In Kunming, three women at a stand-up club argue over a punchline about health checks and everyday stress. In Hubei province, a doctor who trained in obstetrics now sells insurance. In Shanghai, a retired teacher without children grows old with her dogs and an AI companion.

Seen separately, their lives were shaped by different cities, choices, and pressures. Taken together, their stories trace a decade in which work, family, technology, care, and ambition were reshaped across China. Some changes were abrupt. Others settled into daily life almost unnoticed.

To mark its 10th anniversary, Sixth Tone revisits the people and pressures it has covered in a changing China over the past decade, across more than 15,000 stories and counting.