policy

What Will It Take to Save China’s Bus Companies?

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

VOICES & OPINION

Even as local governments tighten their belts, many are pouring money into unprofitable and inefficient bus lines. Sooner or later, something has to give.

Wang Yuanyuan

Hangzhou Plans Easing ‘Hukou’ Restrictions to Attract Talent  

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

Several Chinese cities have entirely scrapped or relaxed policies for obtaining local household registration documents in the past years.

Ye Zhanhang

Proposals to Downgrade English in Schools Stir Debate in China

For decades, English has been a compulsory subject in Chinese schools alongside Chinese and math. But there are growing calls for this status to be rolled back.

Ni Dandan

How the Pandemic Left China’s Migrant Kids Behind

A spike in the number of “left-behind” children over the past three years threatens years of progress.

Wei Jiayu

As Birth Rate Falls, Sichuan Lets the Unmarried Register as Parents

Officials say the policy shift will ensure that unmarried individuals can enjoy maternal and child care services.

Luo Meihan

For China’s Migrant Workers, Retirement Often Brings More Work 

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

Shut out of the social security system, Chinese migrants are having to continue working back-breaking jobs well into their 60s and 70s.

How Has the Ramsar Convention Shaped China’s Wetland Protection?

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

SIXTH TONE ×

China has an impressive track record of wetland protection since joining Ramsar in 1992, but economic development still poses several challenges.

China Dialogue

Jiangsu Proposes Free Autism Screening for Children 

China’s top health authority estimates that every 7 out of 1,000 children have autism spectrum disorder.

Yang Caini

China Announces Action Plan to Curb Noise Pollution by 2025

Officials pledged that 85% of the country would be compliant with nighttime noise standards in the next three years.

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

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

MULTIMEDIA

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.

Li Wei

The Biggest Threat to Beijing’s Biodiversity? Trees.

Beijing has launched a massive campaign to transform the capital’s flatlands into forest. But the tree-planting drive could be devastating for local wildlife, scientists say.

Li Pasha

Is Mandatory Garbage Sorting Working in China?

Three years after Shanghai imposed mandatory sorting of household waste, we review the policy and ask what’s yet to come.

How a Chain-Smoking Marathon Runner Sparked a Furor in China

Middle-aged runner Chen Bangxian became an internet sensation after finishing a marathon with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. The Chinese authorities are not amused.

Court Grants Rare Domestic Violence Restraining Order to Male Victim

A court in the city of Jingmen granted its first personal protection order to a man who accused his wife of harassing him.

Chinese City Announces Maternity Insurance for Unmarried Mothers 

Experts have hailed the first-of-its-kind policy as progress.

China Says Lifetime Teaching Ban for Those Harming Minors

Individuals with a criminal history of abuse, sexual harassment, trafficking, and kidnapping children will be banned.

In China, a New Generation of Climate Activists Suddenly Emerges

Young Chinese are increasingly moving into environmental campaigning — a reaction to the growing impact of global warming on China, but also the shrinking space for feminist and labor rights groups.

Yuan Ye

Can Scrap Steel Solve China’s Climate Dilemma?

The key to China’s ambitious climate plan? Turning trash into treasure.

Shen Xinyi

How Hangzhou Freed West Lake and Upended Chinese Tourism 

Twenty years ago last month, Hangzhou made West Lake the first top-rated scenic area in China to offer free admission. Why hasn’t the rest of the country followed suit?