A selection of the year’s best photos by Sixth Tone’s visual editors.
2025 in China was marked by the rapid development of the AI industry, the Victory Day military parade, and the popularity of Suchao football matches. At the same time, farmers in the central Henan province and flood victims in the southwestern Guizhou province faced life-altering challenges due to climate change.
Sixth Tone presents a series of photos that capture the moments experienced by ordinary people, athletes, animals, and even robots.
A joint military band performs at the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War in Beijing, Sept. 3, 2025. VCG
War medals on two military veterans attending the military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, Beijing, Sept. 3, 2025. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images/VCG
A total of 80,000 peace doves and 80,000 balloons rise into the air at the Victory Day Parade, Beijing, Sept. 3, 2025. VCG
Celebrants parade a traditional dragon through fireworks in Guizhou province, Feb. 15, 2025. Wu Huiyuan/Sixth Tone
A youshen, or “wandering gods,” parade in Changle District, Fujian province, Feb. 8, 2025. Yu Ming/VCG
Cosplayers take photos in Gucun Park, Shanghai, March 26, 2025. Wu Huiyuan/Sixth Tone
Drones illuminate lettuce harvesters at night in Lianjiang County, Fujian province, Feb. 28, 2025. Xie Guiming/VCG
Vistors gather at Daming Lake’s Chaoran Pavilion in Jinan, Shandong province, May 1, 2025. Wang Jian/VCG
U.S. livestreamer “IShowSpeed” tries local food in Chongqing, April 2, 2025. Yang Huafeng/VCG
A child wears a mask of popular character and Chinese folk deity Ne Zha when visiting a park in Huaibei, Anhui province, April 6, 2025. Li Xin/VCG
Shark-shaped kites fly in the sky during the 21st World Kite Championships in Weifang, Shandong province. April 18, 2025. Wang Zhide/VCG
“Dinosaurs” play with a football during halftime at a Suchao match in Changzhou — a city famous for its dinosaur-themed amusement park — Jiangsu province, June 21, 2025. VCG
Son of Team Sichuan basketball player Zhou Qi (right) tries to touch the golden medal of Team Guangdong’s Shen Zijie, during the award ceremony of the 15th National Games of China, Dongguan, Guangdong province, Nov. 12, 2025. Wang Weiwei/Workers’ Daily via VCG
Runners compete during the 2025 Hongqi Changchun Marathon in Changchun, Jilin Province, May 25, 2025. VCG
The Noetix Robotics-N2 robot runs with technicians during the humanoid robot half marathon in Beijing, April 19, 2025. Pedro Pardo/AFP via VCG
Remote-controlled robots by Unitree Robotics take part in a boxing match at the Unitree Robotics stand during the 8th CIIE in Shanghai, Nov. 6, 2025. Hector Retamal/AFP via VCG
Staff members carry an “injured” robot off the pitch on a stretcher during a football match at Shanghai West Bund Art Center, Feb. 22, 2025. Zhu Weihui for Sixth Tone
Wheat harvest season at Yongxi Mausoleum in Gongyi, Henan province, June 2, 2025. Ma Jian/VCG
Severe tropical storm Co-May brings wind and rain to Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, July 30, 2025. Xu Yan/VCG
Severe flash floods, seen from above, in the aftermath of torrential rain in Rongjiang County, Guizhou Province, June 24, 2025. VCG.
Rescue team members help local people retrieve their belongings from the ruins after the 6.8-magnitude earthquake in Shigatse, Xizang Autonomous Region, Jan. 11, 2025. Kunga Lezang/CNS via VCG
The deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court, Hong Kong, Nov. 26, 2025. Yan Zhao/VCG
Rescuers search Wang Fuk Court after a fire tore through seven of its buildings, killing 161, Hong Kong, Nov. 30, 2025. Ng Han Guan/VCG
People embrace at a makeshift memorial near Wang Fuk Court, Hong Kong, Dec. 1, 2025. Vernon Yuen/Nexpher Images Hong Kong via VCG
A farmer tends to corn that sprouted and turned rotten due to excessive rain, in Jiaozuo, Henan province, Oct. 30, 2025. Jiang Xinyi/Sixth Tone
A woman poses in her “magic hat” made of golden gingko leaves in Qingdao, Shandong province, Nov. 12, 2025. VCG
Tigers chase chickens in the Hengdaohezi Siberian Tiger Park in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang province, Dec. 17, 2025. Ma Chengjun/VCG
A veterinarian administers acupuncture to a sick cat, Beijing, July 6, 2025. Beijing Youth Daily/VCG
The AI plush toy “Saisai Cat” at the China Toy Expo in Shanghai, Oct. 21, 2025. VCG
Visitors amidst snow sculptures at the Harbin Ice and Snow World, Harbin, Heilongjiang province, Dec. 18, 2025. VCG
Winter swimmers in Shenyang, Liaoning province, Dec. 6, 2025. Wang Ruizhong/VCG
Snow sculptors craft a horse sculpture out of snow at the entrance of the Harbin Ice and Snow World to welcome the upcoming Year of the Horse, Harbin, Heilongjiang province, Dec. 5, 2025. VCG
(Header image: A humanoid robot holding a Labubu on patrol during the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games, Beijing, Aug. 14, 2025. VCG)
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