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Alec Ash

Alec Ash is a writer and journalist who lives in Beijing. He is the author of Wish Lanterns: Young Lives in New China

January 2024

  • Alec Ash sitting on top of his blue, beaten up van, in rural China, the Cangshan mountain behind him, a cherry blossom tree in full bloom to the side.

    Self and wellbeing
    My path to inner peace, via ‘Dalifornia’ in southwest China

    How leaving Beijing for Dali, home of China’s urban escapees, was a step on my route to finding serenity

November 2016

  • A Chinese child takes the Gaokao

    The Audio Long Read
    Is China’s gaokao the world’s toughest school exam? – podcast

    Chinese children must endure years of stress and impossible expectations preparing for their final school exam. The students who do best can look forward to glittering careers and even good marriage prospects. But for the less successful, the system is brutal

October 2016

  • Invigilators use CCTV to inspect a classroom in China

    The long read
    Is China’s gaokao the world’s toughest school exam?

    The Long Read: Chinese children must endure years of stress and impossible expectations preparing for their final school exam. The students who do best can look forward to glittering careers and even good marriage prospects. But for the less successful, the system is brutal
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