e-commerce

After Exposé, China Probes Sale of Sex Dolls Resembling Children

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

Findings about the manufacture and online availability of childlike sex dolls across Chinese e-commerce platforms have fueled national debate and calls for stronger protections.

He Qitong

No Free Lunch: China’s Takeout War Wraps Up Without a Winner

Meituan, JD.com, and Alibaba poured billions into subsidies. Now they’re pulling back after steep losses.

Chen Yiru

A Coach With a Side of Safety Concerns: China’s ‘Sports Takeout’

China is placing greater emphasis on physical fitness in the high school entrance exam, giving rise to a new industry: home coaches delivered right to parents’ doors.

Fan Yiying

More of China’s Gen Z Embrace This Year’s Double Eleven

Younger consumers report “paying for happiness” and spending more thoughtfully, such as on experiences like travel, during the year’s largest shopping festival.

Playing Tag: Oversized Clothing Labels Aim to Curb Order Returns

Amid the annual Double 11 shopping festival, apparel companies have begun attaching A4-paper-sized hangtags to garments to combat excessive returns, including from buyers who return garments after wearing them.

Li Xin

Lens and the Loss: How a Chinese Photographer Turned Grief Into Art

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

MULTIMEDIA

Photographer Niu Tong’s Leica-shortlisted project on China’s delivery workers began with his mother’s job and became both a portrait of working life and a tribute to her final months with cancer.

Wu Huiyuan 

Never Too Late: China’s Takeout Apps Remove Tardy Delivery Fines

Food delivery platforms are piloting programs in which drivers are no longer fined for missing delivery deadlines, implementing points-based evaluation systems and increasing social benefits for drivers instead.

Food Delivery Sales Frenzy Brings Bargains — and Market Turmoil

China’s three biggest food delivery platforms kicked off their summer promotions this weekend with rock-bottom prices. But while customers celebrated the deals, the benefits for merchants were sometimes less apparent.

Second Life: China’s Top Resale App Now Fuels Its Wildest Gig Market

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

From side jobs to oddball services, millions of young Chinese are turning to Alibaba’s Xianyu app to earn cash and cut corners, a marketplace running on trust, improvisation, and few rules.

The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of China’s ‘Wanghong Tower’

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

SIXTH TONE ×

Once the “home of livestreaming,” the Regent International Center in Hangzhou has fallen on hard times. Investors hope a fresh tech wave will see it reign again.

Original (Jiefang Daily)

To Protect Small Sellers, China Moves to Limit E-Commerce Fees

Amid the annual 618 shopping festival, new draft rules propose more transparency on online platforms, as regulators respond to mounting complaints from merchants.

Spring Festival 2.0: How Gen-Z Is Changing China’s Biggest Holiday

Young Chinese are reshaping the Spring Festival with online rituals, social commerce, and personalized traditions, balancing family expectations with a digital-first approach.

You Be the Judge: How Taobao Crowdsourced Its Courts

In this excerpt from Lizhi Liu’s new book, “From Click to Boom,” the author explores how Taobao tried to democratize its dispute resolution system.

Liu  Lizhi

Livestream Training Courses Are Booming in China. Many Are a Total Scam.

Companies are ripping off aspiring livestreamers with expensive sessions that provide few practical benefits, industry insiders say.

Star Power: China’s Businesses Count Cost of Fake Reviews

Business owners and employees expose the physical and mental pressures of chasing ratings on China’s review platforms.

Liang Ting

Factory Reset: A New Generation Races to Save China’s Family Businesses

Across China, family-run factories are passing to a new generation on an unprecedented scale. Can they overcome e-commerce challenges, rising costs, and family pressures to reshape their businesses for the future?

Gold Testers: How a Fake Review App Hacked China’s Shopping Platforms

The app influenced China’s top e-commerce platforms on a staggering scale, recruiting hundreds of thousands of gig workers to post billions of fake reviews.

How Free Shipping Became China’s Most Important Status Symbol

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

VOICES & OPINION

Residents along China’s prosperous coast don’t just enjoy better deals on packages — they get better customer service, too.

Qian Linliang

What’s Chinese for ‘Midwest Nice’?

Not everyone likes to be called “qin” — roughly equivalent to “dear” in English — so why do some online businesses insist on using it anyway?

For Alibaba, This Year’s ‘Singles’ Day’ Is a Brutal Dogfight

As it gears up for its flagship shopping festival, the Chinese e-commerce giant is fighting a desperate battle to defend its market share.