China’s cultural crackdown: few areas untouched as Xi reshapes society

Vast range of new regulations prompt fears of a return to tight social control of pre-reform days

On the second floor of a nondescript concrete building in north-east Beijing, the Youyou internet cafe is less than half full. Quiet and dark, the cafe's customers are all adults, sitting in brown sofas in front of screens set up for hours of comfortable online gaming.

Minors aren't allowed in, and a poster on the glass entrance reads: The whole society together cares about the healthy growth of underage teens." Under new regulations from the Chinese government, minors are limited to just a few hours of gaming a week, with tech platforms ordered to enforce it. The intervention is just one of a recent rush of directives from Beijing aimed at reshaping society.