Through the Lens: 2025

These were the pictures featured in 2025’s editions of What’s Happening in China. All photos by PC.

January

A snowy winter day in a historic Beijing hutong.

Shepherd with his herd. Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yunnan Province.

Children playing in one of Beijing’s historic hutongs.

Snow-covered Guozijian Street, home to China’s ancient Imperial College, in Beijing.

February

Shop in a Beijing hutong with the auspicious 福 (fú, good fortune) character pasted on the door.

An old building in Xizhou, a historic town north of Dali Old Town in Yunnan.

A delivery worker outside a water station in Beijing, one of many distribution points for huge barrels of drinking water.

Man cycling in central Beijing.

March

The Bell Tower in Beijing, as seen from a nearby hutong.

The Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where the Two Sessions are held.

Bicycles parked in a historic hutong in central Beijing.

Snow-covered path outside of Shangri-La, Yunnan Province.

Beijingers often turn the city’s historic hutongs into relaxed spaces for chatting with neighbors, people-watching, and soaking up the sun.

April

A hidden corner in a historic hutong of old Beijing.

Visitors pause for a rest at Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum in Nanjing.

Men practicing water calligraphy in Beijing’s Jingshan Park.

Man getting a haircut on the street in Beijing.

May

Mother and child, Xi’an.

A cotton candy vendor at work on the streets of Xining, Qinghai Province.

Qinghai Lake, China’s largest, in Qinghai Province.

Farmers in Taktser, the birthplace of the 14th Dalai Lama, in the Amdo region of eastern Tibet (present-day Qinghai Province).

Nighttime in a historic hutong in central Beijing.

June

A classic Beijing hutong scene.

Old enamel chamber pot with the double happiness 囍 (shuāngxǐ) character, once a functional everyday item in Chinese households. Spotted in a Beijing hutong.

An old courtyard entrance in a Beijing hutong. Above the door hangs a sign wishing “four seasons of peace” (四季平安).

A weathered door at the entrance to a Beijing hutong courtyard.

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July

Quilts airing on a traditional door in a Beijing hutong.

Old hutong building in central Beijing.

People exercising outdoors. Xining, Qinghai Province.

Intersection in downtown Beijing.

August

Alleyway in central Beijing.

A typical scene from a Beijing hutong.

Graffiti in a Beijing hutong.

September

National flag hanging outside a house in a Beijing hutong.

Hutong in Beijing

Wuhou Shrine in Chengdu (with vertical symmetry).

Window of a renovated house in one of Beijing’s historic hutongs.

October

Entrance to a former courtyard house (sìhéyuàn 四合院) in a Beijing hutong.

The Bell Tower in Beijing, as seen from a nearby hutong.

November

View of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Nighttime in a Beijing hutong.

Erhai Lake in Dali, Yunnan Province

Hutong in central Beijing.

Hutong home entrance in Beijing.

December

Beijing bicycles.

Snowy night on Guozijian Street in Beijing.

A snow-covered hutong in central Beijing.

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