health

China-Developed ALS Therapy Shows Early Trial Promise

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

In a six-patient trial, a new gene-silencing drug reduced disease-related biomarkers, with no serious adverse events reported.

Chen Yiru

Between Two Needles: The Chinese Garment Factory Built Around Dialysis

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

MULTIMEDIA

Wu Huiyuan 

China Sees Shift in Cancer Types as Cases Continue to Rise

A recent review of nationwide and global medical data links the shift to an aging population and better detection, with the country's cancer profile changing alongside rising case numbers.

Jiang Xinyi

Alone and Adrift: How a Chinese Businessman Survived Six Days in Open Water

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

SIXTH TONE ×

Jellyfish, raw crabs, and endless ocean — an entrepreneur’s relaxing trip in South China turns into a nightmare ordeal.

The Paper

Shanghai Boy Defies Fatal Diagnosis to Become a Star Student

A 12-year-old primary school student with a rare muscle-wasting disease gives his peers and teachers a lesson in resilience.

We Need to Talk About AI: China’s Therapists Lose Patients to Tech

As more Chinese turn to AI tools for counseling, mental health professionals warn that the technology could be making people worse.

White Night Workshop

Investigation Uncovers China’s Underground Height Surgery Market

The cosmetic procedure has been banned in China for two decades. But underground, a market has continued to flourish.

Fan Yiying

Between Two Needles

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

A retired oncologist opened a garment workshop above his Guangzhou dialysis clinic to employ kidney patients who had struggled to find work elsewhere. The factory provides income, routine, and community, but its future remains tied to the treatment that keeps its workers alive.

China Tightens Online Pharmacy Rules on AI Use and Prescriptions

The country aims to curb abuses in obtaining prescription medication online — a practice that has become easier with the rise of pharmaceutical e-commerce platforms.

TMS May Ease Autism-Related Social Symptoms, Chinese Study Finds

By targeting the brain’s motor cortex with magnetic stimulation, the treatment reduced social and language deficits in young children with the condition, while also shortening treatment.

For Congenital Deafness, a Chinese Trial Opens a Path to Sound

The world’s first clinical trial on congenital deafness gene therapy showed that injecting a missing gene back into ear cells can restore hearing.

Pushed Out as Demand Falls, China’s Obstetricians Start Over

A decade of declining births is shrinking maternity wards, reshaping hospitals, and forcing obstetricians to adapt, retrain, or leave the profession altogether.

China’s First DINK Generation Is Growing Old

For decades, a small number of couples built lives without children. As more Chinese choose the same path, their experiences offer an early glimpse of what a child-free future may demand.

Chinese Supplement Brand Falsely Claiming to Be Australian Ignites Scandal

Spurred by netizens, a domestic investigation found that the company’s listed overseas production address was linked to an unrelated Australian auto shop.

Li Xin

China Clears First Brain-Computer Implant for Commercial Use

Clinical trials show the implant can restore limited hand movement in spinal cord injury patients.

Shanghai Announces 2026 Tobacco Control Plan

The city is banning smoking at bus stops, ramping up oversight of areas where smoking is forbidden, and mandating smoking questionnaires during patient intake.

Cleft Lip: The Long Road to Repairing a Smile

As a Beijing charity hospital faces closure, cleft lip and palate patients and their relatives are sharing their stories to bring hope to more families.

New Chinese Trial Offers Roadmap to Cut Antibiotic Overuse

A large rural trial finds digital prompts and peer reviews sharply reduce unnecessary prescriptions.

As Services Expand, More Foreigners Seek Treatment in China

Lower costs, shorter waits, and expanding services are drawing more overseas patients to Chinese hospitals.

Chinese Scientists Save Patient Using Pig Liver Outside the Body

The new procedure could buy critically ill patients time to recover or wait for a human transplant.