Two outlets describe “real China” as everyday life that sits outside the country’s most visible megacities and high-tech imagery. Brisbane Times and The Age both frame their accounts around communities shaped by China’s history of poverty and rural transformation, contrasting this with the common focus on smartphone-powered urban centers, skyscrapers and electric vehicles. The articles emphasize neighborhood-level and domestic details, including shared meals and local social interactions. They also reference elements of cultural and historical continuity, including references to Chairman Mao, as part of how ordinary life is understood in these settings. Rather than centering on large-scale politics or business developments, the pieces focus on personal experience and local scenes—such as keeping chickens and spending time with neighbours—using these examples to illustrate how people live, work and connect in less prominent parts of the country. Overall, both sources present a perspective that China’s rapid modernization is uneven, and that daily routines in smaller communities remain a key part of the country’s current identity.