Fire up your console; grab your controller; China's video games are going global. "Black Myth: Wukong" took the video gaming world by storm; and soon, gamers will be able to enjoy the rush of the next hit "Phantom Blade Zero." China Popcast is at the Homo Ludens Archive, a game archive and research center in China, to talk with game scholar Professor Liu Mengfei. China has 684 million gamers – almost half the population – according to the China Game Industry Report for January–June 2026. But what happens when a player in Tokyo or Texas meets Wukong, wuxia martial arts heroes, and a 66-day assassin named Soul? We ask Professor Liu what happens when games travel and what culture travels with them.Plus: can a non-gamer survive a Chinese game? We put host Wendyl Martin to the test. Expect first impressions, cultural references and gameplay reactions.

CONTACT:

min.rui@cgtn.com

wendyl.martin@cgtn.com

A steady stream of Americans has been exploring China this past summer and over the last few years. It's part of an initiative that was announced in November 2023 that involves at least 50,000 young people from the US visiting China over a five-year period to increase China-US exchanges. But where exactly are we with youth and education exchange between the two countries? This episode of China Popcast is a hangout: Darien Vargas from the US, a student majoring in Chinese studies and sinology at Beijing Language and Culture University, tells us about his cultural explorations and the value of student exchanges. Meanwhile, Chinese students Liu Tingxi and Duan Jinyi, who are at University of California, Santa Barbara and Grand Canyon University respectively, describe their experiences in the US. Catch our video podcast here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1JWrNhVR4ACONTACT:min.rui@cgtn.comwendyl.martin@cgtn.com