China Minutes

Gaokao, China’s National Higher Education Entrance Examination, just ended after two days of intense testing. This year, more than 13.35 million students registered for the exam, marking a record high according to the Ministry of Education. Widely regarded as the most competitive and high-stakes exam in the world, China’s Gaokao serves as the gateway to the country’s top universities and for many, it defines their future prospects. Spanning multiple subjects and lasting up to nine hours, the exam varies slightly across provinces, with some incorporating additional elective tests. Preparation often starts years in advance, becoming the focal point of a student’s academic life. The pressure is so intense that entire cities adjust to accommodate the exam. Roads around testing sites are closed, honking is strictly forbidden, and construction work comes to a halt. Police maintain quiet zones near exam halls, while residents are asked to speak softly, turn down music, and avoid any unnecessary noise. After years of preparation and two relentless days of testing, the Gaokao is finally over, ending one of the most intense exams in China’s academic calendar. Would you give it a try, could you handle the pressure? • • #gaokao #exam #examready #examseason #china #chineseexam #university #college #examstress #viralmoments #students #chinesedrama #chinesetiktok #fyp #foruyou #news #emotional #xyz #academia

🚀 China’s Tianzhou‑9 cargo ship lifted off from Hainan on July 14, 2025, carrying a record 6.5 ton payload to the Tiangong space station. As it pierced the pre‑dawn sky, the Long March 7 rocket created a stunning ‘space jellyfish’ cloud, lighting up social feeds, before the uncrewed freighter docked a few hours later to deliver supplies, spacesuits, experiments, and life‑support equipment to Shenzhou‑20’s crew. • • • #space #rocketlaunch #watchthis #spacelaunch #tianzhou #rocket #astronauts #tminus #incredible #fypageシ #fürdich #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp

Developed by China’s Kinghood Group, the machine accepts gold items over 3 grams with at least 50% purity. It melts the gold at 1,200°C, assesses its purity and weight, and transfers the corresponding value directly to the user's bank account within 30 minutes, without any paperwork. In one instance, a 40-gram gold necklace yielded over ¥36,000 (approximately $5,000) based on live rates from the Shanghai Gold Exchange. As global gold prices rise, this ATM offers a swift, transparent alternative to traditional gold selling methods, blending ancient value with modern convenience. • • #gold #goldatm #atm #banking #futurebanking #tech #chinatech #technology #DidYouKnow #breakingnews #goldprices #money #goldtiktok #golden #goldplated #chinese #chinatechnology #chinese #us #usa #america #fyp #fürdich #fypagee

Yes, these are real butterflies and no, they are not tied to the string or the stick 🦋 In parts of rural China, locals have found a simple way to attract real butterflies using just a piece of white paper tied to a stick. By gently waving the paper, they mimic the fluttering motion of another butterfly, causing the insects to follow. It’s all based on visual movement. 👇🏼Would you wanna try?👇🏼 • • • #princess #disney #butterfly #butterflies #disneyprincesses #uncle #chineseuncle #butterflyeffect #viralvideos #wholesomemoments #nature #animals #chinatiktok #trendi #xyzabc #蝴蝶 #fyp #foru #fypag #movie

Shanxi province in China has earned a fitting nickname, the “Sleeping Province.” The tradition of wujiao (午觉) the “midday sleep”, stretches back centuries. Ancient texts like the Huangdi Neijing highlight midday rest as essential to maintaining balance and preserving our health. Today, surveys have confirmed that in provinces like Shanxi, 60% of people engage in habitual afternoon naps. Across age and profession, the nap culture shapes daily routines. Students in some schools are even given dedicated nap periods with mats or folding beds provided and even office workers and shopkeepers comply, powering down briefly in the early afternoon. 👇🏼 Isn’t this the perfect place to live for those who like afternoon naps? 👇🏼 • • • #wholesomemoments #funnytiktok #naptime #sleep #sleepyday #onlyinchina #hilariousvideos #funfacts #DidYouKnow #napculture #chinaa #chinese #viralvideos #unbelievable #siesta #fyp #foryoupagee #trendiing

Da Tiao (打挑), also known as Da Ge or Da Wu (打歌/打舞), is a traditional group dance from Yunnan’s Yi ethnic minority, with roots stretching back over 3,000 years. Originally performed around bonfires during weddings and festivals, it combines music, chanting, and collective movement to celebrate community and identity. Today, the dance is going viral on platforms like Douyin, where locals break into spontaneous public performances the moment they hear the beat often lifting stools, buckets, or whatever’s nearby as part of the routine. • • • #dancer #yunnan #dancing #public #publicdance #funnymoments #wholesomeplottwist #onlyinchina #ethnicdance #hilariousvideos #memestiktok #fyp

A co-brand campaign in China has caught national attention for cleverly arranging brand logos into what sounds like a marriage proposal 💍🇨🇳 The characters come from the Chinese names of five major brands: KFC (肯德基), Uniqlo (优衣库), McDonald’s (麦当劳), Luckin Coffee (瑞幸咖啡), Mixue Bingcheng (蜜雪冰城). Together, the first syllables form the phrase “肯优麦瑞蜜” (Kěn Yōu Mài Ruì Mì), which phonetically resembles “Can you marry me?” in Mandarin. The display has been spotted in shopping malls in cities like Taiyuan and Wuhan, and has quickly gone viral across Chinese social media platforms such as Weibo and Xiaohongshu. Netizens are not just sharing the pun online, but actively flocking to the stores involved, purchasing from each brand to recreate the lineup themselves through photos and videos. While it’s still unclear who originally created the display, the concept has been widely praised as a strategic marketing win 🏆 • • • #marketinggenius #genz #genzhumor #cobrand #genzieedit #onlyinchina #memestiktok

China has officially unveiled its next-generation maglev train at the 12th UIC World Congress on High-Speed Rail in Beijing in July 2025. Developed by CRRC Qingdao Sifang, the train is designed to cruise at 600 km/h (373 mph)—a speed comparable to that of commercial jets. Once operational, the maglev is expected to reduce the journey time between Shanghai and Beijing from the current 4.5–6 hours to just 2.5 hours, covering more than 1,000 kilometers across some of the country’s most densely populated regions. The maglev prototype was first rolled out in Qingdao in 2021 and has since undergone testing at a dedicated track in Shanghai’s Tongji University and in low-vacuum tubes near Datong. By using magnetic levitation, the train eliminates traditional wheel-track friction, allowing for ultra-high-speed travel with minimal resistance. Although a specific launch date has not yet been announced, experts suggest that the technology may be commercially deployed by the end of the decade, pending safety certification and infrastructure development. Once in service, it would mark a major leap in China’s high-speed rail ambitions, setting a new benchmark for ground-based transportation. • • • #train #maglev #breakingnews #technews #trainspotting #trains #highspeedrailway #boeing #boeing737 #techtok #chinanews #chinatech #hs #hs2 #foryour #fyp #foryoupagе

Across China, local and major police stations and precincts are taking to social media with a new trend: faking phone thefts in markets to raise public awareness. Officers will “steal” phones and wallets to show just how easy it is to be pickpocketed, then of course return the items along with safety tips and advice. 👇🏼 Do you think this method is effective?👇🏼 • • • #tiktokchina #trends #police #pickpocket #attentione #viralditiktok #xhs #phonetheft #memes #china

Chinese sun protection has gone viral for its creativity and dedication, but it’s more than just staying cool. In many parts of Chinese society, fair skin has traditionally been associated with beauty, refinement, and higher social standing, influenced by long-standing cultural ideals. Tanned skin, by contrast, was historically viewed as a sign of outdoor labor, a perception that still shapes some modern beauty standards today. • • • #viralmoment #sunprotection #lifehacks #heatwave #trendingnow #xyzabc #memestiktok #foru #forupage #onlyinchina #chinesefunny #summerhacks #sun #fyp #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp

In China, a 1,600-year-old statue of two girls holding hands has sparked a viral friendship trend. The figurines, dating back to the Northern Wei dynasty (386-534 AD), were unearthed in Luoyang, once the imperial capital, as part of a 2005 excavation that uncovered a set of 21 painted terracotta female figures. Standing just 17cm tall, this particular pair stood out for their vivid expressions: rosy cheeks, soft smiles, one hand on their hips and the other clasped together. Though they have no official name, online they've been affectionately dubbed the "Terracotta Besties." Now displayed at the Luoyang Museum, they've sparked a cultural trend, with women dressed in traditional Hanfu lining up to recreate the pose, turning an ancient funerary object into a modern-day ritual of sisterhood. • • • #storytime #bestfriend #friendshipgoals #cutemoment #wholesome #trends #chinatrends #hanfu #sisterhood #virale #fypagetiktok #bf #chinatiktok

In 2015, Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang finally lit his ‘Sky Ladder’, a 1,650-foot glowing pathway of fire, suspended in the sky by a helium balloon. But this wasn’t just any spectacular artwork. It was a deeply personal farewell. After more than two decades of failed attempts, Cai’s dream came true just in time for his 100-year-old grandmother to witness it who watched the entire firework over FaceTime as she was too frail to attend in person. Unfortunately, she passed away a month later. Cai Guo-Qiang, born in Quanzhou, China, is internationally known for his pioneering use of gunpowder and large-scale explosion events that blend performance, sculpture, and painting. He’s the artist behind the fireworks at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and his work often explores the tension between destruction and creation, the earthly and the cosmic. ‘Sky Ladder’ was no exception. Cai first conceived the idea as a child and tried to realize it in three earlier locations: Bath, UK (1994), Shanghai, China (2001), and Los Angeles, US (2012). Each time, plans were derailed by bad weather, technical complications, or post-9/11 security restrictions. But he never gave up. On June 15, 2015, in his hometown of Quanzhou, Cai launched the piece in secret at 4:49 a.m. The artwork lasted just over two minutes, rising slowly into the sky like something out of a dream. But for Cai, that fleeting moment was everything: a quiet, poetic act of love for the woman who raised him. A year later, the world would come to know this story through the Netflix documentary ‘Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang’, but at its core, this wasn't a global spectacle. It was a grandson's final gift. • • • #wholesome #heartwarming #grandmasoftiktok #farewell #emotional #fireworks #storytime #DidYouKnow #caiguoqiang #artist #hanszimmer #emotionalvideos #f #蔡国强 #fypageシ #foryoupagee

What began with two bikers in Sichuan has turned into a viral trend across the country, using lotus leaves as DIY protections against sun and wind 🪷 Chinese are known for taking sun protection seriously and this leafy hack is the latest creative twist ☀️ • • • #funnymoment #viralmoments #lotus #lotusflower #whitelotus #hilarious #hack #LifeHack #unexpected #chinese #china #chinatiktok #summerhack #bikers #fyp #foruyou #chs #xhs #trendingnow #trends

Chinese students broke into backflips and dancing as the 2025 Gaokao—the world’s toughest college entrance exam—came to an end. This year, 13.35 million students sat the test over two intense days. Across the country, relief and celebration erupted the moment the pressure lifted 🎉 • • #gaokao #gaokaochina #examseason #examready #china #chinesestudents #kungfu #backflips #viralmoment #entranceexam #university #chinesestudents #reactions #fyp #foru #foryoupagee #高考 #xhs