Author: Christina Xu

Christina Xu is an observer and organizer of communities, both online and off-. She is particularly interested in youth subcultures, cultural translation & syncretism, and user reappropriations of technology.
Ethnography of Tech

VR malls, mobile payments and tuhao-themed parties (#cxinchina 2016 edition)

Posted on by Christina Xu

Editor’s note: Below is a selection of our favorite Instagram posts that  Christina published during her 2016 trip to Beijing, Chengdu & Shanghai to research technology, youth culture and trends.

 

Technology

There are VR kiosks in almost every mid-high end mall I’ve been into in Beijing and Shanghai, as well…

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China Meme Report · Multi Entry

ZHUANG B — (v.) to be a poser

Posted on by Christina Xu
Shanghai Fashion Week photo
This photo of the front-row at a Shanghai Fashion Week show is mine and intends no shade. The shady memes below were hand-foraged from the Chinese internets.

In Chinese internet parlance, to 装B (zhuāng bì) is to put on airs — worldly, moneyed, educated, eccentric, or any other combination thereof. In other words: to be a fucking poser.

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Live-Streaming Meals: inviting your internet neighbors over for dinner in China

Posted on by Christina Xu

gif of a live-streamed meal with comments

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from an article on Lucky Peach called I Eat, You Watch, written by our very own Christina Xu:

“Can you show me some of your favorites?” I asked, expecting her to share the latest Chinese memes. Instead, she giggled in embarrassment and scrolled through a feed dominated…

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Advanced Red Envelope Techniques

Posted on by Christina Xu

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Red envelopes used to be a simple joy. On a festive occasion like Chinese New Year, people exchanged perfumed red-and-gold paper envelopes stuffed with cash to signify good will. For Chinese kids, it was like Trick or Treat but infinitely better—kneel in front of your elders in a New Year’s greeting, and you’d walk away with cold, hard cash to spend on…

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China loves the lingo of games

Posted on by Christina Xu

A few years ago, my mom called to ask for my advice on webcams. She explained (in the English-peppered Chinese that’s the official language of our Chinese-American household) that some of her friends had started sharing videos of themselves singing karaoke. She thought she could do better. “我想给她们PK一下,” she remarked: “I want to PK them a little.”

The term “PK” (or “Player Kill”)…

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