Feature

For Alibaba, This Year’s ‘Singles’ Day’ Is a Brutal Dogfight

Timely reports on issues and events from across China. Drawing on a vast range of sources, these succinct articles provide insights into the significance of each issue in a wider context.

NEWS

As it gears up for its flagship shopping festival, the Chinese e-commerce giant is fighting a desperate battle to defend its market share.

He Qitong

The Women Living Alone — and Loving It — on Xiaohongshu

Contributions from individuals with unique perspectives to share. Hear from everyone, from experts and commentators to those whose voices are often marginalized.

VOICES & OPINION

Vlogs about the single life are popular on the app, sometimes referred to as “China’s Instagram,” but are their stars as free as they seem?

Guo Jia

The Chinese Trading in Their Jobs for Bikes

Amid changing attitudes toward career breaks, unemployed young people in Shanghai are increasingly riding bikes as a way to relax and reconnect.

The Puzzling History of China’s Most Controversial Flavoring

Monosodium glutamate, better known as MSG, is a Japanese import that became as Chinese as Kung Pao chicken. But its spread was more historical accident than foreordained.

Liu Shuman

Northern Lights

20241015

A sculpture is lit up by the aurora borealis in Daqing, Heilongjiang province, Oct. 11, 2024. The Northern Lights have been unusually visible in Northern China in recent days. VCG

Comic Con Helps Little Girl With Albinism Accept Her Appearance

A mother took her young daughter with albinism to a comics convention in Beijing, where the girl found lots of people with the same hair color.

Zeekr in Hot Water Over Hot Pot Ad

Yang Dacheng, Vice President of the Chinese electric vehicle brand Zeekr, has apologized after a promotional video showing him eating hot pot in the back seat of a car came under fire for its impracticality. Social media users questioned the utility of dining inside a car and raised concerns about food odors.

Free Rides

DAILY TONES

DailyTones

Chinese City Gives Workers Paid Leave to Care for Aging Parents 

Yangzhou has become the latest city to pass new regulations to address the social pressures created by China’s rapid population aging.

Ding Rui

Chinese City Wants to Know Who Is Getting Late-Night Massages

Massage parlors in Nanning will be required to record customers’ personal details as part of a campaign targeting fraud, gambling, and prostitution rings.

How McDonald’s Became China’s New Favorite Wedding Venue

Young Chinese are increasingly opting for simple, affordable wedding ceremonies. That’s leading many to the golden arches.

Jiang Xinyi

Speed, Stress, Surveillance: The Human Toll of China’s Beverage Boom

Articles that cut to the core of contemporary China. In-depth, informed, and carefully crafted, every piece is carried by the voices of the story’s participants.

FEATURES

Facing relentless demands and tight deadlines, workers in China’s beverage industry endure harsh conditions, leading to burnout, clashes with customers, and sparking widespread online debate.

Yin  Ziyuan 

‘Flying Cars’ Are Part of China’s New Economic Growth Plan

China is targeting a new economic growth driver by opening up the skies to drones and helicopters.

Li Xin

Li Miaoran

Nostalgia in the City: Shanghai in the Booming ’90s 

Visual stories that get up close and personal with contemporary China. A mix of short videos, documentaries, photography, and data visualization.

MULTIMEDIA

Shanghai in the 1990s is the subject of much nostalgic yearning. A new photography exhibition transports viewers back to this consequential period of the city’s — and country’s — history.

Wu Dong

The General’s Tomb

What can a 3,000-year-old grave tell us about life during the Shang Dynasty?

Sixth Tone

China’s Most Devastating Summer Yet, By the Numbers

The nation was hit by record-breaking typhoons, floods, and heatwaves in recent months, causing widespread damage and pushing its resilience to the limit.

Luo Yahan

After Ye, What’s Next for International Artists in China?

Does the controversial rapper’s recent visit to the southern island of Hainan signal an open door for musicians?

Cai Yineng

Unraveling the Mysteries of Life in China’s Ancient Capital

Tombs belonging to nobles may contain more artifacts, but new finds are shedding light on what life was like for the Shang Dynasty’s 99%.

Wu Haiyun

National Day Splurge: Tourist Spending Hits $99 Billion

Translations, cross-publications, and collaborative projects from Sixth Tone’s external partners. 

SIXTH TONE ×

Travelers made 765 million trips over the weeklong holiday, with nontraditional destinations like Datong and Changsha among those reaping the rewards.

The Paper

Pointing Fingers: Exhibition Zooms In on Student Stress

A young photographer has focused her lens on the “writer’s callus” to reflect the realities of life for Chinese school students.

White Night Workshop

Laos

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Dongbei

Henan

Metro

BRI Archaeology

Echoes of War: The Untold Story of the Lisbon Maru

Your questions, answered. In-depth interviews with the minds and makers shaping today’s China.

Q & A

The director of the hit documentary “The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru” shares the tears and triumphs he experienced in resurfacing a World War II tragedy.

Event: Modernizing China’s ‘Kingdom of Characters’

The latest news about Sixth Tone and announcements about its events, projects, and other initiatives.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Three experts will talk about the modernization of Chinese font design, including an exclusive talk by Yale University professor and Pulitzer Prize finalist Jing Tsu.

Moonlight Legends: The Rabbits at the Center of Mid-Autumn Festival

Since ancient times, paper decorations depicting the moon-walking Jade Rabbit, as well as figurines of the Rabbit God, have been key components of this traditional Chinese holiday.

Sheng Wenqiang

The Many Faces of Sun Wukong

Some critics complained that Game Science, developers of the wildly popular game “Black Myth: Wukong,” did the Monkey King dirty. But the mischievous simian has always defied easy categorization.