A selection of the year’s best photos by Sixth Tone’s visual editors.
The year 2024 began with a rare blizzard that disrupted Spring Festival travel plans across China and ended with a major consumption push. In the interim, Zheng Qinwen’s underdog run to gold at the Olympics ignited a tennis craze, the success of “Black Myth: Wukong” rocked the gaming industry, and the country’s new energy vehicle industry went into overdrive.
Here are 30 photos that capture the moments that defined China’s 2024, as selected by Sixth Tone’s photo editors.
A “youshen” parade in Changle District, Fujian province, Feb. 16, 2024. Youshen, which literally means “wandering gods,” is a folk tradition in rural Fujian dating back to the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) in which villages hold joyous parades and other celebrations to welcome the spring and pray to local gods and deities. VCG
Men on scooters in a snowstorm in Anyang, Henan province, Jan. 15, 2024. VCG
Villagers carrying a large frog lantern take part in a parade to celebrate the Frog Festival in Sanhui Town, Nanchong, Sichuan province, Feb. 23, 2024. Held on the 14th day of the Lunar New Year, the Frog Festival is a local custom in northern Sichuan in which residents attempt to drive out disease. VCG
People livestream Zhao Mei’s dating show at Wansui Mountain in Kaifeng, Henan province, March 30, 2024. Better known by her stage name, Wang Po — a reference to the classic novel “Water Margin” — Zhao has been catapulted from obscure tourism worker to nationwide star. VCG
F1 racer Zhou Guanyu reacts during the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit, April 21, 2024. Bryn Lennon - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images/VCG
Contestants crowd around the champion of the 2024 Miss Silk Road Global Tourism China Grand Final in Zhangye, Gansu province, Oct. 23, 2024. Mao Jianjun/CNS/VCG
Team China’s Xu Jiayu, Qin Haiyang, Sun Jiajun, and Pan Zhanle celebrate after winning the final of the men’s 4x100m medley relay final swimming event, Aug. 4, 2024. Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via VCG
China’s Yang Siqi, the country’s first-ever Olympic surfer, rides a wave during the surfing competition held in Teahupo’o, French Polynesia, July 27, 2024. Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images/VCG
Zheng Qinwen signs autographs for a group of fans during the 2024 China Open in Beijing, Sept. 28, 2024. VCG
Visitors try a traditional Chinese medicine remedy at a TCM clinic in Anyang, Henan province, Nov. 22, 2024. VCG
A resident surveys the damage after Typhoon Yagi shattered windows in a residential area in Haikou, Hainan province, Sept. 7, 2024. Super Typhoon Yagi pounded Hainan with heavy rain and winds, leaving at least 24 people dead and 95 injured. VCG
The site of an expressway collapse accident on the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou, Guangdong province, May 1, 2024. The collapse resulted in the deaths of 48 people and has been linked to heavy rainfall and complex geological conditions. Meizi/VCG
A woman walks on a muddy road after floods receded in Meizhou, Guangdong province, June 19, 2024. Heavy rainstorms in the city have caused landslides and waterlogging in many areas. Anadolu via Getty Images/VCG
In the heart of Shanghai, a 30-meter stretch of tiered lawn, sloped and designed to resemble a lounge chair, has emerged as an unexpected oasis for tired, stressed-out office workers, May 2024. Wu Huiyuan/Sixth Tone
People tan their backs at Zhongshan Park in Shanghai, Aug. 10, 2024. Despite the health risks, back tanning has become a popular trend in China this summer. VCG
Aerial view of red bayberry intelligent greenhouses illuminated by lighting equipment at night in Lanxi, Jinhua, Zhejiang province, April 23, 2024. Farmers use LED lights to provide long light hours to the red bayberry, allowing them to continue to blossom and bear fruit during the night time. VCG
A viral photo shows the aftermath of forest fires in the remote southwestern province of Guizhou, March 28, 2024. Firefighters have raced to contain blazes across China’s mountainous southwest in recent weeks. From @欧阳阳阳soleil @Crazy1900 and @我是阿朗(开朗的朗) on Xiaohongshu
A squirrel holds a flower from a jacaranda tree in Kunming, Yunnan province, April 29, 2024. VCG
Ye performs during the concert in Haikou, Hainan province, Sept. 15, 2024. VCG
A plane flies across the moon over Wuhan, Hubei province, May 14, 2024. VCG
A drone show themed after the popular “Black Myth: Wukong” video game is performed at the Boao Forum for Entrepreneurs in Qionghai, Hainan province, Dec. 2, 2024. VCG
Reporters photograph the “Green Coffin,” an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus, at the Shanghai Museum in Shanghai on June 17, 2024. VCG
A humanoid robot mans the information desk ahead of the 2024 Zhongguancun Forum in Beijing, April 24, 2025. VCG
High school seniors take part in a coming-of-age ceremony at a high school in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Feb. 28, 2024. VCG
Cars to be exported sit at a terminal in the port of Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, July 16, 2024. VCG
Food stalls at a night market in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, July 20, 2024. VCG
People take photos during a light show at the Shanghai Exhibition Center, Sept. 22, 2024. The first Shanghai International Light Festival kicked off last Thursday and will run until October 18. VCG
A general view of the driver’s seat and controls of a driverless robotaxi autonomous vehicle developed as part of tech giant Baidu’s Apollo Go self-driving project, in Wuhan, Hubei province, Aug. 1, 2024. VCG
People watch a CERES-1 Y4 carrier rocket blasting off near Rizhao, Shandong province, Dec. 19, 2024. The carrier rocket successfully placed four satellites into orbit. VCG
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