About CNTales

CNTales started with a simple frustration: the stories China tells itself rarely travel well. They get flattened into symbols — dragons, lanterns, rice fields. We collect the versions that don't flatten: a tale told by a ferryman, a myth that a grandmother still uses to explain the weather, an object whose maker has forgotten why it matters.

We translate them into languages that can carry them, and we mark clearly what is history, what is legend, and what is simply one person's memory.

We are a small team of writers, translators and field recorders. We don't claim to represent China. We just listen closely, and pass it on.