A mixed bag, but I definitely liked more of the stories than not. The editor's intro and notes about each story elevated the collection, so even the stories I wasn't into still had interesting commentary.

Overall positive feelings on 10/14:

The Waking Dream - I'm biased toward sci fi! Feels like a very real potential future.
Immortal Beauty - rooting for the ghost!
The Yin Yang Pot - descriptions of the shop and its guests were very fun, and the emotions of the characters were strong.
Have You Heard of Ancient Glory - really fun playing with perspective and such a spooky (and apparently real?!) idea.
Records of Xiangxi - took a minute to get into this one, but after the first few pages it sucked me in)
The Ghost Wedding - classic fated tragedy
Forbidden Rooms - a great mystery. Feels like it could be set anywhere, not necessarily China.
Ti'Naang - some of the details trying to explain how this could fit into real history felt unnecessary (although possibly would have been more interesting if I had background in the history?), but the idea was solid and I liked the ending.
Huangcun - wasn't quite what I expected -- not sure why the detail of the town he created "coming to life" was important, but it was good at creating a spooky atmosphere.
The Death of Nala - not a unique story, but well done. I'd like to read a longer version! The gender dynamics are felt very strongly, and I always love a story about a mother with complicated feelings toward her child.

Did not care as much for 4 of them:

The Girl in the Rain - execution of the end honestly confused me more than surprised me. Not terrible, but it's not a strong start.
Those Who Walk at Night Walk With Ghosts - felt soooo long and was not scary. Boring prose.
The Shanxiao - weirdly high number of copyediting mistakes on this one -- even the title is misspelled!! -- and it just wasn't interesting.
Night Climb - very short "whoa isn't that a scary image" without much depth imo.

I'd like to thank NetGalley & the editor for the eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A spectacular dive into Chinese horror, each short story in Sinophagia is accompanied by editor notes from curator Xueting C. Ni, which provide valuable cultural and societal context, adding extra dimensions and perspectives to the already chilling tales. As with any anthology, some stories will resonate more with different readers, but they are all unique in their own way. This book took me some time to finish, as I am more accustomed to novels and sometimes struggle with shorter formats, but it was a treat from start to finish.

absolutely adore this creepy collection of Chinese contemporary horror. excellent. learned about so many writers new to me. highly recommended