Fang Tiantian still recalls the pain she felt as a young child when her mother and father packed their bags and left her in her village in southwestern China. The 30-year-old understands why her parents did it. In the early ’90s, her home region of Guizhou province was bitterly poor, and the only route out of poverty seemed to be moving to find work in … Continue reading China’s Left-Behind Kids Repeat Their Parents’ Tragic Choices
Secondary school English teacher Bao Tiantian recalls feeling baffled when her principal asked her to attend a sex education training course. “I’d never heard that sex required education,” the 37-year-old tells Sixth Tone. Bao is from Kang County — a rural region in China’s northwestern Gansu province, where talk about sex remains firmly taboo. When Bao attended school, sex ed consisted of a single biology … Continue reading In Rural China, Schools Tackle a New Subject: Sex Ed
HENAN, Central China — The sweltering July heat, the passing trucks, and the loitering pigs cannot distract the dozen painting students from the task at hand. The villagers, young and old, are sitting around a table in their teacher’s studio, putting the finishing touches on their tigers’ whiskers and fur with the utmost concentration. The village of Wanggongzhuang’s love for the big cat is announced … Continue reading The Tiger Art Village That Won’t Change its Stripes
HUBEI, Central China — Shen Exiang was feeding his six dogs with some minced pork and rice at home when his former colleague Deng Chao rode over on his motorcycle. It was a chilly February afternoon, but the snow was melting around the village, and Deng wanted to know if Shen and his wife would go hiking with him. It’s a relaxed pace of life … Continue reading Why China’s Elderly ‘Huddle to Stay Warm’
When East Meets West 