, Louis Vuitton has brought together fashion, sports, and Beijing’s local culture.

Intrigued? Keep scrolling, my friend.

From Street to Podium: How Skateboarding’s Olympic Status is Changing the Sport in China

Earlier this month, Shanghai skateboard brand Avenue & Son touched down in Aranya, Qinhuanghao — along the coast of the Yellow Sea a few hours’ drive from Beijing — to host one of Asia’s most intriguing skateboard competitions.

The 2024 edition of Grand Masters (GM) gathered together both professional athletes and rising rookies from all over the Asia Pacific. With leading Chinese DJs setting the scene, enthusiastic crowds, internationally-respected judges, and, best of all, an Olympic standard skate park, for competitors Grand Masters offered an experience unlike any other.

Check out the full article by Handuo Sun on our website.

A Feast for the Senses – The Art of Michael Chow

Michael Chow, known for his glamorous Chinese restaurants that became a magnet for art titans like Andy Warhol, always harbored a passion for painting. Now in his 80s, Chow's career comes full circle as he embraces his true calling as a professional artist.

We’ve previously mentioned how the civil service has become an expectedly enticing career path for many young people in China. So much so that companies are launching AI tools to help applicants prepare for the civil service exam.

Under certain light conditions, a brick wall in Beijing’s Ditan Park looks like the sea. Unleash the Xiaohongshu influencers!

Shanghai producer Zean has a new EP coming out. The main exponents of Shanghai’s club scene have been relatively quiet recently, making the UK-influenced broken beat of No Roots all the more welcome.

We got watermelon mahjong before GTA 6.

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