The Public Space Issue

July/August, 2022

This issue, we explore China’s lack of public spaces and debates over which people (and dogs) should have access to them. Elsewhere, we investigate dialect content on social media, unpack the drive for food security, experience centuries-old Kazakh falconry culture, feature an exclusive piece from translator Nicky Harman, and more.

疫情让人们更深地认识了公共空间的可贵。人们走向街头、公园、图书馆等公共场所，寻求物理或精神的“庇护”。然而，诸多因素也将一些人和宠物拦在了门外。公园的设计师、图书馆的管理者也在探索如何更好地服务大众，尤其是弱势群体。真正免费开放的公共空间离我们还有多远？

Cover Story | 封面故事 

Public Affairs

公共空间谁与共？

In China, this summer might be dubbed the “summer of the outdoors”—when urbanites, barred from indoor venues by Covid restrictions, took to the streets to eat and relax. But China’s history of truly public spaces is short, and debates continue to rage over safety and control. Meanwhile, public libraries have been pioneers in welcoming people of all backgrounds, but face a lack of resources and pandemic rules, while millions of pet owners still struggle to find places accepting of their furry companions.

Features | 主题故事 

Protecting the Rice Bowl

粮食安全：全民的“饭碗”

For much of China’s population, starvation has become a distant memory—yet food security is no less important, with the leadership pledging to make the country capable of feeding itself. Climate change, the pandemic, deteriorating trade relations, as well as the shrinking margins of millions of small farmers, spell out a formidable challenge ahead.

Speaking Up, Passing Down

方言保卫战

Chinese has hundreds of regional dialects (fangyan), but just 62 percent of urbanites can still speak their hometown’s dialect. Official conservation efforts, and a new trend of fangyan videos and social media memes, have made some inroads with young people, but is it enough?

Field Notes | 乡音

The Last Falconers

阿尔泰山下，最后的驯鹰人

The Kazakh people of the Altai Mountains in northwestern China have an extensive history of raising golden eagles as hunting partners and companions. As this way of life disappears with the onslaught of urbanization and poaching, one Kazakh youth recalls his family’s partnership with the “empresses of the sky.”

Kaleidoscope | 镜像中国 

By the Sea

送你一片海

Summer is here, and with travel abroad still curtailed due to the pandemic, domestic tourists are flocking to China’s 18,000 kilometers of coastline. But the seaside isn’t just a place to catch some waves and snooze on the sand—it’s also home to about 20 percent of China’s population, many of whom depend on the sea for their livelihoods. Photographer Xin Ting, from the seaside city of Shantou, explores his fascination with the sea and all the ways that people live, work, socialize, and dream by the coastline.

Dragon’s Digest | 三味书屋 

Neighbor

短篇小说《邻居》

How well do you know the people next door? Could you develop a real connection just by sharing a wall? In this urban tale by writer Zhao Song, a recluse moves into an apartment block in an unnamed city, where not everything is what it seems.

Gallery | 水墨丹青

Painting by Numbers

数字艺术，在于艺术还是技术？

Many look at the rapidly advancing world of NFTs and see dollar signs, but Reva sees possibilities—to combine her love of coding with creativity. The young crypto-artist shares with TWOC the inspirations behind her work, and the cutting-edge future she foresees in computer-based art.

Chi Le Ma | 吃了吗

Bean Curd Without Beans

杏仁豆腐——夏天必备甜品

This summer snack is a misnomer—called “almond tofu,” but with almost nothing to do with soy beans. Instead, this slippery, slithery dessert is a refreshing treat on hot days, and comes with an intriguing story starting with a charitable doctor and ending with Qing dynasty high society.

On the Road | 在路上 

Selling Lost Horizons

寻找“香格里拉”：云川藏探索之旅

With towering mountains, bucolic towns, and the cultures of the Naxi and Tibetan ethnic groups, the border region between Yunnan and Sichuan is trying its best to become the paradise of James Hilton’s 1933 novel Lost Horizon. From a city literally changing its name to Shangri-La, to tour operators curating a “Tibet adventure,” we go motorcycling behind the scenes of the tourist trade.

Bookmark | 好书有笺 

Found in Translation

为什么中国当代文学作品难以走向国际？

Nicky Harman began translating literature from Chinese to English in the late 1990s, when published works in this genre were rare. Many award-winning projects later, she looks back on how the field has evolved, and explores the lingering question of why some works get translated while others don’t.

Zoetrope | 视听空间

Rustbelt Renaissance

解读“东北文艺复兴”

Frozen landscapes, down-on-their-luck workers, desolate factory towns: These are recognizable tropes from movies, books, and art set in China’s Northeast, which has gained an outsized influence on the arts despite its small population and relatively short history. What made this former industrial cradle such fertile ground for creativity?

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