In 2025, the Chinese real estate market continues to plummet, with many homeowners in Shanghai facing difficulties due to debt pressure, unemployment, and market collapse. The middle class in Shanghai is experiencing endless pain because of their property investments. More and more people are complaining about the vicious cycle of the housing market, causing great distress to themselves.
Sohu CEO Zhang Chaoyang sparked a heated debate by suggesting eating only two meals a day, following his previous recommendation of the 4-hour sleep method. Some questioned this new suggestion, while others expressed their support.
On March 27, the 2025 Hurun Global Rich List was released, showing that the founder of Pinduoduo, Huang Zheng, ranked 39th globally with a wealth of 265 billion RMB, a decrease of 120 billion RMB from 2024.
International gold prices have hit a new high, leading to a surge in the prices of gold jewelry in China. As of March 28, Zhou Shengsheng’s 24k gold jewelry was priced at 934 RMB per gram, Laofengxiang and LaoMiao gold jewelry at 929 RMB per gram, and brands like Chow Tai Fook and Lao Liu Fu at 921 RMB per gram.
On Thursday, March 27, a sudden mountain fire broke out in Guang’an, Sichuan, turning the mountain into a sea of flames that raged for kilometers, engulfing the area in intense heat.
Several mainland Chinese media outlets mistakenly wrote “8964” instead of “8946” in headlines when reporting on businesses’ performance. After attracting attention from netizens, they deleted or corrected the headlines.
Wang Youqun criticized the Chinese Communist Party’s “rule of law” as a joke, pointing out that despite professing to govern by law for 28 years, the CCP continues to create unjust cases intentionally.
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit Myanmar today (28th), causing severe shaking in cities like Bangkok and Chiang Mai. A tall building under construction in Bangkok collapsed, trapping over 40 people inside.
China is facing a demographic crisis with accelerating aging population and a reluctance among young people to marry and have children. In response, the Chinese authorities have launched campaigns to encourage childbirth, offering subsidies and maternity leave, but public response has been negative. Experts believe the CCP’s efforts may be superficial or involve data manipulation. Some young Chinese have even declared themselves as the “last generation” due to political and economic pressures.
The sale of ports, including the Panama Canal, by Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings, has angered the Chinese authorities. It is reported that Beijing has instructed state-owned enterprises to suspend new collaborations with Li Ka-shing’s affiliated companies.
With Donald Trump’s mediation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict causing a significant impact on the EU, European Commission President von der Leyen stated on March 18 that “if Europe wants to avoid war, it must be prepared for war. By 2030, Europe must have a strong defense posture.”
The ongoing slump in China’s real estate market has led to a 15.7% decrease in land sales revenue for the first two months of the year. Land transfer income has been a significant source of revenue for local governments in China, but it has been declining year after year. The latest data shows that land transfer revenue for the first two months of this year fell below 500 billion RMB, a 15.7% decrease compared to the same period in early 2021 during the pandemic lockdown, marking nearly a 58% drop.
A U.S. federal judge on Thursday (March 27) ordered the Trump administration to preserve all records of Signal group chats from March 11 to 15 amid the controversy.
Before the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and National People’s Congress, a septuagenarian petitioner, Wang Huifang, was detained by the authorities and sent back to Shanghai, where she has since gone missing. Apart from being detained for 30 days, the authorities also intend to subject her to a psychiatric evaluation in an attempt to institutionalize her.
The Chinese navy’s rapid expansion and increased presence have prompted the U.S. to develop a new strategy to provide a large number of anti-ship missiles to Asia-Pacific allies and partners to target Chinese warships, enabling low-cost asymmetric warfare.