Drones are making farming “cool” again

July 10, 2018 by Jason Li

Zhao has been a professional drone pilot since 2015, when he gave up his life as a migrant laborer and returned to his hometown to work in the country’s nascent drone industry. Although he is only 23 years old, Zhao is already a veteran of sorts in this emerging field.

When I…

Continue readingDrones are making farming “cool” again

Design Society Shenzhen: conservative curatorial at a cutting-edge institution

April 9, 2018 by Jason Li

After much fanfare, I had a chance to visit the two opening exhibitions at the new Design Society 设计互联 in Shenzhen – “China’s first design museum.” Freshly unveiled last December, Design Society is located at the newly-constructed Sea World Culture and Arts Center in Shekou, one of the most historically-progressive areas in Shenzhen. That it is…

Continue readingDesign Society Shenzhen: conservative curatorial at a cutting-edge institution

Melon Festival Year 2: emphasizing the science in science fiction

March 29, 2018 by Jason Li

The second Melon festival about “science fiction, innovation and the future” took place in Hong Kong on March 17 and was markedly more packed, slick and diverse than its predecessor. Festival organizers added a third set of speakers – scientists – to their roster this year on top of the previously-featured science fiction authors and…

Continue readingMelon Festival Year 2: emphasizing the science in science fiction

An inside look at one of China’s first Taobao villages

January 9, 2018 by Jason Li

Over on e-flux, Stephan Petermann takes us on a narrated tour of Dong Feng, one of the first “Taobao villages” in China:

When we arrive in Dong Feng in the spring of 2017, the number of Taobao shops has increased from the initial three to nearly 16,000, with an average density of more than three per capita, the highest…

Continue readingAn inside look at one of China’s first Taobao villages

Toysoul 2017: a focused and curated Asian toy fair

December 21, 2017 by Jason Li

This was my first year at Toysoul, but the fair’s third year in operation. Billed as the “Asian Toy Fair,” this Hong Kong-based mostly-vinyl toy festival comprises products and designs from Greater China, Japan, Korea and Thailand. In sharp contrast to the more established ACGHK, Toysoul was a more…

Continue readingToysoul 2017: a focused and curated Asian toy fair

Peak bike-sharing in China?

November 13, 2017 by Jason Li

From Samantha Culp‘s Instagram:

Compared to four months ago, I’m seeing many more of these signs (on private buildings/driveways) as cities try to manage the chaos of the bike-sharing boom

…it’s just that there are too many of the shared bikes (competing startups flush with…

Continue readingPeak bike-sharing in China?

How the V&A Museum is collecting & preserving WeChat for the 100-year future

September 26, 2017 by Jason Li

The following is an excerpt from the Brendan Cormier (V&A)’s article on How We Collected WeChat:

During our filming at the WeChat campus, the design team pulled us aside and handed us a phone. They had come up with a possible solution for the acquisition. On the phone was the WeChat app. We poked around on it, and asked…

Continue readingHow the V&A Museum is collecting & preserving WeChat for the 100-year future

Give your support to this collection of next-generation recipes from the Chinese diaspora

September 18, 2017 by Jason Li

From The Illustrated Wok‘s Kickstarter page:

Thanks to a customer base that is increasingly savvy about diverse regional cuisines, Chinese food in the West is finally outgrowing its reputation as cheap takeout. We’re seeing the rise of chefs who approach Chinese cooking with the spirit of curiosity and experimentation while staying respectful…

Continue readingGive your support to this collection of next-generation recipes from the Chinese diaspora

Hong Kong Book Fair 2017: mainstream supermarkets persist as indies find their own voice

July 24, 2017 by Jason Li

A motley crew of publishers, booksellers, NGOs and education companies descended in Hong Kong this year for the 2017 Book Fair. This odd mixture is nothing new (as we noted in 2015 and 2016), and if anything this year’s fair was a more muted affair with fewer dazzling displays, only one large-sized English-language booth, and a rather…

Continue readingHong Kong Book Fair 2017: mainstream supermarkets persist as indies find their own voice

The Melon sci-fi conference: a stimulating clash of worlds

June 7, 2017 by Jason Li

Court drawing of an authors panel

The inaugural Melon science fiction conference took place on April 19-20 in Hong Kong. A modest, two-day event, it brought together writers, producers, lawyers and entrepreneurs who work in science fiction and its adjacent industries. One of the main draws of the conference was its mix of speakers from both Greater China and the West, a rare get together in…

Continue readingThe Melon sci-fi conference: a stimulating clash of worlds

八八吧 · 88 Bar

Category: Uncategorized