labor

Tidy Profit: Camera Captures the Cleaners Changing Lives

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

SIXTH TONE ×

A retired researcher’s photoshoots with domestic workers across China are helping bust stereotypical narratives of hardship and low status.

Jiemian News

Stairway Porters Rise to the ‘1,000-Yuan Man’ Challenge

As laborers flock to become “kanglou” porters in southern China, industry insiders share what it takes to shoulder the physical and mental strain.

White Night Workshop

The Big Switch

SPECIAL PROJECTS

China is producing EVs at an unprecedented scale, reshaping industries, economies, and daily life. Sixth Tone unpacks what’s working, what’s breaking down, and what’s next in a race that’s upending the global auto market.

Who’s the Boss? China’s Top Court Spells Out Gig Worker 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

A series of court rulings in China addresses labor rights in the country’s fast-growing platform economy.

He Qitong

Emotional Labor: Life Inside a Chinese Orphanage

A new book explores the tears, fears, and cheers experienced by orphanage staff and the children they care for.

Qian Linliang

Young Lives, Heavy Dust: Battling Pneumoconiosis

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

MULTIMEDIA

The Paper

Lü Xiao

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

Speed, Stress, Surveillance: The Human Toll of China’s Beverage Boom

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

Facing relentless demands and tight deadlines, workers in China’s beverage industry endure harsh conditions, leading to burnout, clashes with customers, and sparking widespread online debate.

Ding Rui

Yin  Ziyuan 

China Launches Policy Blitz to Tackle Unemployment

The central government has issued its first package of job creation measures since 2012, as concerns rise over China’s high youth unemployment rate.

Jiang Xinyi

Meituan Report on Delivery Workforce Provokes Pushback

The Chinese delivery platform is touting the high salaries earned by its riders. Others say the figures are deceptive.

Hu Anyan and the Beauty of ‘Ordinary Things’ as a Refuge From Reality

Reflecting on his journey from odd jobs to literary success, author Hu Anyan emphasizes the value of the everyday and banal in his new book “Living in Low Places.”

Hu Anyan

China’s Gen Z Finds an Unlikely New Hero: A Sad, Tired Brit

Jack Forsdike documented his ordeal working for one of China’s tech giants — and became a symbol of the industry’s grueling labor practices.

Dominic  Morgan

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.

Raised by ‘Wolves’: The Rise of China’s Cutthroat Start-Up Scene 

Your questions, answered. In-depth interviews with the minds and makers shaping today’s China.

Q & A

How did “wolf culture” become part of Chinese tech culture’s DNA?

Cai Yineng

China’s Delivery Riders Demand Respect After Major Stand-off

A confrontation between delivery riders and security guards in the eastern city of Hangzhou has sparked an outpouring of sympathy for China’s gig workers.

Li Xin

Li Miaoran

Baidu’s Mass Robotaxi Rollout Stirs Heated Debate in China

Hundreds of Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxis are now operating on the streets of Wuhan, but it has been far from a smooth ride.

Ye Zhanhang

Logout Log: The Insider Tracking Resignations in China’s Big Tech

Wang Jian catalogs social media posts of individuals who quit their tech jobs to escape the corporate grind. Over the last month, his blog has surged in popularity among those disillusioned by high-pressure careers.

Food Fight: The Competitive World of ‘Last-Mile Runners’

Banned from parking outside skyscrapers, food delivery riders in Shenzhen have come to rely on a group of self-employed, mostly middle-aged couriers to complete their orders.

Work in Progress: The Changing Face of China’s Migrant Workforce

A new monitoring report on the scale, flow, and distribution of this vital workforce offers insight into the desires and demands of different generations.

Fare Game: Why China’s Ride-Share Boom Is Leaving Drivers Behind

As oversaturation hits the world’s largest ride-hailing market, drivers are struggling to cope with low earnings, long hours, and increased health risks. Despite government efforts to regulate the industry, experts call for a more comprehensive approach.