family

China Updates Rules, Military Personnel Can Now Have Three Kids

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 new regulations encourage military personnel to marry and raise children at “suitable ages” and introduce holidays dedicated to child care. They also offer benefits related to marriage and child-rearing.

Ye Zhanhang

China Raises Tax Breaks to Ease Burden on Young Families

The new policies will double tax deductions for families with children under three and provide increased deductions for elderly care.

Ding Rui

To Stop Teen From Moving Out, Chongqing Mom Flees With School Papers

The woman was opposed to her daughter studying in Beijing. She returned 11 days later after fortunetellers assured her that the move would prove auspicious for her daughter.

Yang Caini

Wuhan University Offers Shared Rooms for Married Students

The announcement has received lots of social media attention, but a university staff member told Sixth Tone that the policy is still in its planning stages.

With Graduate Jobs Scarce, Young Chinese Are Becoming ‘Full-Time Kids’

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

As China’s youth unemployment rate soars, parents are hiring their own adult children as “full-time kids” — paying them a monthly wage to clean, run errands, and take care of elderly relatives.

Ni Dandan

Zhang Han

Hangzhou To Pay Parents 25,000 Yuan For Third Child From September

The eastern tech hub has also introduced preferential housing policies for families with three children in recent years.

He Qitong

Torn in Two: Balancing Motherhood and a Career in China

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

SIXTH TONE ×

A 36-year-old mother and career woman describes her struggle in balancing these two roles in China in the new nonfiction book “A Room Facing South” that shares memoirs by 22 women.

China 30s

In China, the ‘Full-Time Kid’ Life Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be

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

VOICES & OPINION

Young Chinese are moving back in with their parents. Can the two sides coexist?

Xu Yuan

Trip.com Offers Employees 50,000 Yuan Subsidy for Each Child Born

China’s leading travel platform has introduced various measures in recent years including hybrid work and increased maternity benefits to encourage employees to have children.

Li Xin

Zhu Yinran

In China, Extreme Boot Camps for Kids Are Multiplying. So Are Accidents.

In China, there is a growing trend for parents to send their kids to “character-building” summer camps in the wilderness. But in this unregulated new industry, the danger is often very real.

Xi’an Husband and Wife Force Each Other Into Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment

Both parties admit that they arranged for the other person to undergo psychiatric treatment at local hospitals, but challenge their respective diagnoses.

China Is Getting Seriously Worried About Student Anxiety

In 2021, China made reducing the academic pressure on students a top policy priority. But anxiety disorders in schools are still a severe problem — and appear to be affecting more children at younger ages.

Majority of Parents Stressed Over Children’s Education: New Survey

The survey showed that a staggering 92% of the 535 parents said they had experienced emotional breakdowns due to their children’s education.

The Father-Son Duo Winning Over China’s Marathon Scene

Inspired by marathoner Dick Hoyt, who ran together with his disabled son, a Chinese courier and his son have taken the running world by storm.

The Paper

Help Me Find My Son

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

MULTIMEDIA

China’s First “Male Morality” Class

Yi Tiao

A Chinese City Offers Free High School Tuition for Third Child

Weifang hopes the policy will encourage couples to have more children, while critics say it risks creating inequality.

China’s Maternity Hotels Offer New Moms a Break — From Their In-Laws

Maternity hotels have found success by tapping into the Chinese tradition for mothers to “sit the month” after giving birth. But they also offer young moms another benefit: an escape from unwanted parenting advice.

Wang Lianzhang

In IVF Mix-Up, Anhui Couple was Given the Wrong Embryo

A court ordered the hospital in question to take full responsibility, pay family compensation.

Waiting for Wealth: China’s Gen Z Wants Careers Before Children

A new survey also found that pain during childbirth and the lack of parenting skills were among the major reasons young Chinese cited to avoid having children.