Feature

For China’s Archaeologists, All Roads Lead to Yinxu

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

VOICES & OPINION

Even after nearly a hundred years of excavations, many of the ancient Shang dynasty capital’s secrets remain buried in the earth.

Wu Haiyun

China’s ‘Comedy Queen’ Loses Yet Another Deal Over Men Jokes

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

Tech giant JD.com has become the latest brand to cut ties with female comedian Yang Li after facing customer backlash.

Ding Rui

U-Turn: Female Food Couriers Find Strength in Stereotypes

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

SIXTH TONE ×

In a new book on China’s platform economy, female delivery riders talk about overcoming the roadblocks they face in a male-dominated industry.

Sun Ping

Mind’s Eye Blind: A Shanghai Clinic Treats a Disorder None Can See

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

China’s first clinic for aphantasia and spatial disorders aims to help children with these rare conditions. However, anxious parents focused on math struggles have sparked debate over the clinic’s approach.

Jiang Xinyi

Greatest Hits

20241022

Martial arts enthusiasts from around the world perform at the opening ceremony of the 13th Zhengzhou International Shaolin Wushu Festival in Zhengzhou, Henan province Oct. 19, 2024. VCG

In Chinese Megacities, ‘Ultra-Long Commutes’ Are on the Rise

A growing number of people in China’s largest cities are traveling over 90 minutes each way for work, a new report has found.

Visa-Free

DAILY TONES

DailyTones

China’s Film Industry Looks to an Unlikely Savior: Harry Potter

All eight Harry Potter movies are returning to the big screen in China, but can they lift the curse on the country’s ailing box office?

Dominic  Morgan

Stunning Tomb Find Sheds New Light on Prehistoric China

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

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

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

The Competitions Shaping China’s Startup Scene

Designed to promote startup culture, state-run entrepreneurship competitions don’t always select the winners you might expect.

Olivia Yijian Liu

The Women Living Alone — and Loving It — on Xiaohongshu

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

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

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)

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

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.

Kong Degang

Finding Meaning in a Chinese Mushroom

Matsutake are an important part of rural Yunnan’s economy. But their value has never been fixed.