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

VOICES & OPINION

broadtones

What Exactly Is a Qipao?

The ubiquitous garment has become an icon of East Asian fashion and has transformed as Chinese society underwent massive changes. It also begs the question: Does something so timeless have a true form?

Yu Ying

What’s In a Name? How Kalgan Transformed From Gate, to City, to Planet

Many know Zhangjiakou as a top destination for winter sports, but not too long ago, it was once known as Kalgan — capturing the imaginations of travelers, presidents, and science fiction writers alike.

Hugo Tseng

How China Can Protect Farmers From a Changing Climate

An excessively wet fall that turned northern Chinese fields muddy and crops moldy shows the country needs to better prepare for a future with more extreme weather.

Li Weitan

The Mainstreaming of Social Science in China Isn’t Necessarily a Good Thing

Terms once only used in academic circles are increasingly being used on social media. But that also flattens their meaning, and ultimately doesn’t lead to better public discussion.

Huang Wan

Shanghai Sessions: Four Notes From a City in Swing

A brief history of the misfits, migrants, and mavericks who improvised a musical revolution.

Sixth Tone

The Ups and Downs of Shanghai’s ‘Saint of Songs’

The Filipino conductor who made Shanghai dance and shaped Hong Kong’s Cantopop sound.

Cai Yiwen

Street Angels: Meet the Women Who Became China’s First Pop Stars

Originally dismissed as lightweights, the women of Shanghai’s jazz age remade both the sound and the image of modern China.

Ticket to Shanghai: How an American Trumpeter Rocked China’s Jazz Scene

Before Count Basie and Harlem fame, Buck Clayton found respect, freedom, and a glimpse of jazz without borders in Shanghai.

The Music Teacher Who Rewrote the Rules of Chinese Pop

Reviled by elites, adored by the masses, Li Jinhui turned Shanghai’s din into China’s first pop music.

The MingKwai Experiment: Typing Chinese Before Computers

Unveiled in 1947, the MingKwai typewriter was the product of a Chinese novelist’s yearslong obsession to build a machine that tackled the problem of typing Chinese decades before personal computers arrived.