From Beijing comedy clubs to New York stages, China's female comedians are using stand-up to tell new stories about modern China. On a Wednesday night not long ago, a crowd of Beijingers packed into ...

BEIJING — For women in China, it may feel as if there is little to laugh about these days. The world’s second-largest economy is struggling to recover from the pandemic, and the government is cracking ...

BEIJING -- Consumers in China have no shortage of free comedy on their phones. Increasingly, though, they are paying to see it live.

Comedian Xi Diao says he knows he should avoid talking politics on stage, but sharing a family name with Chinese President Xi Jinping makes it hard to resist. Even his name is politically sensitive, ...

With her short hair and unshowy clothing, Fan Chunli looks every bit the middle-aged woman from rural China. Among a crowd of youngsters vying to become the next breakout star in one of China’s most ...

Join us for an evening of laughter, storytelling, and cultural insights with bilingual comedian and author Jesse Appell, to celebrate the launch of his new book, This Was Funnier in China. As part of ...

Comedy has become a way for women to skewer China’s gender inequality. Some men aren’t happy about it. By Vivian Wang Reporting from Beijing On the list of topics best avoided by China’s comedians, ...

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has cut ties with the female comedian Yang Li after being inundated with complaints from male customers. Yang is one of the leading lights of a new generation of female ...

Jesse Appell left everything behind to pursue a comedy career in China, where Western-style club comedy was just finding its footing. By Sopan Deb Becoming a successful comedian in the United States ...

NEW YORK, February 12, 2026 — Bilingual comedian and author Jesse Appell speaks with New York-based comedian Tony Chou about comedy, culture, and what it means to find humor across borders. Having ...