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

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

How ‘Zootopia 2’ Rode China’s Animation Boom to Success

Amid turbulent times, Chinese cinemagoers veer toward the comforting qualities of animated films.

Gan Lin

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.

Liu Yuli

Road to Empress, the Hit Game Navigating China’s Gender Divide

A new interactive drama uses live-action scenes rather than computer-generated graphics, and attempts to create an experience aimed specifically at neither men or women.

Sun Jing

In a Chilly Year for Chinese Restaurants, Jiangxi Food Was the Hot Exception

The simple and spicy cuisine of Jiangxi, a province not known to set trends, was exactly what Chinese diners were looking for this year.