China’s 2014 was a year of protests, tigers and flies, tilted fruit trucks, pandas, and censorship. Come to think of it, so was 2013. But not everything about last year was the same. Take these 10 longreads that first appeared on this site, well worth revisiting, among our favorite posts of 2014.

1. One Beijing Summer: A Tale Of Status, Sex, And A Chinese Pop Star

By Hannah Lincoln | Read full post

On a crisp September 1st morning in Beijing, I stood before a locked iron door. On the other side was a hutong that led to the streets and eventually my university dorm. On my side was a scruffy courtyard home, a room with no couch and only one big bed – on which slept my Chinese boyfriend. It was dawn, and the hutong roofs were limned by a light morning mist, releasing the heat of the night into a new day. Inside, I was trapped, faced with an undesirable decision: to take a hammer to the door, or to return to the bed and have sex with a person I no longer respected.

2. China’s Bill O’Reilly, Sima Nan, Is Now Pro-Free Speech, Anti-Moron

By Valentina Luo | Read full post

From left to right: Sima Nan, Zhou Xiaoping, and Fang Zhouzi

The talk of the Chinese Internet has been the overnight elevation of a new leader to the wumao ranks, “online writer” Zhou Xiaoping. Zhou reportedly was invited to attend a Forum on Art and Literature on October 15 held by “Uncle” Xi Jinping, where he posted a rather blurry selfie that featured the chairman in the background. That he wasn’t wrestled to the ground indicated Zhou’s star was in the ascendancy.

3. Did Ken Livingstone Crony and Anti-Occupy Spokesman John Ross “Censor” the Global Times?

By RFH | Read full post

Ross, meanwhile, is a loyal toady of the new world order. The Marxist economist is so committed to serving the people that, back in 2004, he gracefully accepted a massive salary of £110,000 – more than the then-Mayor of New York – as one of “Red” Ken Livingstone’s closest crony-advisors. (The post was not advertised, which might have struck even Tony Blair as rather non-egalitarian.)

4. Hong Kong Protests Surge Amid Growing Tension, Falling And Rising Barricades

By Anthony Tao | Read full post

Above on the overpasses, pedestrians peered at the action below, snapping pictures as if at a zoo. Underneath Pacific Place, in the Admiralty subway station, a poster extolled “New rail lines for a better Hong Kong” while advertisements cycled between Calvin Klein models and McDonald’s burgers. All the way home via public transport, we heard no chatter about the protests, which seemed to exist in a different realm altogether, a small but significant part of the city that created its own vortex while everyone else went about their day, now night, undisturbed by visions of democracy or the prospect of economic disenfranchisement.

5. I Nearly Lost A Testicle In A Beijing Hospital

By Bryce Lewis | Read full post

Die? How do balls just die? I refused to believe it. This wasn’t serious, nothing a little ice couldn’t solve. These Chinese doctors just wanted to rob the clueless foreigner. I called my sole Beijing friend, Lisi, to get a second opinion. She listened to me choke through tears, then told me she was too busy to come right away but would make some calls.

6. Deep Trouble: On The Set Of China’s Most Expensive, Possibly Worst Film (Part 1)

By Dale Irons | Read full post

After a brief reading, we were asked if we had any “fighting or action experience.” Yes: tons. For my friend — built like a tank with a voice so deep he was actually able to bass you out of a conversation — this wasn’t actually so far from the truth, although the acting was mostly of the “fucking and fighting” variety, in assorted bars and clubs. With my shoulder-length hair and somewhat effete manner, I cringed at the thought of a demonstration of such skills. Luckily, they took my word for it.

7. Chinese Version Of “The Wolf Of Wall Street” Is The Blockbuster That Will Never Be Made

By Warner Brown | Read full post

I was watching the movie for a second time – still puzzling as to why my initial viewing so enthralled me – when a random manager (or someone claiming to be such) added me on WeChat, China’s red-hot mobile messaging app. As I gazed upon Leonardo DiCaprio’s character enjoying a three-way, I fended off the manager’s requests for explicit photos to prove I was man enough to do the same. Finally, I made the connection: in spirit, if not quite in the details, The Wolf of Wall Street embodies the hidden, hedonistic thrill that drives so much of China’s official corruption.

8. Watching The Hong Kong Protests Inside China Central Television

By J. Stevens | Read full post

A CNN reporter stood live from Central Square in Hong Kong amid a sea of students wearing plastic coverings over their eyes and mouths. I had kept up with the story, having seen pictures like this on my Facebook newsfeed for the past several days, mostly from Hong Kong friends who were proud of the protesters and shocked at the sudden intensity of the police response. But I realized this must have been the first time many of my colleagues had seen these images.

9. Dispatches From Xinjiang: Shiralijan’s Fist And The Xinjiang Spirit

By Beige Wind | Read full post

He punched the air with his right hand while his left hand grabbed his bicep. Relating the gesture to the semiotics on the Uyghur countryside where he’s from, most Uyghur onlookers immediately interpreted the gesture as a “fuck you” to the crowd that had been chanting “East Turkistan stupid cunt,” or “DongTu shabi,” for the past three days. According to some Uyghur observers, Shiralijan was reacting as any self-respecting minority might to targeted ethnic slurs.

10. The Great Wall Of China As Sunken Treasure

By Christina Lauritsen | Read full post

The Wall pokes out of the water to form small islands, giving us a couple of reference points. However, they’d be useless once our masks slipped below the surface. The first five meters was entirely particulate matter and there was no visibility — this is apparently consistent for any time of year. Once below the silt, we were hit by the abrupt cold and absolute blackness. The only light came from our torches. Not a drop of sunlight penetrated the silt and algae above us. It was like entering another world, with all our senses altered — nothing came into focus until we spotted the Wall.

POSTSCRIPT:

Here’s to a great 2015.

All of you. So many of you. Do these lists. Let us know if we missed any. Happy New Year.

“Next Year in China: Ten Stories to Watch.” (The New Yorker)

Before President Xi Jinping took office, analysts wondered if he would tack toward reform or conservatism: Would he seek to open up the economic and political realms, or refurbish Party control over them? More than a year on, it’s clear that he has embraced contradiction; he is trying to narrow the space for political entrepreneurship while expanding possibilities for economic entrepreneurship.

“Xinhua’s Top Ten Popular Words of 2013.” (The China Story)

A phrase meaning something ‘hit the top headline’, this phrase became popular after news emerged about pop singer Wang Feng 汪峰 declaring his love while on stage at a concert for actress Zhang Ziyi 章子怡.

“China’s Top Internet Moments of 2013.” (WSJ)

China Real Time isn’t sure the Harlem Shake deserves to be in the same conversation as Gangnam, but it gets mention here because it caught on relatively early in China, where it was known as the “Loser Dance” and because, once again, it inspired elderly Chinese people to cut loose in ways that made us yearn for old age.

“The Year in Sex and Dating.” (the Beijinger)

In January, Chinese actress Wang Luodan rocked the Internet with a photo of her red, sore knees and an explanation that translates as: “I’ve always felt this was the only way to show you have ever loved.” Wang’s stated reason for the sore knees was a grueling dance rehearsal for an upcoming film.

“The 10 Best Chinese Artworks of 2013.” (Blouin Artinfo)

We said: “There’s another way Ai [Weiwei] might have arranged the letters for his exhibition title ‘S.A.C.R.E.D.’. But while being scared might have motivated the work, transforming that fear into art has yielded something that will remain sacred long after it’s removed from the church of Sant’Antonin.”

“Chinese Words of 2013.” (The World of Chinese)

房, which means housing, was chosen as the Chinese Character of the Year. Housing has special significance for Chinese. It is a necessary criteria for many men to have a wife or a girlfriend; it is a criteria for success; and it is a burden for college graduates and low-to middle-income earners. This year, housing in China is said to be the least affordable in the whole world.

“Top 10 domestic events of 2013.” (Xinhua)

“The 10 best longform stories on China from 2013.” (Shanghaiist)

“The Year in Video.” (Sinopathic)

“China’s Top 5 Off-Season Runway Shows of 2013.” (Jing Daily)

“2013 Year in Review: Top Examples of State Media Editorials on Free Speech – With Interpretive Memes.” (Fei Chang Dao)

“Miniharm’s Top 10 Moments of 2013.” (Ministry of Harm)

U.S.-China Relations Year in Review | 2013 The Year of the Snake, Sunnylands, and Suppression interlude:

Finally…

“2013: Best Music.” (Smart Beijing)

The air. (The Atlantic)

Tech in China 2013. (TechNode)

Favorite albums. (China Music Radar)

TOP SEX POSTS

Porn Sites That Are Not Blocked In China May 25

Chinese News Team Reports On Rare Lingzhi Mushroom, Which Is Actually A Rubber Vagina June 19

What Is A Chinese Orgy Actually Like? August 17

Pigs Depicted Having Sex Doggy-Style In Zhengzhou Public Square Are Said To Represent Filial Piety August 23

College Beauty Contest In Hubei Has Some Very Unique, Nipple-Specific Requirements September 7

Durex Condom Ad Insinuates Barack Obama Is Much Larger Than Mitt Romney November 8

TOP FIGHT POSTS

Did A Foreigner In Beijing Get This Public Beatdown For Attempted Rape? May 10

A Brutal, Bloody Beatdown In Sanlitun Last Week May 27

Middle School Students Beat Up Chengguan June 13

“Most Dutiful Security Guards” Sacrifice Themselves To Fight Off Knife-Wielding Assailant July 6

Playground Blogger Fight Attracts Ai Weiwei, Cops, Censors July 8

TOP TRAFFIC POSTS

The Mother Of All Traffic Jams (Warning: It’s Horrifying) May 21

The Basics Of Driving In China: A Diagram May 22

Bus Driver Hit With Unidentified Debris, Continues Doing Job June 4

Bicyclists Strewn Everywhere: One Car Kills Five June 26

This Is Why You Should Never Play Real-Life Frogger June 27

This Woman Is The Luckiest And Worst Driver Alive August 27

TOP VIDEOS

Purple Panda Scares Bejesus Out Of Children April 9

Relive the world’s greatest hurdler not giving a shit: Olympics Countdown: Chinese Hurdler Does Not Care July 5

Man Atop Cow Delivers Perfect Rendition Of Justin Bieber’s “Baby” July 25

These CBA All-Stars Did Irrevocable Damage To The Game Of Basketball Last Night February 20