history

When Two Chinese Scholars Went for a Walk

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

MULTIMEDIA

Cai Yineng

Chinese Buddhists Don’t Eat Meat. Can They Convince Others to Do the Same?

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

VOICES & OPINION

A monastery in southwest China is trying to return Buddhism to its rightful place at the vegetarian table.

Liu Shuman

How Ming China Fell in Love With Spice

The explorer Zheng He helped popularize spices in China, but it was the private trade — both illicit and state-sanctioned — that drove their spread.

Yan Xiaoqing

‘Princess Iron Fan’: The Height of Modern Chinese Animation

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

SIXTH TONE ×

Inspired by Disney’s “Snow White” in 1937, the Wan brothers created the first Chinese animated feature film — still a timeless classic today — during the hardship of World War II.

Tian Jiajia

How Eileen Chang Almost Wrote a Book on Explorer Zheng He

The feminist essayist and author, whose writings show a deep interest in Southeast Asia, told friends about her plan to write about the legendary Chinese admiral’s voyages to the Western Seas.

Yang Bin

The ‘Real’ Kung Pao Chicken — And Why I Hope I Never Find It

From the top of Mount Tai to the Hulunbuir grasslands, there are many versions of the iconic dish. Searching for the definitive “authentic” version may not only be a fool’s errand — it also fails to appreciate this diversity.

Thomas DuBois

Can China Rediscover Its Love of Baseball?

The country used to be crazy for baseball. Can a shocking upset rekindle that passion?

Sha Qingqing

Tracing the History of Shanghai’s Waste Management

As the city has developed into a global metropolis over the past 180 years, pilot programs and policies have helped refine the way it handles and recycles household garbage.

The Paper

How Wenzhou Became a Trading Hub

New discoveries are shedding light on the history of China’s most business-minded city.

Liang Yanhua

Wukang Mansion: Shanghai’s ‘Pearl’ Before Its Online Fame

Local historians and residents share the rich, glamorous history of the Wukang Mansion, as the Shanghai landmark approaches its 100th birthday.

Snapshots of a Nation: How Guangdong Pioneered Chinese Photography

Spanning two centuries, “History of Photography in Guangdong: 1844-2020” delves into the history of Chinese photography. The book chronicles its journey from early daguerreotypes to the prominence of digital imagery in modern times.

Ding Yining

A New History of the Chinese Zodiac 

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

Q & A

Horses, pigs, goats, and oxen all played crucial, if largely forgotten, roles in the development of early Chinese civilization. Now, a leading zooarchaeologist is trying to piece that history back together, one bone at a time.

Wu Haiyun

The Historian Rewriting China’s Understanding of the World

Qian Chengdan is one of China’s best-known historians. In a new book, he and his team attempt to produce a comprehensive Marxist history of the world.

The Hungry Dead and the Envoys of Hell: China’s Ghost Festival

Costumed parades in the street, spectral drawings, and religious ceremonies illustrate how the Chinese celebrate Ghost Festival.

Sheng Wenqiang

As Nolan Arrives, Chinese Fans React to ‘Oppenheimer’ Release

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

For devoted Chinese fans of Christopher Nolan, his latest film about the invention of the atomic bomb is another masterpiece. But can the film overcome its controversial subject matter and reach a broad audience in China?

He Qitong

CCTV Report Sparks Outcry Over Heritage Preservation in Gansu

An investigative report exposed inadequate oversight in preserving Ming and Qing dynasty buildings; local authorities announce probe.

Li Xin

‘Chang An’ Reignites Ancient Rivalry Between 2 Chinese Capitals

Luoyang replaced Chang’an, in modern-day Xi’an, as capital several times in Chinese history. However, the hit animated film “Chang An” turns the tables and puts the emphasis on Chang’an, leaving some in Luoyang upset.

Ye Zhanhang

What Makes a Myth?

The head of the China Mythology Society on the “Creation of the Gods” trilogy and the low status of mythological studies in China.

What ‘Chang An’ Gets Right — and Wrong — About China’s Greatest Dynasty

For decades, films set in the Tang dynasty were plagued by Shakespearean pretensions, geisha-inspired makeup, and anachronistic props. ‘Chang An’ dodges those pitfalls, while falling into a few new ones.

Lu Shan

How China’s Greatest Ever Film Was Rescued From Oblivion

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

Fei Mu’s 1948 masterpiece “Spring in a Small Town” was condemned to obscurity for decades after its release. But 75 years later, it has finally won recognition as the best Chinese film ever made and is receiving a new wave of attention.