Yiying Fan

award-winning journalist covering relationships, aging, pets and youth culture.

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

Since its December premier, ‘Forever by Your Side’ has exploded in popularity. Viewers say it’s changing how they see aging.

https://t.co/aEsCzqnklk

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

With the economic pressures and individualism present in modern Chinese society, more couples are opting for so-called “situationships” over traditional relationships, focusing solely on their love connection without looking too far into the future.

Read more: https://t.co/ZAlcw4H1hm

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

All you need is love. But failing that, sometimes a shared interest is more than enough. A “bridge partner,” or 搭子(dā zi), is someone with whom you engage in a particular activity, rather than a close friend or romantic partner.

Related read: https://t.co/HDat157ewg

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

While jujube ice cream and herbal bubble teas have each had their 15 minutes of fame, now a bar in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu thinks it’s found the next viral fad: traditional Chinese medicine cocktails.

https://t.co/pfOEfVxUZs

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

From the long-awaited return of internet star Li Ziqi to a humanoid robot dance directed by Zhang Yimou — and even a surprise performance by OneRepublic — this year’s Spring Festival Gala mixed old favorites with high-tech spectacle.

Read more: https://t.co/0JHxaEY2oB

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

This year’s Spring Festival lasts eight days—one day longer than usual—giving travelers more time to venture further. As prices surge, more youth are turning to “house swapping for the New Year,” listing their homes on social platforms to trade stays.

https://t.co/5NFnbq6Wvr

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

Young Chinese are reshaping the Spring Festival with online rituals, social commerce, and personalized traditions, balancing family expectations with a digital-first approach.

https://t.co/W9NRfTjFli

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

In a society where reproductive responsibility has long fallen on women, a growing number of Chinese men are sharing their vasectomy stories online, sparking long overdue conversations about masculinity and contraception.

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

A neon-stacked building in Yanji, a Chinese city on the North Korean border, brings internet culture to life, drawing waves of tourists eager to see the spectacle in person.

Read more: https://t.co/D6ksdRvfTf

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

From the long-awaited return of internet star Li Ziqi to a humanoid robot dance directed by Zhang Yimou — and even a surprise performance by OneRepublic — this year’s Spring Festival Gala mixed old favorites with high-tech spectacle.

Read more: https://t.co/DUKkSCmFFk

[rednote @xiaohongshu]

Dear Li Hua, we brought back letters that were 20 years in the making! The “global village” we dreamed of as children has suddenly come to life before our eyes. Thank you to every friend who wrote back to Li Hua’s letter. We have always been connected ❤ #REDnote #globalvillage

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

China is building electric cars faster than any other country in the world.

They roll off assembly lines, plug into charging ports, and fill roads from glitzy metros to remote county towns. But behind every car is an invisible network: factory workers clocking overtime to keep production moving, dealers easing consumer fears about range and repairability, and government policies fine-tuned to sustain relentless growth.

In this series, Sixth Tone travels across China to meet the people turning it into an EV nation — the workers, dealers, and technicians building, selling, and repairing the country’s electric vehicles. We look at what’s working, what’s breaking down, and what remains uncertain in a race that has upended the global car market.

Welcome to China’s EV boom. See how it runs.

This is the first article: https://t.co/Tqo6ZYi0G7

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

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. 1/8

Read more: https://t.co/uq03eXuy6z

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

Since their introduction from the West over 100 years ago, bars in China have always been as much about cultural reform as drinking culture.

https://t.co/6Tikq0pKsz

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

Liuzhou, a small city in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is perhaps best known for its luosifen, or snail rice noodles. But now, it’s cooking up something new: a booming electric vehicle industry reshaping daily life.

Sixth Tone traveled to Liuzhou to understand how this third-tier city became a pioneer of China’s EV boom — and what life is like in a place with one of the nation’s highest electric vehicle adoption rates.

Read more: https://t.co/y5u5NDtASo

[Ben Norton @BenjaminNorton]

As the US prepares to ban TikTok, many Americans are downloading RedNote / Xiaohongshu 小红书 and seeing the real China.

My experiences in China have been amazing. It's a beautiful country with very kind people. Everyone should try to visit

🧵 of videos/photos I took in China:

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

China’s large size, coupled with a history of sign language use dating back at least 1,500 years, have made China’s sign languages especially fragmented.

Read more: https://t.co/3IRXtDm0ZM

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

Livestream hosts are going to ever greater lengths to win viewers’ sympathy — from faking divorces to pretending their kids have been kidnapped.

https://t.co/V9mxT2yW6E

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

“I’ve not worked for many years. It’s hard to find a job better than standup — it’s both fun and profitable.”

Gao Xiang, a rising standup comedy star in Shanghai, has won acclaim for sharing his struggles living with severely impaired vision.

https://t.co/pDl5o1WYeb

[Sixth Tone @SixthTone]

China’s first and only registered police corgi “Fuzai” officially passed his aptitude tests to become a certified police dog this October.

“Work indeed accelerates aging — in both humans and animals,” read one comment.