Science fiction by Fei Dao – translated by Alec Ash

When mother was little, she told father she wouldn’t marry him if he were the last man on Earth. This wounded father deeply. Driven by grief and indignation, working with a bleak resolve, he became a resident space station maintenance worker. From tens of thousands of feet up in space he kept a solitary watch over the planet, distancing himself from humanity, from Earth, and from mother.

Later, when father was the last man on Earth, mother did marry him.

In that dark, stifling space station with only the stars for company, he used all the energy his job left him to nurture his resentment for mother, finally vowing that he would never love again. But when he came back down to Earth she was the only woman left.

They had no other choice.

***

Shortly before, humanity had no idea that it would soon die out. Blindly optimistic, we were completely unprepared when disaster struck.

A Peking Opera singer takes off his mask – by Tom Fearon

Ed: Portrait of a Beijinger is an original video series for the Anthill by Tom Fearon and Abel Blanco. Each month, Tom and Abel will profile an ordinary Beijinger with an extraordinary story. We’re proud to present this first episode in the series, along with Tom’s description of meeting its protagonist Liu Xinran. The video is viewable on Youku for streamers in China, and on Vimeo as embedded below

The Anthill has just relaunched with a new design, and we have some great content lined up. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or sign up for our weekly email digest to never miss a post

It’s no joke – the Anthill is back!

We all know April Fool’s day originated in China, but now it’s past noon you can take us seriously when we say we’re coming out of our long winter hibernation. I’ve been travelling and finishing a project, so it’s been kind of hectic. Now we’re up and running for a new season and a fresh start.

This year we’re tightening our focus, to find and publish original narratives about China that go beyond the news ticker. As such, we’re sunsetting the Chinese Tuesdays feature, after two years and 80 posts since it started in 2013 with crossposts from Sam Duncan (big thanks to Sam). Narrative non-fiction is still our first love, and we’re aiming to publish a new non-fiction sketch each week, on Fridays. There’ll also be some short stories (edited by Tom Pellman) and poetry (edited by Anthony Tao), plus photography and translation creeping in around the sides.

First, some exciting news and announcements:

• Redesign   That’s right, we’ve got a new face. It’s lots of little changes – higher cheekbones here, a new font there – rather than any big ones, plus contributor profile pages (see the full list here) and categories. Huge thanks to my brother Thomas Ash (check out his meta-charity work at Charity Science) for patiently doing the redesign in Drupal. If you have any feedback, post a comment below.

• Writers night   We had such a crazy good time at the first Anthill storytelling night last April, with the theme of Writers and Rum, that we’re doing it again this year. The provisional theme is “Scotch and Stories”, with a mix of writers and whiskies to sample, and it will likely be at the end of this month or beginning of May. Watch this space.

• Anthology book   Looking back over the last two and a half years of posts at the Anthill, we realise we’ve published enough compelling stories to put them together between two covers for posterity. So we’re going to do it. How exactly that will work we’re still figuring out, and the anthology will only be out at the end of the year, possibly October in time for our third year anniversary.

It's been an interesting year for China, with signs in how Xi Jinping has used his power (from fresh meddling in the arts and opinion, to diplomatic posturing and stonewalling of protests and dissent) that I think are pretty unequivocal predictors for what to expect in the next several years. Meanwhile, life goes on with all the humanity and energy which is why I still love this place. The Anthill has always been about finding and telling some of those stories, which we think speak more to what a country is than the news ticker can.

It's been a good year for us (some popular post and stats here). Now we're going into hibernation over Christmas, and up until the Chinese new year. We'll be back with a vengeance in the year of the pleasant sheep, with an exciting announcement. In the meantime, I'm putting out a call for submissions for stories from new and old contributors, including fiction, poetry and translation – see our guidelines for more.

Until then, the colony wishes you a very merry Christmas and happy new years!

Glimpses of Shangri La on the tourist trail – by Iain Manley

Dusk gently settled over Shangri La. A mist rose off the grasslands, while music started up in the cobbled squares at the centre of the old town, where men and women gathered to dance. Standing in a wide circle, they repeated the same few steps while edging clockwise, like pilgrims circumambulating a shrine.