transport

Lights Out: Foshan’s Metro Cuts Power to Slash Operating Costs

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

Low ridership has pushed the city’s metro to scale back air conditioning, lights, escalators, and service hours in a bid to cut costs.

Chen Yiru

Bus Stops Here: Shanghai Lets Riders Design Their Own Routes

A new crowd-sourced transit platform allows riders to propose, vote on, and activate new bus lines in as little as three days.

New Ride-Hailing Apps Bring Motorcycles to China’s Small Cities

Motorcycle ride-hailing services offer cheap, quick rides in smaller Chinese cities, but questions remain around safety rules and oversight.

Fan Yiying

Chinese EV Makers Face Their Biggest Sales Challenge Yet: Winter

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

VOICES & OPINION

EV adoption has lagged in China’s frigid northeast. But new technologies are starting to change that.

Liu Yuanju

Auto Shanghai: Carmakers Push Past EVs With Flying Cars, Robots

Amid rising competition, Chinese carmakers are tapping EV supply chains to branch into futuristic tech.

Li Xin

China Tells Carmakers: No More Misleading ‘Self-Driving’ Claims

New rules aim to curb inflated promises, with officials urging firms to distinguish marketing spin from the reality of current systems.

Jiang Xinyi

China’s High-Speed Trains Make Room for Cats and Dogs — Sort Of

For years, pet owners asked to bring animals on high-speed trains. Now, China’s high-speed network is giving it a careful try.

He Qitong

Wu Yufei

A New Look: Can China’s EV Boom Rescue Its Design Industry?

China’s carmakers are spending wildly on dealerships, accessories, and branding. For designers still reeling from the real estate crash, it’s been an unexpected lifeline.

Cai Yineng

Fare Play: China Targets Ride-Hailing Drivers Using Fraud Software

Authorities investigate drivers using illicit software to inflate fares, fake locations, and bypass ride-hailing platform rules.

The Big Switch

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

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.

Sixth Tone

The Missing Link in China’s EV Boom: Who Will Fix Them?

EVs now make up more than half of new car sales in China. But a shortage of skilled repair technicians threatens to slow the momentum.

Ding Rui

China’s EVs Are Smart, Green, and Cheap — Until They Aren’t

For millions of Chinese EV owners, early promises of affordability, convenience, and cutting-edge tech are now tested by aging batteries, replacement costs, and warranties.

The Chinese City Betting Everything on Tiny Cars

In Liuzhou, compact EVs reshaped the city’s economy, daily life, and identity. Now, it offers a blueprint for small cities looking to ride China’s electric wave.

The Motor Cities Behind China’s EV Empire

China’s push to dominate the EV market starts in factory towns deep in the countryside, where assembly lines run day and night and life is tethered to nonstop production.

Wu Huiyuan 

The Foot Soldiers Steering China’s EV Ambitions Abroad

China exported more than a million EVs in 2024. But between a price war at home and trade tensions abroad, the industry’s future depends on a handful of expat sellers.

China Wants Scooters to Slow Down. Will It Work?

New rules cap the maximum speed of scooters nationwide, but the focus on riders over drivers may not be entirely fair, says Shanghai urbanist Liu Yuanju.

China Intervenes to Prop Up Struggling Local Bus Services

As some bus companies teeter on the brink of insolvency, the central government has ordered local authorities to find the money to keep services operational.

Did Chinese Public Transport Firms Miss the Bus on New Energy?

Privately operated bus companies are struggling under a mountain of debt. It didn’t have to be this way.

Liu Daizong

In Wuhan, Robotaxis Put China’s Self-Driving Ambitions to the Test

With government support and backing from tech giants, robotaxis are rapidly integrating into daily life in China. But the rollout is sparking a nationwide debate.

Ye Zhanhang

Wang Jingyang

Steering Through Shanghai: A Taxi Driver’s Perspective

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

SIXTH TONE ×

​​An outsider’s perspective reveals the hidden facets of Shanghai’s taxi culture.