China’s top universities both rank high globally, shape national leaders, and fiercely compete. But for Chinese students, getting in means scoring in the top 0.05% on the brutal entrance exam, making admission far tougher than it is for most international students.

China is restoring a Belgium-sized area of grasslands every year. The effort could transform both local ecosystems and the lives of traditional herders who call them home.

Is Chinese or English more efficient to read? Studies and anecdotes offer mixed results: one suggests Chinese is faster, another says it’s the same. What do you think?