Coronavirus

coronavirus

After 3 Years of Lockdowns, a Chinese Border City Struggles to Rebuild

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

Ruili faced some of China’s strictest virus-control measures during the height of the pandemic. Now, local people are gradually picking up the pieces.

Li Pasha

Bordering on Recovery: Ruili, the Jade Town on the China-Myanmar Frontier

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

MULTIMEDIA

Lü Xiao

Wu Huiyuan 

Citing Privacy, Wuxi Deletes 1 Billion Pieces of COVID-19 Data

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

The city also shut 40 apps, including a health code used to monitor travel history across public venues.

Ye Zhanhang

Two Classes in Hangzhou Suspended After COVID-19 Flare-Up

Local authorities said that it was the first time for all those in question to be infected and that it ‘did not indicate a new wave.’

Li Xin

In China’s COVID Battle, Medical Students Bear a Punishing Burden

As COVID surged in China last December, hospitals drafted in medical students to prop up understaffed wards. Many were unprepared for what awaited them.

Chang Minxiao

Fan Yiying

Past the Peak, China’s Schools Prep For a Normal Semester

With more than 300 million students and teachers expected back in class, authorities have scrapped regular COVID testing and eased masking requirements.

‘It’s Finally Over,’ Say Doctors in China as COVID Cases Ebb

While the government announced late in January that the current wave had ended, hospitals say operations are slowly returning to normal.

Yang Caini

China’s University Students Dance Like Nobody’s Watching

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

SIXTH TONE ×

They danced to Taylor Swift’s hits together until midnight in the public square, finding connection with one another in the most isolated moments of their youth.

Investigation 107

After ‘Zero-COVID,’ China’s Families Face a Lunar New Year Dilemma

For the first time in years, people across China are free to return to their rural hometowns to celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday. Many fear they’ll bring COVID-19 with them.

Ni Dandan

Li Wei

Reporter’s Notebook: How Rural China Is Grappling With COVID

Fu Beimeng

Xue Haolin

China’s Rural Hospitals Under Pressure as Severe COVID Cases Rise

Doctors fear that traveling during Lunar New Year could add more infections and hospitalizations.

Wu Peiyue

‘It’s Insane’: China’s Doctors Struggle to Cope Amid COVID Surge

Chinese medical workers say the COVID-19 wave is the worst crisis they have faced in decades. Mass infections among hospital staff are only making things worse.

Confronting the Peak of the Epidemic in a Shanghai Hospital

The Paper

How COVID Misinformation Swamped Chinese Social Media

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

VOICES & OPINION

Messaging failures and bad incentives have left Chinese social media groaning under a deluge of COVID-related misinformation.

Cai Yineng

Empty Shelves and Packed Clinics: Rural China in Crisis

From herbal medicine to ginger and garlic water to nothing at all, villagers in China are bracing themselves for an uphill battle against COVID.

In China, a Dark New Black Market Emerges: Fake COVID Medication

Unable to access Paxlovid, Chinese COVID patients are resorting to buying generic antiviral drugs via the black market. But much of this medication is counterfeit — and potentially dangerous.

COVID Is Spreading Explosively in China. Can Its ICUs Cope?

Intensive care units will be crucial as China grapples with a massive wave of COVID-19 cases. Data suggests that hospitals have a severe shortage of ICU beds — though how severe remains far from clear.

Luo Yahan

Gao Mingyue

COVID Is Rife Inside China’s Colleges. Exams Are Going Ahead Anyway.

For months, China’s students prepared for their exams under harsh “zero-COVID” restrictions. Now, many are having to sit crucial tests while infected with the virus.

Shanghai Expands Health System Capacity Amid COVID Surge

Community health centers and volunteers are helping to relieve pressure on hospitals.

Sixth Tone

As COVID Surges, Chinese Turn to Black Market for Antiviral Drugs

Scalpers are reportedly selling Paxlovid for as much as $7,000 per box.