- March 16, 2020
Filmmaker Hao Wu returned to China looking for young nouveau riche to cast in his new documentary, but he crossed paths with the country's "loser generation" instead. He shares the lessons learned from this invisible…
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After eight years, Macro Polo has ceased operations as the Paulson Institute will focus its independent research on supporting its programs as it continues to diversify its scope.
We appreciate the community that has grown around Macro Polo and the fruitful engagement we’ve had with our legion of smart and sharp audience. You’ve pushed us to deliver even more original work and innovative products. Our body of work speaks for itself, and we hope it will have a long shelf life – that was the intent from MP’s inception.
MP’s website is now archived and no new work will be published henceforth on this site. Please visit www.paulsoninstitute.org for future research and policy work on a range of global issues.
Thank you all for the support over the years, it has been a privilege to have had a home at the Paulson Institute and to have built it the way we did.
- Team Macro Polo
- December 17, 2019
Damao Zhong on Trailblazing Chengdu Cuisine
In her elusive search for a popular Sichuanese delicacy, restauranteur Damao discovers what it takes to bring her hometown's culinary traditions to Chicagoans. As an up-and-coming chef in the Second City, Damao hopes to be…
READ MORE- November 8, 2019
Houze Song on a Hit-and-Run Turned Teaching Moment
Instead of pressing charges after a hit-and-run, Houze started to think about how China's labor force has made the economy more resilient than expected. He tells of how he marries granular observations with secular forces…
READ MORE- October 9, 2019
Rachel DeWoskin on Being a Chinese Soap Opera Star
Rachel accidentally landed herself as a "foreign babe" in the eponymous Chinese soap opera in the 1990s. That experience has shaped her perspective and her work as a writer and teacher ever since.
READ MORE- July 2, 2019
Matt Sheehan on Splitting His Pants Open at the NPC
Matt Sheehan recounts how he kept it together when his pants split wide open during his first NPC presser, just as he was about to ask Premier Li Keqiang an important question on the environment.…
READ MORE- July 2, 2019
Maria Repnikova on Her Mistaken Identity in Ethiopia
Chinese has become the equivalent of the generic “foreigner” in Ethiopia. Maria Repnikova reveals what her daily experience in the Ethiopian capital says about China’s integration into the local economy.
READ MORE- July 2, 2019
Jiayang Fan on Her Childhood in Chongqing
These days, you can buy anything online in China. But when Jiayang Fan was growing up in Chongqing, she thought “chocolate” was its own brand because there was only one kind. She observes how hyper…
READ MORE- July 2, 2019
Damien Ma on His Crazy Celebrity Encounter
Damien unexpectedly got himself involved in what was perhaps China’s biggest political drama in a generation. His chance encounter with Chinese movie star Zhang Ziyi and quick tweeting defused a vicious Chinese rumor in connection…
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