Feature

Stunning Tomb Find Sheds New Light on Prehistoric China

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

The 5,000-year-old burial site suggests that China’s neolithic kingdoms were more sophisticated than previously thought.

Jiang Xinyi

Cigarette Sales Are Rising in China, Defying Global Trend

The use of “slim cigarettes” and a slowdown in official anti-tobacco efforts is concerning experts.

Li Xin

Lin Liuhan

Rough Ride: A Woman’s Journey to Save Her Stallion

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

SIXTH TONE ×

After her horse suffered a fractured leg, a Beijing mother spent six months and hundreds of thousands of yuan to get it back on its feet.

Oh! Youth (36Kr)

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

In the Sauce

20241017

Workers stir jars of soy sauce at a factory in Neijiang, Sichuan province, Oct. 16, 2024. VCG

Changsha Building Collapse Ends in Sentences for 15

Fifteen people were sentenced Thursday for their involvement in the deadly 2022 collapse of an illegally built residential building in the central Chinese city of Changsha. The building's owner, Wu Zhiyong, received an 11-year sentence and an inspection company that provided false certifications for the building was fined 1 million yuan ($140,000) for its role in the collapse, which killed 54.

Inflation Inches Up

DAILY TONES

DailyTones

China Expands Insurance Coverage for Cochlear Implants

There are over 27 million people affected by hearing loss in China, but many can’t afford surgery.

Li Miaoran

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

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 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.

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.

Ding Rui

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.

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

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

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

National Day Splurge: Tourist Spending Hits $99 Billion

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.

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.