lifestyle

Why China’s Young Urbanites Are Ditching Cities for Villages

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

SIXTH TONE ×

A youth-led design studio is putting progress before profit to help transform the fortunes of an ancient Chinese village.

Original (Jiefang Daily)

6 Lives, 3 Years, and a Long Look at China’s Short-Video Era

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

Q & A

Filmed over three years, “Nobody, But Somebody” follows young Chinese living outside the spotlight, capturing what it means to keep going in the face of uncertainty.

Jiang Xinyi

The Making and Unmaking of China’s Backpacker Hostels

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

As China’s early independent travelers age and costs climb, the youth hostel model that once offered cheap beds and shared life is thinning out, leaving scattered holdouts and fading memories.

Chen Yiru

China’s Artist-Turned-MMA Star Tries Her Hand at Slapping

China’s first female Power Slap fighter Ding Miao explains how the nascent sport is helping her combat her fears.

The Paper

How a Bullied Teenager Built China’s Unlikeliest Music Festival

You and Me, a free experimental music festival in Beijing, grew from one teenager’s search for refuge. Now it faces demolition, debt, and an uncertain future.

Wang Juyi

His Fight, My Future? A Childless Daughter in China Reflects on Her Dad’s Decline

A struggling architect reflects on her 92-year-old father’s final fight for dignity and the pressures facing childless singletons in China’s aging society.

White Night Workshop

Pain, Hunger, Viral Fame: Inside China’s Wildest Survival Show

In Hunan province’s mountains, a bare-bones survival show pushes ordinary people to the edge while millions watch, searching for something real in an increasingly curated digital world.

Li Xin

Eat, Pay, Love: Dining With Strangers Is China’s New Social Fix

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

Algorithm-matched dinners with strangers have proliferated in some of China’s biggest cities, as participants pay to make friends, explore their surroundings, and try to escape the mundanity of daily life.

Fan Yiying

Feng Jingyi

Growing Up With Corpses: Memories of a Tianjin Funeral Master

In a new book, a writer from a family of “daliao” — traditional funeral celebrants — reflects on her unusual childhood and how funeral customs have changed since the 1970s.

Han Yun

Crowd Control: Why China’s Marathon Boom Has Suddenly Hit the Brakes

Marathon organizers and runners across China face abrupt cancellations and new curbs, as officials rush to rein in a sport that expanded faster than it could be managed.

He Qitong

Whiteout: Trapped Trekkers Discover Dangers of ‘Hidden Gems’

After a mountain hike ends in tragedy, trekkers warn of the risks surrounding China’s growing passion for outdoor adventures.

Dolled Up: The Streamers Scouring Stores for Labubu Fits

Thinking on her feet, a “mobile livestreamer” started selling doll outfits to Labubu fans — but does a market slump mean playtime’s over?

A Day in the Sanctuary of Rhythm

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

MULTIMEDIA

At Shanghai’s “New Dream” dance hall, time stands still as dancers hit the floor, year after year.

Wu Huiyuan 

Crossing the Line? China’s ‘Fastest Nurse’ Runs Into Trouble

Marathon star Zhang Shuihua promises to tread lightly after post-race comments about her hospital job spark a social media pile-on.

The  Beijing News

In the Clouds: Weather Blogger Shines With Sunglow Forecasts

An amateur meteorologist with a knack for predicting exquisite sunsets says his fans’ passion for weather photography is helping him “escape” life on the construction sites.

How a Plump Cartoon Seal Became a Love and Life Guru

Seal, the alter-ego of comic artist Wang XX, is helping fans — especially women — navigate work, love, consent, and what it means to practice “sealf-care.”

Ding Yining

Exhausted and Alone, China’s Single Moms Are Moving in Together

China has nearly 30 million single mothers. Now, many are finding support by moving in together, splitting bills, sharing child care, and building households outside the traditional family model.

Chen Yongyi

How China’s Urban Youth Became Obsessed With Birding

Driven by social media, more and more urbanites are taking up birdwatching, helping to increase ecological awareness and molding photography trends to their aesthetic preferences in the process.

Chen Zhenyang

Yours, Dearly: Letters From Two Unknown Women

A collection of correspondence between university friends over a decade explores the struggles facing women in love, work, and self-belief.

Wu Shiqi

Cactus  Loves Water 

Three and Easy: Racers Find a ‘Midlife Fix’ in Triathlons

Though physically demanding, the sport has boomed among China’s middle-aged, helping them stay fit and achieve a healthy work-life balance.