Global brands, including AstraZeneca, Tesla, and Zeiss, debuted new therapies and products at the ninth annual expo in Shanghai.
sixthtone.com/news/1019240
sixthtone.com/news/1019240
0
0
1
358
China has opened its first school dedicated to declining and obscure fields of study, with a focus on ancient and classical Chinese texts.
sixthtone.com/news/1019239
sixthtone.com/news/1019239
0
5
13
971
China’s passenger vehicle retail sales fell 22.3% year on year in the first 10 months of 2026, with the new-energy segment down 12.9%.
0
0
1
391
In 2021, Beijing-based filmmaker Su Yiyan traveled to Xinjiang to develop a movie about a football coach and a group of visually impaired children. She recruited 13 students from a special education school in Shache County, Kashgar, and arranged for them to train with local hers and professional coaches from Shanghai.
Among the boys was Bilali Yasen, who had gradually lost his eyesight due to glaucoma and cataracts. Having given up playing football, he rediscovered his passion for the sport through the project. But when the film ran out of funding in 2022, Su abandoned the original plan. Unwilling to let the boys’ football journey end, she later quit her job and teamed up with another filmmaker to make a documentary instead, using personal savings and borrowed money to keep the team going.
In 2024, Xinjiang officially established its first men’s blind football team, comprising 11 players and nicknamed the “Voy Boys,” after the Spanish word for “I go.” The team finished ninth at the 2024 National Blind Football Championship, seventh at the 2025 National Games for Persons with Disabilities, and fourth at the 2026 national championship. Su’s documentary, Voy Boys, was released in 2026.
The team continues to face challenges, including a shortage of professional coaches, limited funding, inadequate medical support, and uncertainty over the players’ futures as some approach graduation. Despite these difficulties, the boys remain determined to pursue football alongside their education and career plans.
Read more: ow.ly/Xt2H51051to
Among the boys was Bilali Yasen, who had gradually lost his eyesight due to glaucoma and cataracts. Having given up playing football, he rediscovered his passion for the sport through the project. But when the film ran out of funding in 2022, Su abandoned the original plan. Unwilling to let the boys’ football journey end, she later quit her job and teamed up with another filmmaker to make a documentary instead, using personal savings and borrowed money to keep the team going.
In 2024, Xinjiang officially established its first men’s blind football team, comprising 11 players and nicknamed the “Voy Boys,” after the Spanish word for “I go.” The team finished ninth at the 2024 National Blind Football Championship, seventh at the 2025 National Games for Persons with Disabilities, and fourth at the 2026 national championship. Su’s documentary, Voy Boys, was released in 2026.
The team continues to face challenges, including a shortage of professional coaches, limited funding, inadequate medical support, and uncertainty over the players’ futures as some approach graduation. Despite these difficulties, the boys remain determined to pursue football alongside their education and career plans.
Read more: ow.ly/Xt2H51051to
0
0
4
844
For Chinese opera fans, 2026 will surely be remembered for one thing: Mao Weitao’s triumphant return to the stage.
Few outside China may have heard of her, but the 63-year-old is a titanic figure in her chosen discipline, Yue opera, and part of that rare group of artists who o achieve crossover fame.
Over her nearly 50-year career, Mao has fearlessly reinvented the traditional art form, dragging it back into China’s cultural mainstream through a series of daring — and often provocative — creative choices.
Read more: ow.ly/TA1w510519R
Few outside China may have heard of her, but the 63-year-old is a titanic figure in her chosen discipline, Yue opera, and part of that rare group of artists who o achieve crossover fame.
Over her nearly 50-year career, Mao has fearlessly reinvented the traditional art form, dragging it back into China’s cultural mainstream through a series of daring — and often provocative — creative choices.
Read more: ow.ly/TA1w510519R
2
2
19
1,565
Few people in China have heard of Transsion Holdings, but hundreds of millions of people across the Global South use its phones.
The firm, headquartered in China’s southern tech hub of Shenzhen, has risen from obscurity to become a dominant player in Africa, where it makes es bought on the continent every year, beating competition from Samsung, Apple, and domestic Chinese giants like Xiaomi and Huawei Technologies. It also holds more than a 10% share of the Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets.
Transsion’s rise has been all the more impressive given its humble origins: unlike many of its rivals, it hasn’t benefited from massive funding or market-leading technology.
Instead, it has built a global business almost from scratch — a decades-long journey spanning Shenzhen’s knock-off electronics markets, scrappy networks of African “suitcase entrepreneurs,” and years of careful, locally targeted innovation.
Lu Miao, a media anthropologist and assistant professor at Hong Kong’s Lingnan University, charts this fascinating tale in her book “The Transsion Approach: Translating Chinese Mobile Technology in Africa.”
Based on years of research, it explores the secrets to the company’s success in the Global South — and how its strategy offers an alternative to the “blitzscaling” model favored by many tech startups in both Silicon Valley and China.
In this interview, Lu talks to Sixth Tone and Zhang Lin, an associate professor at the University of New Hampshire whose research focuses on tech innovation, about the Transsion story and what it teaches us about global technology flows.
Read more: ow.ly/or4f510511F
The firm, headquartered in China’s southern tech hub of Shenzhen, has risen from obscurity to become a dominant player in Africa, where it makes es bought on the continent every year, beating competition from Samsung, Apple, and domestic Chinese giants like Xiaomi and Huawei Technologies. It also holds more than a 10% share of the Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets.
Transsion’s rise has been all the more impressive given its humble origins: unlike many of its rivals, it hasn’t benefited from massive funding or market-leading technology.
Instead, it has built a global business almost from scratch — a decades-long journey spanning Shenzhen’s knock-off electronics markets, scrappy networks of African “suitcase entrepreneurs,” and years of careful, locally targeted innovation.
Lu Miao, a media anthropologist and assistant professor at Hong Kong’s Lingnan University, charts this fascinating tale in her book “The Transsion Approach: Translating Chinese Mobile Technology in Africa.”
Based on years of research, it explores the secrets to the company’s success in the Global South — and how its strategy offers an alternative to the “blitzscaling” model favored by many tech startups in both Silicon Valley and China.
In this interview, Lu talks to Sixth Tone and Zhang Lin, an associate professor at the University of New Hampshire whose research focuses on tech innovation, about the Transsion story and what it teaches us about global technology flows.
Read more: ow.ly/or4f510511F
0
0
4
572
The reforms in some regions are accompanied by proposals urging employers to encourage parental leave during the same time frames, as well as free entry for children at scenic spots.
sixthtone.com/news/1019236
sixthtone.com/news/1019236
0
0
2
469
After a street food vendor took her own life, anger turned toward a customer who had criticized her business. But the tragedy raises questions that go beyond a single online complaint.
sixthtone.com/news/1019228
sixthtone.com/news/1019228
0
0
6
885
As of November, more than 2,300 companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange were worth a combined 65 trillion yuan ($9.7 trillion).
0
0
1
474
A Chinese app designed to report hotels that allegedly have bedbugs and other pests has been updated and re-released following controversy over the validity of the claims. The app attracted more than 300,000 users at its peak, flagging over 600 hotels nationwide, according to its creator.
sixthtone.com/news/1019216
sixthtone.com/news/1019216
0
0
1
483
Applications aimed at preventing impulse purchases have soared in popularity during this year’s Double Eleven, the world’s largest shopping festival. The apps involve users listing the items they want, along with their prices, then sharing them with friends and strangers who vote buy them.
Dozens of such mini-programs have sprung up across major platforms including WeChat and Alipay following the August success of the WeChat mini-program “Still Want to Buy?” (Hai Mai Me in Chinese), domestic media reported last week. Related hashtags have garnered tens of millions of views on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, as of Thursday.
The trend comes as young Chinese consumers become increasingly money-conscious. According to a May report by Ireland-based consulting firm Accenture, 82% of the country’s Gen Z — more than 230 million people — have started saving money or cutting back on non-essential spending.
The rise in anti-impulse-buy apps dates back to the release of Still Want to Buy? in August. Created by a 29-year-old developer under the pseudonym Qiancheng, the app gained more than 75,000 daily active users within three days of its launch, and total registered users exceeded 500,000 as of mid-September. More than 85% of users are females under 24, Qiancheng told local media.
Read more: ow.ly/Fou25104P0R
Dozens of such mini-programs have sprung up across major platforms including WeChat and Alipay following the August success of the WeChat mini-program “Still Want to Buy?” (Hai Mai Me in Chinese), domestic media reported last week. Related hashtags have garnered tens of millions of views on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, as of Thursday.
The trend comes as young Chinese consumers become increasingly money-conscious. According to a May report by Ireland-based consulting firm Accenture, 82% of the country’s Gen Z — more than 230 million people — have started saving money or cutting back on non-essential spending.
The rise in anti-impulse-buy apps dates back to the release of Still Want to Buy? in August. Created by a 29-year-old developer under the pseudonym Qiancheng, the app gained more than 75,000 daily active users within three days of its launch, and total registered users exceeded 500,000 as of mid-September. More than 85% of users are females under 24, Qiancheng told local media.
Read more: ow.ly/Fou25104P0R
3
0
3
1,101
Many assume the writing is on the wall for human typographers. For decades, the industry has been slowly decimated by the advance of digital publishing software. Now, artificial intelligence is here to finish off the job.
sixthtone.com/news/1019200
sixthtone.com/news/1019200
0
5
6
850
“Maybe the first time you see an item of clothing, you don’t even like the style. But the platform keeps pushing it, and then it’s all you see. Eventually, everyone gets conditioned into the same very narrow idea of what looks good.”
sixthtone.com/news/1019172
sixthtone.com/news/1019172
3
1
1
801
Why do modern industrial color charts fall short in representing traditional Chinese colors?
First, color swatches are designed to standardize colors within specific product categories, whereas traditional Chinese color names developed within particular craft traditions. As d, a color’s name could refer to subtly different hues in different periods.
Read more: ow.ly/W8VJ5104Mjo
First, color swatches are designed to standardize colors within specific product categories, whereas traditional Chinese color names developed within particular craft traditions. As d, a color’s name could refer to subtly different hues in different periods.
Read more: ow.ly/W8VJ5104Mjo
2
1
16
1,609
China’s latest viral reality show is about broken friendships — rather than failing romance — between celebrities.
“I Miss You” surpassed 100 million views within two days of its Oct. 22 debut, and topped the real-time TV popularity chart on Chinese review platform Douban since elated to the show have repeatedly trended on the microblogging platform Weibo since airing.
Produced by streaming platform Mango TV, the show brings together four pairs of celebrities who have reportedly fallen out for an 18-day trip through the southwestern Xizang Autonomous Region.
In “I Miss You,” guests discuss their former friendships as a group and one-on-one with their ex-friends, play games, and share their feelings with the production team. A panel of celebrities, a psychologist, and a journalist comment on their interactions.
The most discussed pair on “I Miss You” so far has been Xu Fei and Li Na, two contestants from the 2006 season of “Super Girl,” a popular televised singing competition regarded as a cornerstone of China’s fan culture.
The two were close friends during the competition 20 years ago, but their friendship later collapsed after Li came to believe that Xu had reported her to their management company for taking outside jobs in violation of her contract. Li said the company subsequently stopped arranging work for her, which she sees as having dealt a major blow to her career. Xu denied the accusation, instead blaming a third person.
As the two revisited their past on the show, their memories of their friendship moved many viewers, with one highly upvoted comment describing their relationship as “an epic saga of love and hate.”
Read more: ow.ly/nQKK5104Llp
“I Miss You” surpassed 100 million views within two days of its Oct. 22 debut, and topped the real-time TV popularity chart on Chinese review platform Douban since elated to the show have repeatedly trended on the microblogging platform Weibo since airing.
Produced by streaming platform Mango TV, the show brings together four pairs of celebrities who have reportedly fallen out for an 18-day trip through the southwestern Xizang Autonomous Region.
In “I Miss You,” guests discuss their former friendships as a group and one-on-one with their ex-friends, play games, and share their feelings with the production team. A panel of celebrities, a psychologist, and a journalist comment on their interactions.
The most discussed pair on “I Miss You” so far has been Xu Fei and Li Na, two contestants from the 2006 season of “Super Girl,” a popular televised singing competition regarded as a cornerstone of China’s fan culture.
The two were close friends during the competition 20 years ago, but their friendship later collapsed after Li came to believe that Xu had reported her to their management company for taking outside jobs in violation of her contract. Li said the company subsequently stopped arranging work for her, which she sees as having dealt a major blow to her career. Xu denied the accusation, instead blaming a third person.
As the two revisited their past on the show, their memories of their friendship moved many viewers, with one highly upvoted comment describing their relationship as “an epic saga of love and hate.”
Read more: ow.ly/nQKK5104Llp
2
11
148
15,822
More than 2,000 companies are making their debut at this year’s China International Import Expo in Shanghai.
0
0
6
613
The programs ask users to list items they want, then share a link with friends, family, or total strangers, who vote to approve or deny purchases.
sixthtone.com/news/1019220
sixthtone.com/news/1019220
0
2
3
607
For nearly 27 years, Starbucks coffeehouses in China have been a haven for non-paying patrons attracted by its comfortable seating, ample power outlets, air conditioning, and free restrooms.
This stemmed from the American company’s foundational brand concept of making its — safe, accessible spaces between home and work to relax and connect with friends, whether you intend to spend or not.
Now, it seems, spending is mandatory.
In late October, Starbucks China introduced a nationwide purchase-required seating policy, pledging to be “clear in its rules but warm in its execution,” with staff encouraged to politely stop non-paying customers from hogging tables and chairs. At the same time, it unveiled plans to invest more than 300 million yuan ($45 million) in reshaping the in-store atmosphere.
As the company undergoes major corporate restructuring while continuing to expand, does it risk losing its “third place” image in China?
Read more: ow.ly/9Q0G5104prU
This stemmed from the American company’s foundational brand concept of making its — safe, accessible spaces between home and work to relax and connect with friends, whether you intend to spend or not.
Now, it seems, spending is mandatory.
In late October, Starbucks China introduced a nationwide purchase-required seating policy, pledging to be “clear in its rules but warm in its execution,” with staff encouraged to politely stop non-paying customers from hogging tables and chairs. At the same time, it unveiled plans to invest more than 300 million yuan ($45 million) in reshaping the in-store atmosphere.
As the company undergoes major corporate restructuring while continuing to expand, does it risk losing its “third place” image in China?
Read more: ow.ly/9Q0G5104prU
3
2
6
2,059
Color swatches are designed to standardize colors within specific product categories, whereas traditional Chinese color names developed within particular craft traditions. As these traditions evolved, a color’s name could refer to subtly different hues in different periods.
sixthtone.com/news/1019218
sixthtone.com/news/1019218
1
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587
As it expands its weather-warning systems across the Global South, China has handed over equipment for a customized version of MAZU — an AI-powered weather prediction tool created by the China Meteorological Administration — to Sri Lanka, one of eight countries where the platform has been deployed.
sixthtone.com/news/1019225
sixthtone.com/news/1019225
2
0
2
507