The story of her grandmother, first a prostitute, then a concubine, triggered author Zhang Lijia´s into writing her latest book Lotus: A Novel. With meticulous research she explored the life of today´s sex workers, and tells in Refinery29, how a middle-class lady explored a secret world.Read More →

One remarkable conclusion by author Zhang Lijia of Lotus: A Novel on sex work in China is her conclusion that prostitution in China is largely a free choice, where women are free to enter, and free to leave. Yes, there is economic pressure, but no organized crime or human trafficking on a major scale, she says.Read More →

First reviews of journalist Zhang Lijia´s touching Lotus: A Novel, are coming in, like here from the Star Tribune, focusing on the Chinese migrants, the unsung heroes who made the country´s economic development possible. “Lotus and Bing, as well as the secondary characters, feel like real, rounded human beings. Zhang portrays them compassionately.”Read More →

The sudden death of George Michael triggered off found memories in Beijing, where Michael´s band Wham! was one of the first to hit the stage after China started to open up in the 1980s. “They certainly had in impact on China, says Kaiser Kuo, now himself a rock legend in China, to Reuters.Read More →

Sino-American China veteran and rock star Kaiser Kuo will return to China in February and March 2017 for several visits. It will be the first time for him to visit after he left his job as communication director at internet giant Baidu earlier this year. He will visit Shanghai for a speech in the third week of March 2017.Read More →

Chinese has followed the lead by their former leader Deng Xiaoping to “become rich first”. But while hundreds of millions have indeed become more wealthy, social mobility has stalled, writes journalist Zhang Lijia, author of the forthcoming book on prostitution in China Lotus: A Novel in the New York Times.Read More →

China is proud about its millennia old culture, but just like the rest of society, its culture is also changing very fast. Old concepts like guanxi, losing face and the suppressed position of women are not what they were even a few decades ago. Many so-called China experts still cling to those old idea, but fortunately, we can offer a range of speakers at the China Speakers Bureau who have a clear view on how China´s culture is changing.Read More →

The Christian faith in China, sometimes illegally, sometimes condoned by the government, is growing fast, faster than other religions. Journalist Ian Johnson, author of the upcoming book The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao, explains in the Spectator why.Read More →