migration

Hit New Film Offers a Striking Portrait of Beijing’s Migrant Villages

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

Liang Junjian’s award-winning new documentary “Bitter Sweet Ballad” has shocked viewers with its portrayal of the lives of migrant children in Beijing.

Mathew Scott

Tech Addiction is Leaving China’s Rural Youth Wired for Distraction

Studying far from home and without parental supervision, millions of “left-behind” students in rural China are staring at an escalating tech addiction crisis that demands urgent attention.

Ni Dandan

In a Chinese Factory Town, Migrants ‘Lie Flat’ for a Better Deal

As China moves on from the pandemic, garment factories in Guangdong province are desperate to return to business as usual. Migrant workers, not so much.

Wu Peiyue

Far From Home: Meet the Migrants Returning to Shanghai

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

MULTIMEDIA

Weeks after the pandemic’s peak, most migrant workers are anxious about what lies ahead in 2023. But despite the uncertainties, working in big cities is still their best bet.

Ye Zhanhang

Thai School: For These Chinese Moms, the Future Is Foreign

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

SIXTH TONE ×

Options abroad solve some problems but sometimes, create new ones.

The Paper

Blood Brothers: The Scarred History of China’s Ethnic Russians

During the early 20th century, thousands of Russian refugees fleeing war and revolution crossed the freezing Amur River into northeast China. Today, the community is still trying to reconcile its identity — and process its collective trauma.

Li Yijuan

Fan Yiying

When the Boat People Came to Hong Kong

In the late 1970s, hundreds of thousands of refugees fled to Hong Kong by boat from war-torn Southeast Asia. A new book explores what happened next.

Faye Bradley

China’s Human Trafficking Problem Goes Far Beyond the ‘Chained Woman’

A Sixth Tone analysis of Chinese census data has revealed a series of troubling migration patterns, which underline the need for a thorough investigation into the human trafficking trade.

Luo Yahan

Li Binyuan’s Art is Violent, Futile Labor

“They think I am suffering. I think it’s like a kind of redemption.”

Shi Yangkun

Deep Inside a Beijing Market, a Preschool for Migrants Thrives

For 17 years, an informal kindergarten run by volunteers and market stall owners has helped migrant children get a headstart.

How Yunnan Became China’s Immigration Frontline

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

VOICES & OPINION

The foreign population of the southwestern Yunnan province has multiplied over the past decade, thanks in part to strong demand for laborers from nearby Southeast Asian countries.

Zhou Bo

How the Chili Pepper Conquered China

From a salt substitute in China’s impoverished southwest to a fixture on tables nationwide, chili peppers have come a long way over the past 400 years.

Cao Yu

What If China’s Migrant Data Was Wrong?

Surveys suggested the country’s migration trends were beginning to reverse themselves. Then came the 2020 census.

Nie Riming

Can Naturalized Athletes Save China’s Sporting Dreams?

With the 2022 Winter Olympics and World Cup looming, China is welcoming naturalized athletes — for now.

Tobias Ross

How I’m Reconnecting Migrant Parents With Their Children

It’s not that migrant parents don’t want what’s best for their kids. Sometimes, they just need a little help.

Xiong Chunyan

The Not-So-Dysfunctional Lives of China’s ‘Left-Behind’ Children

Contrary to popular portrayals of broken families, kids in migrant households want to make their parents’ sacrifices pay off. They just face bigger barriers to doing so.

Gu Xiaorong

Chinese Border City on 1-Week Lockdown Over 9 Coronavirus Cases

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

Several people in the southwestern city of Ruili, including four Myanmarese nationals, tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday and Tuesday.

How Factory Workers Turn the Tables on China’s Big Online Lenders

Online borrowers are often portrayed as desperate spendthrifts, but that’s not the full picture.

Li Dan

The Sky-High Dreams of Yiwu’s Grassroots Cosmopolitans

Cosmopolitanism is usually associated with the elite. In Yiwu, migrants are forging their own kind of globalized society.

Xu Man

China’s Left-Behind Kids Repeat Their Parents’ Tragic Choices

In rural China, parents are still having to make the heartbreaking decision to live apart from their children so they can work in the cities — even those who were once left-behind kids themselves.