🕷️ Crawler Inspector

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Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 16 (from laksa182)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa016.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190718-china-996\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190718-china-996\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/worklife\/article\/20190718-china-996","crawl_time":1773774798,"first_indexed_time":1564189755,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,bbc!www,\/worklife\/article\/20190718-china-996 s443","src_root_hash":"1643509356818581016","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"China's '996'","meta_descriptions":["The Chinese grind-it-out work culture that workers joke could land you in the ICU."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"The Chinese grind-it-out work culture that workers joke could land you in the ICU.\n“I personally think that 996 is a huge blessing,”\nsaid Jack Ma\n, Chinese billionaire and co-founder of online shopping giant Alibaba, earlier this year. “How do you achieve the success you want without paying extra effort and time?” Ma was referring to the work culture that has taken root in China’s technology and start-up sectors: many employees work from nine in the morning to nine in the evening, six days a week.\nBut his words haven’t gone down well; some workers are fed up with gruelling days, crippling fatigue and having no free time. Tech sector\ngrowth is slowing\n, hiring is\nbeing slashed\n, perks are disappearing and workers are being pushed harder. On code-sharing platform GitHub, a campaign called\n’996\/ICU’\n– in other words, working 996 may land you in intensive care – has amassed almost 250,000 ‘stars’, or likes. What’s more, contributors are blacklisting companies enforcing excessive overtime.\nAs the row over Ma’s comments rumbled on, the leading state-run outlet, China Daily,\nweighed in\nwith a comment piece emphasising labour laws should be observed. But some supported Ma: Richard Liu, the boss of ecommerce giant JD.com,\nhit out at “slackers”,\nsaying brutal hours had driven his success.\nThis is one of the 101 indispensable things you need to know about work today.\nClick here\nto see the rest.","attrs_markdown":"[Skip to content](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/worklife\/article\/20190718-china-996#main-content)\n\n[Register](https:\/\/session.bbc.com\/session?action=register&userOrigin=BBCS_BBC&ptrt=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fworklife%2Farticle%2F20190718-china-996)\n\n[Sign In](https:\/\/session.bbc.com\/session?userOrigin=BBCS_BBC&ptrt=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fworklife%2Farticle%2F20190718-china-996)\n\n- [Home](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/)\n- [News](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news)\n- [Sport](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/sport)\n- [Business](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/business)\n- [Technology](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/technology)\n- [Health](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/health)\n- [Culture](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/culture)\n- [Arts](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/arts)\n- [Travel](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/travel)\n- [Earth](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/future-planet)\n- [Audio](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/audio)\n- [Video](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/video)\n- [Live](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/live)\n\n- [Home](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/home)\n- [News](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news)\n  - [US & Canada](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/us-canada)\n  - [UK](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk)\n    - [UK Politics](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/politics)\n    - [England](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/england)\n    - [N. 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[Live Sport](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/live\/sport)\n\n[Home](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/)\n\nNews\n\n[Sport](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/sport)\n\nBusiness\n\nTechnology\n\n[Health](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/health)\n\nCulture\n\nArts\n\nTravel\n\nEarth\n\nAudio\n\nVideo\n\nLive\n\n[Weather](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/weather)\n\n[Newsletters](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/newsletters)\n\n# China's '996'\n22 July 2019\n\nShare\n\nSave\n\nPhilippa FogartyFeatures correspondent\n\nShare\n\nSave\n\n![China 996](https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/480xn\/p07hcp57.jpg.webp)\n\n**The Chinese grind-it-out work culture that workers joke could land you in the ICU.**\n\n“I personally think that 996 is a huge blessing,” [said Jack Ma](https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2019\/04\/15\/business\/jack-ma-996-china\/index.html), Chinese billionaire and co-founder of online shopping giant Alibaba, earlier this year. “How do you achieve the success you want without paying extra effort and time?” Ma was referring to the work culture that has taken root in China’s technology and start-up sectors: many employees work from nine in the morning to nine in the evening, six days a week.\n\nBut his words haven’t gone down well; some workers are fed up with gruelling days, crippling fatigue and having no free time. Tech sector [growth is slowing](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/business-48146915), hiring is [being slashed](https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/economy\/china-economy\/article\/3017460\/chinas-tech-sector-faces-hangover-after-party-trade-war-and), perks are disappearing and workers are being pushed harder. On code-sharing platform GitHub, a campaign called [’996\/ICU’](https:\/\/github.com\/996icu\/996.ICU) – in other words, working 996 may land you in intensive care – has amassed almost 250,000 ‘stars’, or likes. What’s more, contributors are blacklisting companies enforcing excessive overtime.\n\nAs the row over Ma’s comments rumbled on, the leading state-run outlet, China Daily, [weighed in](http:\/\/global.chinadaily.com.cn\/a\/201904\/15\/WS5cb411e2a3104842260b63fc.html) with a comment piece emphasising labour laws should be observed. But some supported Ma: Richard Liu, the boss of ecommerce giant JD.com, [hit out at “slackers”,](https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-jd-com-labour\/chinas-jdcom-boss-criticizes-slackers-as-company-makes-cuts-idUSKCN1RP06D) saying brutal hours had driven his success.\n\n***This is one of the 101 indispensable things you need to know about work today.*** [***Click here***](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/worklife\/worklife-101\/) ***to see the rest.***\n\n*Image credit: Piero Zagami and Michela Nicchiotti.*\n***\n- [Home](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/)\n- [News](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news)\n- [Sport](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/sport)\n- [Business](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/business)\n- [Technology](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/technology)\n- [Health](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/health)\n- [Culture](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/culture)\n- [Arts](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/arts)\n- [Travel](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/travel)\n- [Earth](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/future-planet)\n- [Audio](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/audio)\n- [Video](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/video)\n- [Live](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/live)\n- [Weather](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/weather)\n- [BBC Shop](https:\/\/shop.bbc.com\/)\n- [BritBox](https:\/\/www.britbox.com\/?utm_source=bbc.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=footer)\n\nBBC in other languages\n\n### The BBC is in multiple languages\n#### Read the BBC In your own language\n[Oduu Afaan Oromootiin](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/afaanoromoo)\n\n[Amharic ዜና በአማርኛ](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/amharic)\n\n[Arabic عربي](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/arabic)\n\n[Azeri AZƏRBAYCAN](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/azeri)\n\n[Bangla বাংলা](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bengali)\n\n[Burmese မြန်မာ](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/burmese)\n\n[Chinese 中文网](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/zhongwen\/simp)\n\n[Dari دری](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/dari)\n\n[French AFRIQUE](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/afrique)\n\n[Hausa HAUSA](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/hausa)\n\n[Hindi हिन्दी](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/hindi)\n\n[Gaelic NAIDHEACHDAN](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/naidheachdan)\n\n[Gujarati ગુજરાતીમાં સમાચાર](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/gujarati)\n\n[Igbo AKỤKỌ N’IGBO](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/igbo)\n\n[Indonesian INDONESIA](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/indonesia)\n\n[Japanese 日本語](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/japanese)\n\n[Kinyarwanda GAHUZA](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/gahuza)\n\n[Kirundi KIRUNDI](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/gahuza)\n\n[Korean 한국어](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/korean)\n\n[Kyrgyz Кыргыз](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/kyrgyz)\n\n[Marathi मराठी](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/marathi)\n\n[Nepali नेपाली](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/nepali)\n\n[Noticias para hispanoparlantes](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/mundo)\n\n[Pashto پښتو](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/pashto)\n\n[Persian فارسی](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/persian)\n\n[Pidgin](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/pidgin)\n\n[Polish PO POLSKU](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/polska)\n\n[Portuguese BRASIL](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/portuguese)\n\n[Punjabi ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਖ਼ਬਰਾਂ](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/punjabi)\n\n[Russian НА РУССКОМ](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/russian)\n\n[Serbian NA SRPSKOM](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/serbian\/lat)\n\n[Sinhala සිංහල](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/sinhala)\n\n[Somali SOMALI](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/somali)\n\n[Swahili HABARI KWA KISWAHILI](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/swahili)\n\n[Tamil தமிழில் செய்திகள்](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/tamil)\n\n[Telugu తెలుగు వార్తలు](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/telugu)\n\n[Thai ข่าวภาษาไทย](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/thai)\n\n[Tigrinya ዜና ብትግርኛ](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/tigrinya)\n\n[Turkish TÜRKÇE](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/turkce)\n\n[Ukrainian УКРАЇНСЬКA](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/ukrainian)\n\n[Urdu اردو](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/urdu)\n\n[Uzbek O'ZBEK](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/uzbek)\n\n[Vietnamese TIẾNG VIỆT](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/vietnamese)\n\n[Welsh NEWYDDION](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/cymrufyw)\n\n[Yoruba ÌRÒYÌN NÍ YORÙBÁ](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/yoruba)\n\nFollow BBC on:\n\n- [Terms of Use](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/pages\/terms-of-use)\n- [Subscription Terms](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/pages\/subscription-terms)\n- [About the BBC](https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/aboutthebbc)\n- [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/pages\/privacy-policy)\n- [Cookies](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/usingthebbc\/cookies\/)\n- [Accessibility Help](https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/accessibility\/)\n- [Contact the BBC](https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/contact)\n- [Advertise with us](https:\/\/advertising.bbcstudios.com\/)\n- [Do not share or sell my info](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/usingthebbc\/cookies\/how-can-i-change-my-bbc-cookie-settings\/)\n- [BBC.com Help & FAQs](https:\/\/help.bbc.com\/hc\/)\n- [Content Index](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/pages\/content-index)\n- [Set Preferred Source](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/future\/article\/20260128-how-to-make-google-put-trusted-sources-up-top-when-you-search)\n\nCopyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. [**Read about our approach to external linking.**](https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/editorialguidelines\/guidance\/feeds-and-links)","attrs_readable_markdown":"**The Chinese grind-it-out work culture that workers joke could land you in the ICU.**\n\n“I personally think that 996 is a huge blessing,” [said Jack Ma](https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2019\/04\/15\/business\/jack-ma-996-china\/index.html), Chinese billionaire and co-founder of online shopping giant Alibaba, earlier this year. “How do you achieve the success you want without paying extra effort and time?” Ma was referring to the work culture that has taken root in China’s technology and start-up sectors: many employees work from nine in the morning to nine in the evening, six days a week.\n\nBut his words haven’t gone down well; some workers are fed up with gruelling days, crippling fatigue and having no free time. Tech sector [growth is slowing](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/business-48146915), hiring is [being slashed](https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/economy\/china-economy\/article\/3017460\/chinas-tech-sector-faces-hangover-after-party-trade-war-and), perks are disappearing and workers are being pushed harder. On code-sharing platform GitHub, a campaign called [’996\/ICU’](https:\/\/github.com\/996icu\/996.ICU) – in other words, working 996 may land you in intensive care – has amassed almost 250,000 ‘stars’, or likes. What’s more, contributors are blacklisting companies enforcing excessive overtime.\n\nAs the row over Ma’s comments rumbled on, the leading state-run outlet, China Daily, [weighed in](http:\/\/global.chinadaily.com.cn\/a\/201904\/15\/WS5cb411e2a3104842260b63fc.html) with a comment piece emphasising labour laws should be observed. But some supported Ma: Richard Liu, the boss of ecommerce giant JD.com, [hit out at “slackers”,](https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-jd-com-labour\/chinas-jdcom-boss-criticizes-slackers-as-company-makes-cuts-idUSKCN1RP06D) saying brutal hours had driven his success.\n\n***This is one of the 101 indispensable things you need to know about work today.*** [***Click here***](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/worklife\/worklife-101\/) ***to see the rest.***","meta_canonical":null}

3. Robots.txt Check

Query:

Response:

4. Spam/Ban Check

Query:

Response:

5. Seen Status Check

ℹ️ Skipped - page is already crawled

📄

INDEXABLE

✅

CRAWLED

25 days ago

🚫

ROBOTS BLOCKED

Page Info Filters

Filter	Status	Condition	Details
HTTP status	PASS	`download_http_code = 200`	HTTP 200
Age cutoff	PASS	`download_stamp > now() - 6 MONTH`	0.8 months ago
History drop	PASS	`isNull(history_drop_reason)`	No drop reason
Spam/ban	PASS	`fh_dont_index != 1 AND ml_spam_score = 0`	ml_spam_score=0
Canonical	PASS	`meta_canonical IS NULL OR = '' OR = src_unparsed`	Not set

Page Details

Property	Value
URL	https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190718-china-996
Last Crawled	2026-03-17 19:13:18 (25 days ago)
First Indexed	2019-07-27 01:09:15 (6 years ago)
HTTP Status Code	200
Meta Title	China's '996'
Meta Description	The Chinese grind-it-out work culture that workers joke could land you in the ICU.
Meta Canonical	null
Boilerpipe Text	The Chinese grind-it-out work culture that workers joke could land you in the ICU. “I personally think that 996 is a huge blessing,” said Jack Ma , Chinese billionaire and co-founder of online shopping giant Alibaba, earlier this year. “How do you achieve the success you want without paying extra effort and time?” Ma was referring to the work culture that has taken root in China’s technology and start-up sectors: many employees work from nine in the morning to nine in the evening, six days a week. But his words haven’t gone down well; some workers are fed up with gruelling days, crippling fatigue and having no free time. Tech sector growth is slowing , hiring is being slashed , perks are disappearing and workers are being pushed harder. On code-sharing platform GitHub, a campaign called ’996/ICU’ – in other words, working 996 may land you in intensive care – has amassed almost 250,000 ‘stars’, or likes. What’s more, contributors are blacklisting companies enforcing excessive overtime. As the row over Ma’s comments rumbled on, the leading state-run outlet, China Daily, weighed in with a comment piece emphasising labour laws should be observed. But some supported Ma: Richard Liu, the boss of ecommerce giant JD.com, hit out at “slackers”, saying brutal hours had driven his success. This is one of the 101 indispensable things you need to know about work today. Click here to see the rest.
Markdown	[Skip to content](https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190718-china-996#main-content) [Register](https://session.bbc.com/session?action=register&userOrigin=BBCS_BBC&ptrt=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fworklife%2Farticle%2F20190718-china-996) [Sign In](https://session.bbc.com/session?userOrigin=BBCS_BBC&ptrt=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fworklife%2Farticle%2F20190718-china-996) - [Home](https://www.bbc.com/) - [News](https://www.bbc.com/news) - [Sport](https://www.bbc.com/sport) - [Business](https://www.bbc.com/business) - [Technology](https://www.bbc.com/technology) - [Health](https://www.bbc.com/health) - [Culture](https://www.bbc.com/culture) - [Arts](https://www.bbc.com/arts) - [Travel](https://www.bbc.com/travel) - [Earth](https://www.bbc.com/future-planet) - [Audio](https://www.bbc.com/audio) - [Video](https://www.bbc.com/video) - [Live](https://www.bbc.com/live) - [Home](https://www.bbc.com/home) - [News](https://www.bbc.com/news) - [US & Canada](https://www.bbc.com/news/us-canada) - [UK](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk) - [UK Politics](https://www.bbc.com/news/politics) - [England](https://www.bbc.com/news/england) - [N. 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But his words haven’t gone down well; some workers are fed up with gruelling days, crippling fatigue and having no free time. Tech sector [growth is slowing](https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48146915), hiring is [being slashed](https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3017460/chinas-tech-sector-faces-hangover-after-party-trade-war-and), perks are disappearing and workers are being pushed harder. On code-sharing platform GitHub, a campaign called [’996/ICU’](https://github.com/996icu/996.ICU) – in other words, working 996 may land you in intensive care – has amassed almost 250,000 ‘stars’, or likes. What’s more, contributors are blacklisting companies enforcing excessive overtime. As the row over Ma’s comments rumbled on, the leading state-run outlet, China Daily, [weighed in](http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201904/15/WS5cb411e2a3104842260b63fc.html) with a comment piece emphasising labour laws should be observed. But some supported Ma: Richard Liu, the boss of ecommerce giant JD.com, [hit out at “slackers”,](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-jd-com-labour/chinas-jdcom-boss-criticizes-slackers-as-company-makes-cuts-idUSKCN1RP06D) saying brutal hours had driven his success. *This is one of the 101 indispensable things you need to know about work today.* [*Click here](https://www.bbc.com/worklife/worklife-101/) to see the rest.* Image credit: Piero Zagami and Michela Nicchiotti. * - [Home](https://www.bbc.com/) - [News](https://www.bbc.com/news) - [Sport](https://www.bbc.com/sport) - [Business](https://www.bbc.com/business) - [Technology](https://www.bbc.com/technology) - [Health](https://www.bbc.com/health) - [Culture](https://www.bbc.com/culture) - [Arts](https://www.bbc.com/arts) - [Travel](https://www.bbc.com/travel) - [Earth](https://www.bbc.com/future-planet) - [Audio](https://www.bbc.com/audio) - [Video](https://www.bbc.com/video) - [Live](https://www.bbc.com/live) - [Weather](https://www.bbc.com/weather) - [BBC Shop](https://shop.bbc.com/) - [BritBox](https://www.britbox.com/?utm_source=bbc.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=footer) BBC in other languages ### The BBC is in multiple languages #### Read the BBC In your own language [Oduu Afaan Oromootiin](https://www.bbc.com/afaanoromoo) [Amharic ዜና በአማርኛ](https://www.bbc.com/amharic) [Arabic عربي](https://www.bbc.com/arabic) [Azeri AZƏRBAYCAN](https://www.bbc.com/azeri) [Bangla বাংলা](https://www.bbc.com/bengali) [Burmese မြန်မာ](https://www.bbc.com/burmese) [Chinese 中文网](https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp) [Dari دری](https://www.bbc.com/dari) [French AFRIQUE](https://www.bbc.com/afrique) [Hausa HAUSA](https://www.bbc.com/hausa) [Hindi हिन्दी](https://www.bbc.com/hindi) [Gaelic NAIDHEACHDAN](https://www.bbc.com/naidheachdan) [Gujarati ગુજરાતીમાં સમાચાર](https://www.bbc.com/gujarati) [Igbo AKỤKỌ N’IGBO](https://www.bbc.com/igbo) [Indonesian INDONESIA](https://www.bbc.com/indonesia) [Japanese 日本語](https://www.bbc.com/japanese) [Kinyarwanda GAHUZA](https://www.bbc.com/gahuza) [Kirundi KIRUNDI](https://www.bbc.com/gahuza) [Korean 한국어](https://www.bbc.com/korean) [Kyrgyz Кыргыз](https://www.bbc.com/kyrgyz) [Marathi मराठी](https://www.bbc.com/marathi) [Nepali नेपाली](https://www.bbc.com/nepali) [Noticias para hispanoparlantes](https://www.bbc.com/mundo) [Pashto پښتو](https://www.bbc.com/pashto) [Persian فارسی](https://www.bbc.com/persian) [Pidgin](https://www.bbc.com/pidgin) [Polish PO POLSKU](https://www.bbc.com/polska) [Portuguese BRASIL](https://www.bbc.com/portuguese) [Punjabi ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਖ਼ਬਰਾਂ](https://www.bbc.com/punjabi) [Russian НА РУССКОМ](https://www.bbc.com/russian) [Serbian NA SRPSKOM](https://www.bbc.com/serbian/lat) [Sinhala සිංහල](https://www.bbc.com/sinhala) [Somali SOMALI](https://www.bbc.com/somali) [Swahili HABARI KWA KISWAHILI](https://www.bbc.com/swahili) [Tamil தமிழில் செய்திகள்](https://www.bbc.com/tamil) [Telugu తెలుగు వార్తలు](https://www.bbc.com/telugu) [Thai ข่าวภาษาไทย](https://www.bbc.com/thai) [Tigrinya ዜና ብትግርኛ](https://www.bbc.com/tigrinya) [Turkish TÜRKÇE](https://www.bbc.com/turkce) [Ukrainian УКРАЇНСЬКA](https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian) [Urdu اردو](https://www.bbc.com/urdu) [Uzbek O'ZBEK](https://www.bbc.com/uzbek) [Vietnamese TIẾNG VIỆT](https://www.bbc.com/vietnamese) [Welsh NEWYDDION](https://www.bbc.com/cymrufyw) [Yoruba ÌRÒYÌN NÍ YORÙBÁ](https://www.bbc.com/yoruba) Follow BBC on: - [Terms of Use](https://www.bbc.com/pages/terms-of-use) - [Subscription Terms](https://www.bbc.com/pages/subscription-terms) - [About the BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc) - [Privacy Policy](https://www.bbc.com/pages/privacy-policy) - [Cookies](https://www.bbc.com/usingthebbc/cookies/) - [Accessibility Help](https://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/) - [Contact the BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact) - [Advertise with us](https://advertising.bbcstudios.com/) - [Do not share or sell my info](https://www.bbc.com/usingthebbc/cookies/how-can-i-change-my-bbc-cookie-settings/) - [BBC.com Help & FAQs](https://help.bbc.com/hc/) - [Content Index](https://www.bbc.com/pages/content-index) - [Set Preferred Source](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260128-how-to-make-google-put-trusted-sources-up-top-when-you-search) Copyright 2026 BBC. 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Readable Markdown	The Chinese grind-it-out work culture that workers joke could land you in the ICU. “I personally think that 996 is a huge blessing,” [said Jack Ma](https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/15/business/jack-ma-996-china/index.html), Chinese billionaire and co-founder of online shopping giant Alibaba, earlier this year. “How do you achieve the success you want without paying extra effort and time?” Ma was referring to the work culture that has taken root in China’s technology and start-up sectors: many employees work from nine in the morning to nine in the evening, six days a week. But his words haven’t gone down well; some workers are fed up with gruelling days, crippling fatigue and having no free time. Tech sector [growth is slowing](https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48146915), hiring is [being slashed](https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3017460/chinas-tech-sector-faces-hangover-after-party-trade-war-and), perks are disappearing and workers are being pushed harder. On code-sharing platform GitHub, a campaign called [’996/ICU’](https://github.com/996icu/996.ICU) – in other words, working 996 may land you in intensive care – has amassed almost 250,000 ‘stars’, or likes. What’s more, contributors are blacklisting companies enforcing excessive overtime. As the row over Ma’s comments rumbled on, the leading state-run outlet, China Daily, [weighed in](http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201904/15/WS5cb411e2a3104842260b63fc.html) with a comment piece emphasising labour laws should be observed. But some supported Ma: Richard Liu, the boss of ecommerce giant JD.com, [hit out at “slackers”,](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-jd-com-labour/chinas-jdcom-boss-criticizes-slackers-as-company-makes-cuts-idUSKCN1RP06D) saying brutal hours had driven his success. *This is one of the 101 indispensable things you need to know about work today.* [*Click here](https://www.bbc.com/worklife/worklife-101/) to see the rest.*
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