LIAONING, Northeast China — As the sun rises in the seaside city of Dalian, 46-year-old Ju Chunmei prepares breakfast for 20 children while holding 2-year-old Hai Fan. “Mama, Mama,” the little girl mumbles, pointing out a bag of oranges on the ground. In fact, Ju is not Hai Fan’s mother but a former prisoner who volunteered to look after the young charges living in Dalian … Continue reading Dalian’s Patchwork Family of Prisoners’ Children
From his first day at school, Sun Bin, now 21, was bullied for being feminine, a “sissy.” “I’m used to being called a faggot or a pervert,” said Sun, who is now a junior at a university in central China’s Henan province. There’s one instance from primary school that Sun will never forget. A dozen or so female classmates one day picked him up, carried … Continue reading China’s LGBT Youth Face Lots of Bullying, Little Acceptance
SICHUAN, Southwest China — When Li Xiaolu adopted two puppies last summer, she worried about how to train them, where to buy them the right food, and whether the two would get along. What she didn’t worry about was how badly they would be affected by smog. Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, is often described as the home not only of giant pandas, but also … Continue reading Caring for China’s Smog Dogs
Mist drifts among the peaks of Bama County’s verdant mountains in a scene that landscape artists could only dream of. Yet the county, in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is known not for its scenery but for its legendary status as the country’s “home of long life.” Bama County boasts 96 people over the age of 100 among its 300,000 residents, according to local government records. Of … Continue reading Longevity Pilgrims Go to Guangxi to Learn Secrets of Old Age
Zhang Guowei, a 76-year-old bisexual veteran, is relishing his twilight years. “I couldn’t be happier with my life post-retirement,” says Zhang, who was a doctor in the army until 1994. As a former military officer, Zhang’s monthly pension is 10,000 yuan ($1,440) — five times the average pension in Changde, the small city in central China’s Hunan province where he lives with his boyfriend. Zhang … Continue reading When You Are Old, Chinese, and Gay
When East Meets West 