The financial spotlight has been shining bright on China’s big eastern cities, but as investors notice the wealth of opportunity and resources in the remote western region, the city of Urumqi is about to take centre stage…
The Chinese city of Harbin is quickly establishing itself as a regional power, bringing in investment and cashing in on its food and fashion. Although it’s still a long way off Shanghai, it’s proving that it’s far from grim…
How the world should deal with China and can US campaigns run without crowds? Plus: Denmark’s happiness museum, five resilient cities, Belarus cosies up to the west and Brazil’s offshore defences.
Martin Roth, director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, has broadened the institution’s artistic scope in the four years he has been in charge. And he’s got a plan for the next 10: championing culture’s crucial role in…
With corporate brands more powerful than country brands, there’s a lot of work out there for agencies keen to rethink a nation’s identity. Over the next 40-plus pages *Monocle* looks at the construct of countries.
Under its post-war constitution, Japan is not allowed a navy, only a Self-Defence Force. Yet, today, the country has one of the largest, most sophisticated fleets in the world. Tensions with North Korea and China have also…
With commercial galleries on the rise and an ambitious programme of museum development, Los Angeles is forging a formidable reputation as a centre for contemporary art. But can it really rival New York?
For the past two decades the Japanese public has voted for the year’s best kanji character: the picture-like words originally from China. The announcement gets national media coverage; in front of TV cameras a Buddhist…
Sichuan was one of China’s poorest provinces until investment from Beijing and abroad brought boom times to its capital. Chengdu and its ‘pambassadors’ went on a global sales offensive.
On the edge of the Yangmingshan national park, the peaceful suburb of Beitou offers a reinvigorated model for living beyond the bustle of urban centres.