Feature

The Dream of the ’90s Is Alive on the Chinese Internet

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

VOICES & OPINION

Chinese dreamcore plays on millennial nostalgia. Why is it so effective?

Pan Zhixin

Shenzhen Lets Homeowners Call the Shots on Redevelopment

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

Faced with needing to raise investments for demolition and construction, cities like Shenzhen have begun exploring ways for homeowners to redesign aging structures themselves.

He Qitong

Boy in the Frame: The Chinese Filmmaker Who Captured Luigi Mangione

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

SIXTH TONE ×

A documentary director who set out to explore the lives of Chinese and American teens revisits unreleased footage of the murder suspect when he was 16.

Fir  Record

He Quit Baidu. But First He Had to Build an AI Version of Himself.

As Chinese firms expand internal AI systems, some employees are being asked to build digital versions of themselves before leaving their jobs.

Well Done

20260529

Students preparing for the gaokao gather around a 211-meter-long grill roasting giant lamb skewers in Bayannur, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, May 25, 2026. VCG

Silver Lining

Refining

“Refining” 炼化 (liànhuà) is a Chinese internet meme describing the process of turning a departing employee’s knowledge, workflows, and communication style into an AI-powered “skill” that can keep doing their job after they leave. The term borrows from xianxia fantasy novels, where souls or spirits are “refined” after death. It exploded online after the viral GitHub project colleague.skill, which let users turn former coworkers into AI agents, fueling both dark humor and growing anxiety over automation and job replacement.

DAILY TONES

DAILYTONE

China to Phase Out Old Power Rates in Green Push

For decades, the country has relied on a system that charges higher electricity prices in the day, and lower prices at night. With the rise of solar and wind power, that’s now changing.

Li Xin

China Tightens Online Pharmacy Rules on AI Use and Prescriptions

The country aims to curb abuses in obtaining prescription medication online — a practice that has become easier with the rise of pharmaceutical e-commerce platforms.

Fan Yiying

AI Hallucinates Flight Refund, Sparking Memes in China

A chat log in which an AI assistant confidently presented a user with numerous inaccuracies has inspired a wave of AI hallucination spoofs, a growing trend in the country.

Jiang Xinyi

Flying Solo: The Rise of China’s One-Person Companies

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

Thanks to AI, a new form of solo entrepreneurship has taken root, granting individuals the ability to perform tasks that once required many workers.

Before WeChat, There Were Qiaopi Writers

For decades, families relied on letter writers like Jiang Mingdian to stay connected with relatives abroad. At 77, he may be one of the last still working.

Chen Yiru

The Life Project: Documenting the Chinese Woman Who Gave Birth at 60

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

MULTIMEDIA

Photographer Wu Fang reflects on 15 years and 20,000 photos capturing the life of a bereaved mother who gave birth to twins at 60.

Wu Huiyuan 

The Dog, the Drivers, and the Decision to Save Her

A stray dog has gone viral on Chinese social media after a group of local taxi drivers raised money for her surgery.

Lü Xiao

The Long Hunt for China’s Vanishing Elephant Slides

A photographer travels across the country documenting a little-noticed relic of mid-20th-century public space as it slowly vanishes.

Qi Ya

In Europe, Chinese Retail Moves Beyond Cheap Goods

From same-day groceries to in-house delivery fleets, Chinese shopping apps are bringing Europe a faster, more integrated way to shop.

Rao Yichen

What Young Shanghainese Imagine Marriage Will Cost Them

Interviews found that fears of inequality, loneliness, sacrifice, and disappointment shape attitudes toward marriage as much as economic pressures do.

Shen Yang

The Rage, Love, and Loneliness Behind China’s Toxic Sports Fandom

Shippers, solo stans, and spreadsheets — Chinese authorities step in as online attacks and arguments engulf the world of elite table tennis.

White Night Workshop

Before We Vanish: The Painter Preserving Shanghai’s Old Buildings

Amid rapid change, artist Hong Jian has ensured Shanghai’s distinct architecture and hidden stories are not forgotten.

Jiefang Daily

Ten Years in Transition

SPECIAL PROJECTS

To mark its 10th anniversary, Sixth Tone looks back on the past decade through 10 stories documenting how people across China adapted to change.

Sixth Tone

Shanghai Sessions: Four Notes From a City in Swing

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

The Lost Art of Chinese Purple

The nearly 3,000-year-old synthetic pigment’s invention has long been a mystery. Now, archaeologists think they’ve finally cracked the code.

Wu Haiyun

The Big Switch

China is producing EVs at an unprecedented scale, reshaping industries, economies, and daily life. Sixth Tone unpacks what’s working, what’s breaking down, and what’s next in a race that’s upending the global auto market.

The Secrets of the Shang

Sometimes called the “holy land” of Chinese archaeology, Yinxu remains a mystery even today.

6 Lives, 3 Years, and a Long Look at China’s Short-Video Era

Your questions, answered. In-depth interviews with the minds and makers shaping today’s China.

Q & A

Filmed over three years, “Nobody, But Somebody” follows young Chinese living outside the spotlight, capturing what it means to keep going in the face of uncertainty.

Our Water: Shanghai, London Exchange Cultural Currency

The latest news about Sixth Tone and announcements about its events, projects, and other initiatives.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

A coin exhibition, forum, and night of culinary fusion in London kick off the second season of Our Water, Shanghai’s river-themed cultural exchange program.

Our Water

When Big Tech Needed Mothers in Rural China to Train AI

China’s rural data-labeling centers relied on mothers who could work, care for children and hold households in place all at once. Now many of those same women are being judged unfit for the future of AI.

Wu Tongyu

An Indie Drama About Leaving China Finds an Audience at Home

A film about the life, traditions, and emotional landscape of the Chaoshan region in southern China has struck a chord with viewers for its moving portrayal of local culture and familial bonds.

Behind China’s AI Boom Are Computer Rooms Full of Rural Workers

In the country’s less-developed hinterlands, labeling data to train AI models has become a poverty-alleviation tool.

China and FIFA Face Off Over World Cup Broadcast Rights

The football association asked for a record $250 million from the country’s state-owned TV broadcasting company, with negotiations failing to bring the price down to what the network deemed acceptable.

China Sees Record Domestic Travel This May Day Holiday

Tourists are choosing to primarily take domestic road trips this year, with music and cultural events driving tourism.