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Stephen McDonell

@stephenmcdonell.bsky.social
8K followers 203 following 1.7K posts

BBC China Correspondent based in Beijing. Previously ABC Australia China Correspondent.

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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
#Beijing, School Bar, Thursday night, Wudaoying Hutong. #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
And yep that’s him. Riff from West Side Story…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Just saw this child actor watching Cecil B DeMille’s Samson and Delilah and thought damn I know that face…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Cooking show live in a #Beijing shopping centre right now. #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Cooking show live in a #Beijing shopping centre right now. #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Street scene in northern #China’s Datong…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Life in #China’s second and third tier cities is different to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen. I really like visiting these places for a different type of energy. Here’s #Datong…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
#Beijing now… #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
#Beijing: views from a traffic jam. #China now…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
More post rain #Beijing. #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Post rain #Beijing. #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Post rain light in #Beijing right now. #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
#Sydney last five games compared with Sydney, and all other teams, before…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
And still we slowly grind along…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Taking so long to get past the CCTV tower in this damn Third Ring Road gridlock that the light is changing over a couple of hundred metres. #China #Beijing now…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
#Beijing now. #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Beautiful night in #Beijing, despite the traffic jam. #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
How bloody awesome! #Sydney!
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
#Beijing storm now… #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
#Beijing storm brewing… #China.
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
This one nearly crashed into the fence but then recovered and moved into another lane. Don’t know if that’s a disqualification. #Beijing #China now…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Race two… more stacks!!! #China’s robot games in #Beijing right now…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
#China’s robot games underway today and race one already had a great stack. Kids cheered! #Beijing now…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Clouds over #Beijing. Will it rain? #China now…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
More rain! More wind! #Beijing #China tonight…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Can this get any more intense?! #Beijing #China now…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
It doesn’t rain all winter in #Beijing but, in summer, it’s payback time! And spare a thought for #China’s delivery drivers on nights like this…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Storm just passed through #Beijing: more crazy light. + Lots of rainbow action. #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Storm just passed through #Beijing: crazy light. #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Here is the #Beijing restaurant which says it “does not accept Japanese” from the outside. Note that it’s written in Chinese and English but not Japanese. #China #Japan
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Saw this on the wall of a #Beijing restaurant last night. Not in the middle of nowhere but on Gulou Dong Da Jie 鼓楼东大街, an area popular with tourists near the Drum and Bell Towers. #China #Japan
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Such sad news that Sam Neill has gone. Here’s one of my favourites from him that I’m going to seek out and watch again…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
This sign is cool… It reads like “Tasty food, not expensive. Spend accordingly to your capacity”. My translation not so elegant maybe but you get the drift. ;-) #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
And plenty of people outside waiting for a spot…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
More shots of this place… #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Photo on the wall shows the vibe they’re going for… #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Love all these restaurants in #Beijing now that look like they’re from #HongKong 1970s movies… #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Warnings about carrying drones are now placed prominently at airports in #China for incoming passengers. I was also asked by the airline at check in if I was carrying a drone in my luggage.
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Just saw this movie. Awesome!
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Beautiful night in #Beijing. #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Follow our coverage from the site of the Liushenyu coal mine disaster on BBC News. Shanxi is #China’s coal mining heartland and the 80+ dead miners along with 100+ injured has shaken the province.
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
#Beijing traffic gridlock as cars are held back to make way for #Putin’s motorcade to drive through the heart of the Chinese capital… #Russia #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Donald #Trump is leaving #China…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Check out this group of metal fans getting into some prohibited group head banging at #Beijing’s Strawberry Music Festival until a security guard wanders into the middle of the huddle. Everyone stops, laughs, “Nothing to see here”. #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Officials at #Beijing’s Strawberry Music Festival kept warning excited punters not to 开火车 (drive the train) aka dance in a Conga line but youthful exuberance can be hard to restrain, even in #China…
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
I’m wondering if The Pixies were fully transparent with #China’s censors in providing the lyrics for last night’s set at the Strawberry Music Festival in the hills outside #Beijing. There were plenty of people laughing around me at the audacious themes coming through.
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
The rain stopped just as Johnny Marr came on. His inclusion was only flagged recently meaning most of the young Chinese crowd were hearing the likes of “This Charming Man” for the first time live at this event. “Oh this is a nice little guitar riff isn’t it”. #Beijing #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
你要跳舞吗?New Pants playing yesterday at Strawberry Music Festival in the hills outside #Beijing. #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
#Beijing Spring night… #China
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Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Beautiful night in #Beijing #China, part 2:
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