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

Q & A

q-&-a

Uncovering the Terracotta Army’s Stunning Hidden Artistry

The Qin emperor’s ghostly clay army, located outside China’s northwestern city of Xi’an, is renowned for its vast scale. But it is also something more: a jaw-droppingly intricate work of art.

Wu Haiyun

She Is Chinese Opera’s Greatest Star. And Its Most Divisive.

Mao Weitao has fearlessly reinvented Yue opera for the 21st century. The hits have kept coming — but so has the pushback.

The Transsion Story: How a Chinese Firm Conquered Africa’s Tech Market

The phone maker became a dominant force in Africa by tapping into a scrappy global trade in knock-off Chinese handsets, scholar Lu Miao explains.

Cai Yiwen

In the Rubber Forests, ‘Shanghai Daughter’ Traces a Father’s Past

Shen Zhongmin’s feature debut blends fiction and documentary to reconstruct her father’s decade after he was sent from Shanghai to work on a state-run farm.

Chen Yiru

China Before the Infinite Camera Roll

Thomas Sauvin’s archive of discarded family negatives captures an era when 36 photos could document years of birthdays, travel, and everyday life.

Cai Yineng

The Forgotten Legacy of China’s Greatest Explorer

Zheng He’s epic voyages across Asia and Africa are often dismissed as a historical curiosity. The truth is far more interesting, says scholar Zou Zhenhuan.

A Yunnan Lake, Three Generations, and the Director in Between

Sixth Tone sits down with the director for an interview about how his life, and in particular, his relationship with his grandfather, helped shape the internationally acclaimed film.

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

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.

Jiang Xinyi

Seeking the Gold Standard for a New ‘Golden Rule’ of Global Ethics

In 1993, philosophical and religious thinkers around the world convened to find a moral common ground for humanity. Now, in an increasingly fragmented world, Chinese philosophers are seeking a new way for nations to coexist.

Zhang Bo

How Inherited Time Impacts the Lives of Young Chinese

Through her research, the sociologist Xu Lingling has discovered how those from rural and lower-class backgrounds are at a disadvantage for getting ahead — because of how much more time it takes them to catch up.