A group blog about Chinese tech, media and design
Blockchain Chicken Farm: And Other Stories of Tech in China’s Countryside
By Xiaowei Wang
FSG Originals, 256 pp.
Prototype Nation: China and the Contested Promise of Innovation
By Silvia M. Lindtner
Princeton University Press, 288 pp.
It’s really hard to get an on-the-ground view of…
Continue readingLooking at China and Seeing Ourselves: Two Ethnographies of Tech in China
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?
Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from ‘Created’ in China: Shenzhen is making hardware like Silicon Valley makes apps, written by An Xiao Mina and originally published on Fusion.
China is amidst a massive transition from a country primarily of manufacturers to one of makers. Lei Gao is part of this new generation…
Continue readingHow the internet is making hardware startups as fast as software in Shenzhen
China’s major cities are seeing fierce competition for drivers to join ridehailing platforms like Uber and China’s homegrown leader, Didi Kuadi. I just spent a few weeks in China using the “People’s Uber” service, the cheapest Uber service that uses private cars, and interviewed 10-12 Uber…
Continue readingUber in China: A Driver’s View
Now in its fourth year, the Maker Faire Shenzhen was bigger than ever. Aside from ever-larger booths and robot sculptures (see above), there was also a much larger corporate presence from sponsors, and, given Premier Li Keiqiang’s recent interest in “maker culture,” probably a great leap in government support. In short, Maker Faire Shenzhen has grown up.
As…
Continue readingRobots, Diaper Monitors and Putin: What We Saw at Maker Faire Shenzhen 2015
In light of Mary Meeker’s recent statistic from KPCB’s 2005 Internet Trends report (slide 163):
I wanted to revisit Stratechery’s previous article about Xiaomi’s ambition to become a high-end, all-purpose consumer electronics brand for China.
First they…
Continue readingLike Apple, Xiaomi has its own cult followers
