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.

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DeepTones

The Cost of Staying Visible on China’s Internet

As China’s attention economy matures, creators face constant pressure to produce, adapt, and remain visible in an increasingly crowded and competitive system.

He Qitong

Ten Years in Transition

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

In China’s Scripted Romance Games, Staged Love Is Paid Work

The format pairs players with paid “love companions,” selling intimacy through staged dates and private scenes where expectations and rules are often set in real time.

‘Better Than Gold’: China’s Traders Cash in as Memory Chip Prices Soar

AI demand is tightening memory supply and driving sharp price swings, creating windfalls for traders while forcing China’s tech firms into an increasingly volatile market.

Chen Yiru

Work It Out: Why More Chinese Students Pick Skills Over Degrees

As families across China calculate cost, time, and job prospects, vocational colleges are becoming a deliberate choice rather than a fallback.

Fan Yiying

Chen Xiashiyu

In Wuhan, A Race to Study a 3,500-Year-Old City Between Seasons

At Panlongcheng, archaeologists race against seasonal rains and hostile soil to recover a 3,500-year-old city that reshaped understanding of early Chinese civilization, knowing much of it may remain forever underwater.

Wu Haiyun

The Making and Unmaking of China’s Backpacker Hostels

As China’s early independent travelers age and costs climb, the youth hostel model that once offered cheap beds and shared life is thinning out, leaving scattered holdouts and fading memories.

How a Bullied Teenager Built China’s Unlikeliest Music Festival

You and Me, a free experimental music festival in Beijing, grew from one teenager’s search for refuge. Now it faces demolition, debt, and an uncertain future.

Wang Juyi

Ancient Chinese Incense, Rekindled

Despite being a cornerstone of ancient Chinese culture, the art of incense fell out of everyday use as mass production and industry took hold. Now, the ancient art is seeing renewed interest as young Chinese seek more refined experiences.

Pain, Hunger, Viral Fame: Inside China’s Wildest Survival Show

In Hunan province’s mountains, a bare-bones survival show pushes ordinary people to the edge while millions watch, searching for something real in an increasingly curated digital world.