Day: October 7, 2025

China braces for travel rush as millions head home at end of ‘golden week’

Media Library

The Chinese transport authorities are preparing for a major travel rush as millions take to the roads and railways at the end of the national “golden week” holiday. Advertisement On Monday, the Ministry of Public Security noted that a significant increase in return traffic flow was expected on Tuesday, especially in four megacity clusters: Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and the Chengdu-Chongqing region. There were no major traffic accidents or reports of large-scale traffic congestion as of Monday night, it added. The transport ministry said it…

Emerging markets roar back with biggest stock rally in 15 years

Media Library

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Investors are snapping up assets across the developing world as a sliding dollar and bargain valuations fuel the biggest rally in emerging market stocks in more than 15 years. An MSCI benchmark index of emerging-market stocks has risen 28 per cent so far this year, its biggest gain over the same period since 2009, while a JPMorgan index of government bonds sold by developing countries in their own currencies is…

Cai Guo-Qiang: Why painting with gunpowder is like lovemaking

Media Library

Psssh! Cai Guo-Qiang has lit a blowtorch. He pauses, poised like a boxer, then leans down to light a fuse, which leads to a canvas sprinkled with gunpowder. Pfff! Flames blaze out and puffs of smoke rise up to the ceiling of the artist’s studio — a cavernous, light-filled barn in Chester, New Jersey, purchased from an Olympian equestrian. The picture is revealed: dramatic, blue-black flowers have been seared into the canvas. Cai compares these gunpowder paintings to “lovemaking”. “There’s no planning in lovemaking,” he says with a laugh. “You…