 WeChat is the center of the Chinese internet — powering everything from messaging to payments — and the main portal where China’s news outlets and bloggers publish their work. Six feet under Death is widely considered a taboo subject in China, but several recent Chinese-language TV shows and movies are hoping to change the narrative. The Taiwanese dramedy Life Cleaners, for instance, follows a group of work friends whose job is to clean homes where people have died — often after days of bodily decomposition — while reflecting on their own mortality. These shows and movies approach death in a more “direct and realistic” way that does not sugarcoat its “cruelty,” wrote Sanlian Lifeweek Magazine, with several shows also satirizing Buddhist and Taoist funeral traditions that “cover up the real sadness in the hearts of the living.” In doing so, the shows are redefining the idea of death as not something to fear but “an indispensable part of the journey of life,” Sanlian wrote. Walking down the aisle A Chinese city has taken a unique approach to tackling the country’s declining birth rate. Changsha, the capital of Hunan, this month unveiled a pop-up “marriage and childbearing cultural street.” The picturesque alley is lined with flowers and signs bearing messages such as: “Families with three children are the best!” Couples can also attend “marriage school” where they learn parenting skills, including how to change diapers. But responses have been lackluster, with many Weibo users — particularly young women — complaining the initiative is yet another attempt by authorities to promote traditional patriarchal roles. The simplistic slogans lining the street’s walls “not only fail to resonate with young people, but will also run counter to their thoughts,” argued one WeChat blog that evaluates marketing schemes. Boy toys The fidget toy craze has spread to China. Sales on retail app Taobao increased by 354% year-on-year in October, according to Imaijia, an e-commerce news site. Notably, more than 70% of those purchases were made by men, and platforms like Douyin and Bilibili now have hundreds of male influencers reviewing their favorite fidget toys. Vendors are taking note and creating flashier, more expensive toys that successfully target male customers. Men are starting to “pay more and more attention to their personal quality of life,” Imaijia argued, and are eager to invest in indulgent products seen as status symbols. One buyer told Imaijia that displaying his fidget toys in public has become “a habit like wearing glasses.” | 
