agriculture

In China, a Good Year for Lychees Becomes a Bad One for Farmers

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

Fruit growers in southern China are struggling to cover costs in a bumper year, as cheap supplies flood the market.

Li Xin

In China’s Tea Heartland, Workers Pick Through Climate Whiplash

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

Across the country’s premier tea region, a punishing chain of drought, frost, hail, heat, and snow wiped out crops, leaving workers and growers struggling to salvage what little the season had left to give.

Chen Yiru

Let It Burn: Why China Is Looking the Other Way on Farm Fires

After years of strict bans to curb pollution, China is reversing its zero-tolerance stance on crop burning, allowing controlled fires as officials navigate rural challenges and enforcement limits.

Ding Rui

Finding Meaning in a Chinese Mushroom

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

VOICES & OPINION

Matsutake are an important part of rural Yunnan’s economy. But their value has never been fixed.

Li Ruijun

Sky Farmers: The Rise of China’s Agricultural Drone Pilots

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

SIXTH TONE ×

China’s agricultural drone industry is helping to transform farming but faces numerous growing pains.

Shanghai Observer

In Central China, a Vicious Heat Wave Strikes at Worst Possible Time

The central Henan province is often called “China’s granary” due to its vast grain farms. But a sudden drought is putting this year’s harvest under threat.

Li Dongxu

‘Office Farmers’ Grow Fruit Plants for Novelty and Stress Relief

Mundane desktop plants are slowly being replaced by edible, decorative, and conversation-starting “work pals” like bananas and pineapples.

Ding Xiaoyan

New Dam in NW China Aims to Restore Flow to Parched Heihe River

A sharp decline in the Heihe River’s water levels in recent weeks now threatens regional agriculture and the ecosystem, prompting urgent responses from local governments.

Zhu Junxi

Rediscovering Tradition in Pu’er Country

Jingmai Mountain’s successful UNESCO World Heritage application offers a counterpoint to those who argue that development must come at the expense of the natural environment.

Miao Yun

How a Week of Extreme Weather Sowed Chaos in Central China. Again.

A sudden deluge in Henan province destroyed crops and sparked a frenzied rescue mission. It also exposed how unprepared China remains for an era of rapid climate change.

Wu Huiyuan

Yang Caini

Between the Rains: Inside Henan’s Wheat Crisis

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

MULTIMEDIA

Xue Haolin

Wu Huiyuan 

Lü Xiao

Durian Fans Sniff a Price Drop as China Readies Its Own Harvest

With the domestic durian harvest still far short of meeting annual consumption requirements, experts caution that an impact on prices will take time.

Battling Rain and Time, Henan Farmers Race to Salvage Wheat Crop

With around 23% of the wheat crop harvested so far, authorities hope to complete the process across the province by June 15.

Ye Zhanhang

Unprecedented Rain in Central China Wreaks Havoc on Wheat Fields

Farmers have been left grappling as crops falter, prompting an urgent government response.

China’s Food Security Faces a Hidden Threat: An Aging Countryside

Hollowed out villages populated by aging farmers pose a challenge to the country’s ambitious food security goals.

Gu Baojing

How Climate Change Is Upending China’s Tea Industry

Extreme and unpredictable weather are killing trees and causing havoc on tea plantations. Can farmers adapt in time?

Cai Yiwen

The Lost Art of Chrysanthemum Cultivation

Yu Jiangang’s hometown used to be a “sea of flowers.” What was lost when the sea dried up?

Yu Jiangang

Chinese Rice Farming Trials Cut Methane Emissions

Techniques that use less water, produce more rice and emit less methane are gaining traction in China.

China Dialogue

My Three Years of the Pig

The author, a rural development expert, reflects on spending the pandemic setting up a free-range pig farm in a remote Yunnan village.

Yang Xingfeng

To the Fields: China’s Professionals Become Part-Time Farmers

On rented tracts of land, urban residents get to experience farming: from sowing seeds to watering them and eventually, the harvest.