gender

The Chinese Women Choosing Children Over Husbands

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

VOICES & OPINION

For some wealthy women, mothering is everything it's cracked up to be. Marriage isn’t.

Pei Yuxin

China Enacts Landmark Law to Safeguard Rural Women’s Land Rights

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

Effective May 1, the new national law gives married women equal standing in rural land rights and empowers prosecutors to challenge discriminatory village rules.

Jiang Xinyi

‘I Love Him’: A Suicide, a Student’s Diary, and a School’s Reckoning

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

SIXTH TONE ×

A high school teacher’s alleged sexual assault of his student caused her years of depression and her eventual suicide.

Original (Jiefang Daily)

Balancing Act: Can ‘Mom Jobs’ Help China’s Women Have It All?

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

Flexible-hour jobs are allowing more mothers to juggle work and childcare, but with most positions in low-skilled sectors, there’s a risk of only reinforcing gender roles.

Fan Yiying

Yang  Yuchen

The Exhausting Lives of China’s ‘Mompreneurs’ 

They may seem to have it all, but even outwardly successful women shoulder an almost impossible workload.

Breaking Waves: A Female Engineer’s Journey Through Maritime Prejudice

Chen Yu, a female marine engineer in her 20s, is part of a small but growing contingent of women battling systemic gender discrimination while pursuing careers at sea.

White Night Workshop

China Probes Teacher Over Student’s Death, Abuse Allegations

The student’s family accused her former high school teacher of repeatedly sexually assaulting over the course of three years, starting when she was just 15.

Ding Rui

How a Green Snake Became a Feminist Symbol in China 

In early tellings of “Legend of the White Snake,” Green Snake was a sideshow. Now she’s the star.

Bai Huiyuan

Her Abuse Was a National Story. Now Her Husband Is Going to Prison.

He Zhongyang, whose violent assault last year left his wife hospitalized with permanent organ damage, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.

The UFC Knockout Kick That Stunned the World — And the Doctor Who Landed It

Shi Ming, a doctor from southwestern China, kept her MMA career a secret from colleagues and family. In November, a viral knockout made it impossible to hide any longer.

He Qitong

Beyond the Stigma: Chinese Single Mothers Redefining Family Success

Research shows children from single-mother households perform equally well as those from dual-parent families, debunking negative stereotypes.

The Paper

The Sanitary Pad Scandal Causing Uproar on Chinese Social Media

A string of sanitary pad brands have admitted their products are often smaller than advertised — sparking fury among Chinese women.

The Female-Driven Comedy Being Hailed as China’s ‘Barbie’

“Her Story” has become a box office smash with its unabashed celebration of female empowerment.

In China, a New Paid Period Leave Policy Revives an Old Debate

A new initiative in Yunnan province, allowing women to take up to two days off with a doctor’s note, has reignited discussions about a decades-old policy few have even heard of.

Li Xin

Li Miaoran

U-Turn: Female Food Couriers Find Strength in Stereotypes

In a new book on China’s platform economy, female delivery riders talk about overcoming the roadblocks they face in a male-dominated industry.

Sun Ping

The Women Living Alone — and Loving It — on Xiaohongshu

Vlogs about the single life are popular on the app, sometimes referred to as “China’s Instagram,” but are their stars as free as they seem?

Guo Jia

In China’s New Stand-up Comedy Shows, Women Have All the Best Lines

Stand-up comedy has returned to China’s TV screens after a yearlong absence, with a new generation of outspoken female performers at the fore.

Lin Liuhan

Women Take a Stand in China’s Youth Fishing Craze

As the popularity of angling surges in China, young women are defying conventions and taking their place next to men.

Dong Ziqing

In Chengdu, Women Learn to Rewire a Trade Built for Men

Designed exclusively for women, a new course offers classes ranging from home appliance cleaning to electrician training that covers both theory and hands-on techniques. The response has been overwhelming, with classes filling up fast.

Chinese Airline Stops Forcing Female Attendants to Wear High Heels

The decision by Hunan Airlines has sparked an outpouring of support on Chinese social media — and calls for more airlines to follow their lead.