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South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Why some Chinese students are skipping elite universities amid job market fears
After underperforming in China's national college entrance exam in June, Lu Jie was accepted into a computer science and technology programme earlier this month at a lesser-known polytechnic university in central China's Hunan province. 'Good schools had too many applicants for this major, so I had to choose a lower-ranked one to pursue it,' Lu said. The results for the exam, better known as the gaokao , have been released over the past two weeks – marking a life-changing moment for students like Lu. Now more than ever, students are opting for majors with strong job prospects over prestigious universities. A focus on immediate employability and job security is eclipsing long-term aspirations and personal interests. Driving this trend is a growing oversupply of college graduates , intensifying competition in the job market amid a challenging economic climate. Computer science has long been a highly popular major, Lu said, but the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) – widely expected to create new job opportunities – has fuelled even greater demand over the past couple of years.
South China Morning Post
19-07-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Chinese university student delivers baby in dorm while studying for final exam
A university student in central China has stunned many after giving birth to a 'giant baby' in her dormitory, with her roommate calmly noting: 'This isn't her first time giving birth,' despite the scene of heavy bleeding. The dramatic incident, which took place at a university in Hubei province, involved a third-year student unexpectedly going into labour in her dorm room. The date of the occurrence and the student's identity have not been disclosed. Reports indicate that the student insisted on staying in her upper bunk bed, despite her advanced pregnancy, as she found it comfortable and wished to remain in school to complete her final exams. Despite her advanced pregnancy, the student insisted on staying in her upper bunk bed, as she found it comfortable. Photo: Baidu In the dead of night, the student suddenly went into labour. Her roommate was jolted awake by the strong smell of blood, only to discover the student enduring intense pain as she gave birth. The scene was shocking – the cotton quilt beneath her was completely soaked in blood, said the roommate. Emergency services were alerted immediately, and by the time the medical team arrived, the baby had already been delivered. Doctors were taken aback by the significant haemorrhage and the size of the newborn, who weighed a remarkable 4.5kg and was classified as a 'giant' infant.
South China Morning Post
23-06-2025
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Central and southern China hit by heavy rainfall and flooding
Heavy rainfall has triggered flooding in parts of central and southern China over the week, prompting local...
New York Times
03-06-2025
- General
- New York Times
What We Can Learn About Xi's Rule by Studying His Father's Life
One June evening in 1976 when a neighbor visited Xi Zhongxun, a former vice premier who had been exiled to a factory in central China, he found the old man drinking cheap liquor and crying alone in the dark. Mr. Xi explained that it was his son Xi Jinping's birthday. The old man felt guilty that Jinping and the family suffered so much during the Cultural Revolution. A month later, Xi Jinping, who had just turned 23, visited his father, who made him recite two of Mao Zedong's famous speeches from memory: 'On Contradiction' and 'On Practice.' The Cultural Revolution ended that fall with Mao's death. Xi Zhongxun would go on to become a national leader in the 1980s with a reputation as a reformer. His son Xi Jinping would become China's top leader in 2012 and chart a more authoritarian course than any leader since Mao. One of the most enduring debates — and, for many people, deepest disappointments — in contemporary China is why Xi Jinping did not live up to his father's image. After both were persecuted under Mao's autocratic rule, why has Xi Jinping's reign come to echo Mao's cult of personality rather than the more open, institutionalized governance that his father most likely would have preferred? In a new biography of Xi Zhongxun, the China scholar Joseph Torigian addresses this question and contributes greatly to our understanding of China. The book, deeply researched, tells the story of a man torn between his humanity and his loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, offering insights into the party's workings and the human suffering that shaped his son's governing style and conception of power. 'Some may wonder why Xi Jinping would remain so devoted to an organization that severely persecuted his father,' writes Mr. Torigian, an associate professor at American University and a research fellow at the Hoover Institution. 'Perhaps the better question is, How could Xi Jinping betray the party for which his father sacrificed so much?' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
South China Morning Post
28-05-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Elon Musk's Hyperloop can be ‘extremely unpleasant', China project scientists have ‘cure'
Chinese scientists claimed to have solved a critical flaw in the futuristic vision of ultra-high speed ground travel, potentially salvaging vacuum-tube maglev technology and casting new light on the challenges faced by Elon Musk's Hyperloop concept. A study published by China's peer-reviewed Journal of Railway Science and Engineering on May 16 showed that even minor imperfections – such as uneven coils or bridge deformations – would turn a journey into an ordeal, even in near-airless tunnels. But the engineers – who are working at the world's first full-scale test line in central China – also said they found a way to slash turbulence intensity by nearly a half, reducing 'extremely severe bumps' to levels that were 'pronounced, but not unpleasant'. The researchers, led by Zhao Ming from the maglev and electromagnetic propulsion division of state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), said they used supercomputer simulations and scaled-down prototype tests for the study. The team found that track irregularities and electromagnetic resonance were enough to trigger violent low-frequency vibrations in maglev cars travelling at the technology's cruising speed of 1,000km/h (612mph). Using the 1940s-era Sperling Index, an international metric for ride comfort, the study showed that oscillations amplified at specific speeds, with a peak at 400km/h (249mph) reaching a level of vibration deemed 'extremely unpleasant'.
