8:00 am, Kr 36 | The air tickets from Sanya to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen are approaching 10,000 yuan; The most expensive iPhone in history is coming. Apple's first foldable screen phone may be priced at up to 20,000 yuan; As of now, China's box office in 2026 ranks first globally.

Today's Hot Topics Guide

• Zhipu apologizes for the GLM Coding Plan issue and announces a compensation plan
• WENJIE M9 issues a statement on the fire incident, calls for cooperation in the investigation and advises against believing rumors
• Pop Mart officially announces a new IP
• The Motion Picture Association of America sends a letter to ByteDance
• Kimi's income in the past 20 days exceeds that of the whole last year

TOP 3 Big News

Airfares from Sanya to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen Approach 10,000 Yuan, Official Intervention Follows

On February 23rd, the Spring Festival holiday was coming to an end. The three major airports in Hainan were set to experience the peak passenger flow day during the entire Spring Festival travel rush, with an estimated over 232,000 passengers to be transported. Reporters checked multiple online travel platforms and found that during the period from February 22nd to 23rd, almost all economy - class tickets for direct flights from Sanya to core cities such as Beijing and Shanghai were sold out. The remaining business - class tickets generally approached the 10,000 - yuan mark.

Meanwhile, direct flights from Sanya to Guangzhou on the 23rd were already marked as "sold out"; passengers could only choose transfer options that took longer and still cost nearly 10,000 yuan. The situation was the same for the Sanya - Shenzhen route. All direct - flight tickets from Sanya to Shenzhen on February 22nd and 23rd were sold out, and direct flights to Shenzhen were not available until the 24th, with the ticket price still exceeding 8,000 yuan.

In response to the "sky - high airfares", the airlines also gave their responses. According to the news from "Haikou Release", a Hainan Airlines staff member said that the fluctuation of airfares during the Spring Festival travel rush due to market supply and demand is a normal phenomenon. The economy - class fares of all domestic flights are strictly implemented in accordance with the filed price system. "We monitor the fare fluctuations in real - time through the internal system to ensure that the fares during the Spring Festival travel rush are within a reasonable range." According to Xinhua News Agency, the Civil Aviation Administration of China has approved multiple batches of flight increase plans, adding more than 110 flights in Haikou, targeting popular destinations such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu. (Jiemian News, Xinhua News Agency)

The most expensive iPhone in history is coming. Apple's first foldable phone may be priced at up to 20,000 yuan

Some digital bloggers have reported that Apple plans to start mass - producing and releasing the iPhone Fold and iPhone 18 Pro simultaneously in July this year. The standard - version iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e will be postponed until the first half of 2027, breaking Apple's previous release convention. The iPhone 18 series will undergo a major design overhaul. The Dynamic Island will be removed and replaced with a single - hole display. The phone's side frames will be narrowed, and the rear camera module will be redesigned.

The iPhone Fold features a horizontal inward - folding design, continuing Apple's minimalist style. It is equipped with a titanium alloy middle frame and a partially transparent glass back panel. Thanks to the new liquid metal hinge and self - healing coating technology, it can achieve an almost crease - free effect. In terms of functionality, the physical SIM card slot and Face ID will be removed, and eSIM and side Touch ID will be used instead. Regarding pricing, its starting price in the Chinese mainland is expected to be around 15,000 yuan, and the top - end version will be close to 20,000 yuan, potentially becoming the most expensive iPhone model in Apple's history. (Leitech)

Box Office Exceeds 8 Billion: China Tops Global Rankings Temporarily in 2026

According to data from online platforms, the total annual movie box office (including pre - sales) in 2026 has exceeded 8 billion, temporarily ranking first among single - market box offices globally. As of now, the total box office (including pre - sales) of Spring Festival movies has exceeded 5.5 billion yuan. Among them, Full Throttle 3, Silent Awakening, Blades of Blood: Wind Rises in the Desert, and Boonie Bears: Bears Every Year rank in the top four. (Yicai Global)

Major Companies/Key Events

Zhipu Apologizes for GLM Coding Plan Issue and Announces Compensation Plan

36Kr learned that on the evening of February 21st, Zhipu released an apology letter for the GLM Coding Plan and announced the handling and compensation plans. Zhipu said that this revamp mainly made three mistakes: insufficient rule transparency, too slow gray - scale roll - out rhythm for GLM - 5, and a rough design of the upgrade mechanism for old users. Zhipu introduced that after the release of GLM - 5, the traffic exceeded expectations, and the company's capacity expansion rhythm couldn't keep up. As a result, GLM - 5 had to be gradually opened in the order of Max, Pro, and Lite. Currently, Max users have full access. Although Pro users have been granted access, they may encounter traffic restrictions during peak hours due to high cluster loads. Lite users will be gradually gray - scaled and opened during non - peak hours after the holiday. For the affected Lite and Pro users, the company supports self - initiated refund applications.

5 Gold, 4 Silver, and 6 Bronze: China's Winter Olympics Team Sets a New Record for Overseas Competitions

On February 22nd, with Eileen Gu and Li Fanghui sweeping the gold and silver medals in the women's freestyle skiing U - shaped pool at the Milan Winter Olympics, the Chinese delegation has won 5 gold, 4 silver, and 6 bronze medals at this Winter Olympics, setting a new record for China's performance in overseas Winter Olympics. (Xinhua News Agency)

Statement on the Fire Incident of AITO M9 and Appeal to Cooperate with the Investigation and Not Spread Rumors

On February 23, AITO Automobile issued a statement regarding the vehicle fire incident in Huizhou, Guangdong. On February 21, an AITO M9 caught fire near Huizhou. The incident did not cause any casualties. Preliminary investigations show that the vehicle's three - electric system was in normal condition and there were no other self - related abnormalities. It was determined that the fire was not caused by the vehicle itself. AITO stated that it will cooperate with relevant departments in the subsequent investigations, assist users in handling relevant matters, and appeal to the public not to believe or spread rumors. (Oriental Finance)

WeChat's Spring Festival Data Report for the Year of the Horse: Both Travel and Lifestyle Entertainment Transactions Increase by 20%

36Kr learned that on February 23, the WeChat team released a Spring Festival data report for 2026. The report shows that during the Spring Festival, the number of offline transactions for travel and lifestyle entertainment both increased by over 20% year-on-year. Travel destinations with the character "horse" in their names, such as Malaysia and the Maldives, saw a surge in popularity.

Wuliangye: The company has distributed cumulative dividends of over 76.8 billion yuan in the past five years

Wuliangye (000858) stated on the interactive platform on February 23 that the company has distributed cumulative dividends exceeding 76.8 billion yuan in the past five years, and the dividend payout ratio for 2024 has been raised to 70%. (People's Financial News)

Silver Soars 17% During the Spring Festival Holiday

Most global capital markets rose during the Spring Festival holiday of the Year of the Horse. The indices of many countries such as South Korea, the UK, and France hit record highs. Trump's tariffs have entered a foggy area, and the situation of the US-Iran conflict is becoming increasingly pessimistic. International gold, silver, and oil prices have soared, with silver rising nearly 17%. (Cailian Press)

Q&A with the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce on the Ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in the Tariff Lawsuit Case

Question: On February 20th, Eastern Time, the U.S. Supreme Court announced the ruling of the tariff lawsuit case, determining that the reciprocal tariffs, fentanyl tariffs and other relevant tariffs imposed by the U.S. government on relevant trading partners under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act are illegal. What's the evaluation of the Ministry of Commerce on this?

Answer: We have noted the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in the tariff lawsuit case and are conducting a comprehensive assessment of the relevant content and impacts. China has always opposed all forms of unilateral tariff - imposing measures and repeatedly emphasized that there are no winners in a trade war and protectionism leads nowhere. The U.S. unilateral measures such as reciprocal tariffs and fentanyl tariffs violate both international economic and trade rules and U.S. domestic laws, and do not serve the interests of all parties. Facts have repeatedly proven that China and the United States will both benefit from cooperation and lose from confrontation. China urges the U.S. to cancel the relevant unilateral tariff - imposing measures on its trading partners. We also note that the U.S. is preparing to take alternative measures such as trade investigations in an attempt to maintain the tariffs imposed on its trading partners. China will closely monitor this and firmly safeguard its own interests. (Press Office of the Ministry of Commerce)

Pop Mart Officially Announces New IP

On February 20th, Pop Mart officially announced a new IP - Merodi After School. The series of figurines includes 12 regular styles and 1 hidden style. The probability of getting a regular style is 1:12, and the probability of getting the hidden style is 1:144. The price of a single blind box in this series is 69 yuan, and the price of a whole box is 828 yuan. The online release time is 22:00 on February 26th, 2026, and the offline release time is February 27th, 2026. (Caixin)

Gu Ailing's off - field income in the past 12 months reached as high as $23 million, 230 times her prize money

Recently, business media Forbes released the top five athletes' income rankings for this Winter Olympics. Gu Ailing ranked first with an income of $23 million. According to Forbes' estimate, this 22 - year - old business superstar's off - field income in the past 12 months reached as high as $23 million (plus about $100,000 in event prize money), and her off - field income was 230 times her prize money. According to media reports, medal reward clauses are often included in the endorsement contracts for Winter Olympic events, and after winning a championship, it may also attract new brand partnerships, such as being printed on the Wheaties cereal box. (China Blue News)

MPA Sends Letter to ByteDance, Escalating Dispute over Seedance 2.0 Infringement

According to Variety, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) sent a warning to ByteDance on February 20th local time, urging it to stop copyright infringement on the Seedance 2.0 AI platform and stating that the company's verbal commitments were far from enough. Representing its seven member companies, the MPA sent a cease - and - desist letter to ByteDance's office in Culver City, California, demanding that it immediately stop using the studios' movie and TV show content for model training and implement protective measures to prevent users from generating copyrighted content.

The MPA first launched an industry protest against Seedance 2.0 on February 12th, issuing a statement calling on ByteDance to immediately stop the infringement. Since then, six of the seven member studios have separately sent cease - and - desist letters to ByteDance. ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, responded at the time that it respects copyright protection and will take measures to strengthen existing protection mechanisms. MPA General Counsel Karyn Temple said in the letter that the film and television industry needs "far more than just general commitments." "Our ongoing investigations and reviews of social media platforms continue to find that the content generated by Seedance clearly infringes on the rights and interests of member companies," she wrote in the letter. (IT Home)

In the past 20 days, Kimi's revenue has exceeded that of the entire last year, making it one of the fastest-growing decacorn companies in China

36Kr learned that less than a month after the release of Kimi's K2.5 large model, Kimi's cumulative revenue in the past 20 days has already exceeded its total revenue for the entire year of 2025. The growth is mainly driven by a significant increase in both global paying users and API call volume. Among them, the number of overseas paying users has grown rapidly. Data from OpenRouter shows that the call volume of Kimi K2.5 has consistently remained in the lead. After consecutive rounds of financing exceeding $1.2 billion, Kimi's latest valuation has reached $10 - $12 billion, setting the fastest growth record for a domestic company to become a decacorn enterprise (valued at over $10 billion) since its establishment. Yang Zhilin, the founder of Kimi, previously stated in an all - staff letter that "the financing amount exceeds the majority of IPO fund - raisings and private placements of listed companies, and it is also possible to raise a larger amount of funds from the primary market."

Apple to Release Multiple New Products in March

It is reported that Apple will hold an Apple experience event in Shanghai at 10 p.m. on March 4th. Recently, it has been rumored that Apple will launch multiple devices, including the M5 Pro/Max MacBook Pro, new entry-level MacBook, Studio Display 2 monitor, M5 Pro/Max Mac Studio, iPhone 17e and other products.

On February 23rd, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman revealed that there is a high possibility that a brand - new low - cost MacBook will be launched. The pattern on Apple's official invitation also incorporates the rumored color scheme of this model. If the Mac Studio and Studio Display are both released at this event, it will seem "overly redundant". These two products are mainly in Apple's R & D pipeline and are not yet ready for release. (IT Home)

Honor to Launch Its First Humanoid Robot

According to a report by Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily, Honor will unveil its first humanoid robot during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in 2026. Focused on the consumer market, Honor will become the world's first mobile phone company to enter the humanoid robot field. (Caixin)

Toyota Recalls 4,374 Lexus LX600 Vehicles in the United States

On February 21st, according to a disclosure by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the United States, Toyota is recalling some 2025 - 2026 model year Lexus LX600 vehicles, a total of 4,374 units. The reason for the recall is that if the transmission solenoid malfunctions, communication between the transmission electronic control unit (ECU) and the engine ECU may be interrupted, potentially leading to transmission damage. Dealers will upgrade the transmission ECU software free of charge. (Jiemian News)

Microsoft Appoints Asha Sharma as Executive Vice President and CEO of the Gaming Division

On February 20th local time, Microsoft announced the appointment of Asha Sharma as Executive Vice President and CEO of the company's gaming division, reporting to Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella. Sharma has been with Microsoft for two years. Previously, she served as Chief Operating Officer at Instacart and Vice President at Meta. In addition, Matt Booty will serve as Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, reporting directly to Sharma. (Jiemian News)

Samsung SDI Achieves Breakthrough in Lithium-Metal Battery Field, May Launch Commercial Solutions in the Future

South Korean battery manufacturer Samsung SDI said that the company has achieved a breakthrough in extending the lifespan and improving the safety of lithium-metal batteries, which may pave the way for the commercialization of its next-generation products. Samsung SDI stated that it has jointly developed a fluorine-based gel polymer electrolyte with Columbia University, which can effectively inhibit the formation of dendrites, a key factor that has long damaged the performance of lithium-metal batteries. Lithium-metal batteries have the highest energy density among existing battery technologies, more than 1.6 times higher than that of traditional NCA lithium-ion batteries. However, limited by their short charge-discharge lifespan (usually only dozens of cycles), their commercialization process has been hindered. (Caixin Press)

South Korean Automobile Data Research Institute: New Car Purchase Rate Among People in Their 20s and 30s in South Korea Hit a Decade Low Last Year

On February 23, data released by Carisyou, a South Korean automobile data research institution, showed that in 2025, the new car purchase rate among people in their 20s and 30s in South Korea hit a decade low. The data showed that in 2025, the number of newly registered cars among people in their 20s in South Korea was 61,962, accounting for 5.6% of the total number of newly registered cars that year. Since accounting for 8.8% in 2016, the new car registration rate among people in their 20s has been declining year by year, hitting a decade low in 2025. Last year, the total number of newly registered cars among people in their 30s was 209,749, accounting for 19% of the total. This ratio has dropped by 6.9 percentage points in the past decade, also hitting a decade low. Industry observers analyzed that the main reasons for the decline in the new car purchase rate among young consumers include the increasing economic burden and the popularization of car rental services through mobile applications. (Jiemian News)

Investment and Financing

Zhipingfang Completes Series B Financing Exceeding 1 Billion RMB, and the Company's Valuation Officially Exceeds 10 Billion

Zhipingfang, a general intelligent robot company, recently completed a Series B financing with a scale of over 1 billion RMB. The company's valuation has officially exceeded 10 billion. The investors include Baidu Strategic Investment, CRRC Capital, a leading listed company in Tesla's ecosystem, Yunbai Capital, Guotai Haitong, and local funds. This is the fifth round of financing completed by Zhipingfang after seven rounds of financing in the hundreds of millions within half a year in 2025. A total of 12 rounds of financing have been completed in one year, making it the embodied intelligence enterprise with the fastest financing pace globally. (Jiemian News)

The Cutting - Edge of AI

Alibaba Cloud Coding Plan supports models such as Qianwen 3.5, GLM-4.7, and Kimi-K2.5

36Kr learned that the subscription service of Alibaba Cloud Coding Plan has introduced new programming models such as Qwen 3.5-Plus, GLM-4.7, and Kimi-K2.5. Users can freely switch between models after subscribing. Users can use the Alibaba Cloud Coding Plan subscription service in mainstream AI tools such as Qwen Code, Claude Code, Cline, and OpenClaw.

Financial Reports of Large Companies

Kingboard Group: It is expected that the net profit in 2025 will increase by more than 165% compared with the same period in 2024

36Kr learned that on February 23, Kingboard Group issued an announcement stating that it is expected that the net profit for the year ended December 31, 2025, will increase by more than 165% compared with the same period in 2024, that is, the net profit will exceed HK$4.32 billion. This is mainly due to the growth in the reported segment profit of the Group's investment business and the reported segment profit of the copper-clad laminate business. Due to the strong demand for copper-clad laminates and their upstream materials, including glass fiber yarn, glass fiber cloth, and copper foil, the unit prices of the Group's copper-clad laminates and their upstream material products have generally increased significantly, and the sales volume has increased compared with the same period in 2024. Currently, the market demand remains strong.

Compiled | Baby Chinese Cabbage