Chinese Equity Quant Research Framework

A modular Chinese A-share quant research framework. Daily frequency only (Phase 1).

It is a decoupled, file-based pipeline: each phase reads parquet and writes parquet, so phases run, cache, and inspect independently.

  baostock (primary)                                              one weight series
  akshare  (fallback)                                             interpreted as a
        │                                                            portfolio
        ▼                                                              ▲
 ┌──────────────┐      ┌───────────────┐      ┌───────────────┐       │
 │     DATA     │      │     ALPHA     │      │     COMBO     │   ┌────┴─────┐
 │   download   │─────▶│    compute    │─────▶│    combine    │   │   EVAL   │
 │ daily bars   │      │ signal→weights│      │ merge alphas  │   │ score it │
 └──────┬───────┘      └───────┬───────┘      └───────┬───────┘   └────┬─────┘
        │                      │                      │                │
        ▼                      ▼                      ▼                │
 data/daily_bars/        alphas/*.pq            combos/*.pq            │
  {universe}/            (ALPHA_COLUMNS)        (COMBO_COLUMNS)         │
  month=YYYY-MM/*.pq            │                                      │
 (DATA_COLUMNS)                 │                                      │
        └──────── price ───────┴───────────────────────────────────────┘
                                       │
                                       ▼  (planned — not yet implemented)
              ┌ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ┐   ┌ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ┐   ┌ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ┐
                 PORTFOLIO         BACKTEST           PAPER TRADING
              │  construct  │   │   simulate  │   │  forward / live  │  TODO
                 positions       fills + costs      execution
              └ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ┘   └ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ┘   └ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ┘

 Each phase reads parquet and writes parquet — run, cache, and inspect
 independently. The only interface between phases is the parquet schema.
 Solid boxes are implemented; dashed boxes are on the roadmap (see TODO below).

Data comes from baostock (primary) with akshare (fallback).

Install

pip install -r requirements.txt

Quick start

# 1. Download daily bars for a few symbols (writes a month-partitioned dataset).
python3 cli.py data download \
    --universe sh600000,sz000001,sh600519 \
    --start-date 2024-01-01 --end-date 2024-03-31 \
    --output-dir data/daily_bars

# 2. Compute an alpha (position weights) from that data.
#    --data-path is the dataset DIRECTORY ({output-dir}/{universe}).
python3 cli.py alpha reversal \
    --data-path "data/daily_bars/sh600000,sz000001,sh600519"

# 3. Evaluate it (return / Sharpe / turnover / drawdown).
python3 cli.py alpha eval \
    --alpha-path alphas/reversal_5d.pq \
    --data-path  "data/daily_bars/sh600000,sz000001,sh600519"

# Tests
python3 -m pytest tests/ -v        # tests/test_alpha.py is network-free; test_downloader.py hits the network

CLI reference

All commands are subcommands of python3 cli.py. Add --help to any of them.

data download — fetch daily bars → partitioned parquet dataset

Option	Default	Description
--universe	csi500	hs300, csi500, all (~5000 A-shares), a file path (one symbol per line), or comma-separated symbols (sh600000,sz000001)
--start-date	2017-01-01	YYYY-MM-DD
--end-date	today	YYYY-MM-DD
--output-dir	data/daily_bars	Root for the dataset directory
--symbols	0	Max symbols to download (0 = all)
--chunk-size	300	Symbols per durability flush (each flush appends .pq files)
--adjust	qfq	Price adjustment: qfq (forward), hfq (backward), none

Writes a Hive-partitioned dataset at {output_dir}/{universe}/month=YYYY-MM/*.pq (one partition per calendar month). The {universe} directory is rebuilt from scratch on each run. Downloads stream under a single baostock session and flush every --chunk-size symbols, so memory stays bounded and a crash keeps the partitions already written. Pass the dataset directory ({output_dir}/{universe}) as --data-path to later phases — pd.read_parquet reads the whole partitioned set. Symbols use the internal sh600000 / sz000001 form (exchange prefix + code).

alpha list — show registered alpha types

python3 cli.py alpha list
python3 cli.py alpha list --alpha-module path/to/my_alpha.py   # include an external alpha

alpha compute — alpha class → weights parquet

Option	Default	Description
--data-path	(required)	Data parquet from data download
--alpha-name	(required)	Label stored in the alpha_name column / output filename
--alpha-type	(required)	Registry key of the alpha class (see alpha list)
--output-dir	alphas	Output directory
--lookback	5	Lookback days (passed to alphas that accept it)
--vol-window	20	Volatility window (passed to alphas that accept it)
--alpha-module	—	External module(s) to import first; repeatable. Dotted path or .py file
--param	—	Extra constructor param as name=value; repeatable

Only the params an alpha's __init__ accepts are forwarded, so passing extras (e.g. --vol-window to a reversal alpha) is harmless.

python3 cli.py alpha compute \
    --data-path <data>.pq \
    --alpha-type reversal_vol --alpha-name rv_5_20 \
    --lookback 5 --vol-window 20

Shortcuts for the two most common built-ins:

python3 cli.py alpha reversal     --data-path <data>.pq --lookback 5
python3 cli.py alpha reversal-vol --data-path <data>.pq --lookback 5 --vol-window 20

alpha eval — score an alpha as a portfolio

python3 cli.py alpha eval --alpha-path alphas/<name>.pq --data-path <data>.pq

Interprets the weights as a portfolio and reports cumulative return, annual Sharpe, annual turnover, max drawdown, and hit rate; also dumps reports/<alpha_name>_eval.json. There is deliberately no IC/IR — alphas are position weights, not return predictors.

combo combine — merge several alphas into one weight

Option	Default	Description
--alpha-paths	(required)	Comma-separated alpha parquet paths (≥ 2)
--combo-name	(required)	Label stored in the combo_name column / output filename
--method	equal_weight	Combination method (see COMBO_METHODS)
--output-dir	combos	Output directory

python3 cli.py combo combine \
    --alpha-paths alphas/reversal_5d.pq,alphas/reversal_vol_5d_20d.pq \
    --combo-name eq --method equal_weight

Alphas: the factory / plugin interface

An alpha is a class that maps a wide close matrix (date index × symbol_id columns) to signed position weights (positive = long, negative = short). Every alpha subclasses BaseAlpha (pipeline/alpha/base.py) and is resolved by name through the registry (pipeline/alpha/registry.py).

Minimal alpha

import pandas as pd

from pipeline.alpha.base import BaseAlpha
from pipeline.alpha.registry import register_alpha


@register_alpha
class MyAlpha(BaseAlpha):
    name = "my_alpha"                 # unique registry key (required)

    def __init__(self, lookback: int = 5):
        self.lookback = lookback      # declare whatever params you need

    def signal(self, close: pd.DataFrame) -> pd.DataFrame:
        # Raw score: wide (date × symbol_id), higher = stronger long, NaN where undefined.
        return -close.pct_change(self.lookback)

That is the whole contract:

• name — the --alpha-type key; must be unique.
• signal(close) — the only required method; return a wide DataFrame.
• to_weights(signal) — provided by the base class: cross-sectionally z-scores each date into weights (NaN → 0). Override it for a different scheme (rank, dollar-neutral caps, etc.).

Built-in alphas

One file per alpha under pipeline/alpha/library/:

--alpha-type	Params	Description
reversal	lookback	Negative trailing return (oversold scores high)
reversal_vol	lookback, vol_window	Reversal scaled by trailing volatility
momentum	lookback	Positive trailing return

Add a built-in by dropping a module in pipeline/alpha/library/ and importing it from that package's __init__.py.

Using an alpha written outside this repo

Write your @register_alpha class in any .py file, then register it at runtime with --alpha-module (a .py path or an importable dotted module). See the worked example in examples/alphas/mean_reversion.py:

python3 cli.py alpha compute \
    --alpha-module examples/alphas/mean_reversion.py \
    --alpha-type mean_reversion --alpha-name mr20 \
    --param window=20 \
    --data-path <data>.pq

mean_reversion declares a window param (not lookback); --param window=20 supplies it and the unrelated --lookback/--vol-window defaults are ignored.

Parquet schemas

The column contracts in pipeline/common/schema.py are the only interface between phases (data is stored long/tidy):

• data (DATA_COLUMNS): symbol_id, symbol_name, date, open, high, low, close, volume, amount
• alpha (ALPHA_COLUMNS): symbol_id, date, alpha_name, weight
• combo (COMBO_COLUMNS): symbol_id, date, combo_name, weight

The data phase writes a month-partitioned dataset, so reading the dataset directory yields an extra month (YYYY-MM) partition column on top of DATA_COLUMNS; the alpha phase pivots by name and ignores it.

Layout

• cli.py — entry point wiring the three phases together
• pipeline/data/ — universe resolution + download → data/daily_bars/{universe}/month=YYYY-MM/*.pq
• pipeline/alpha/ — base.py (BaseAlpha), registry.py (factory + plugin loader), library/ (built-in alphas), compute.py (compute_alpha / evaluate_alpha)
• pipeline/combo/ — alpha combination → combos/*.pq
• pipeline/common/schema.py — parquet column contracts
• data/downloader.py, data/universe.py — baostock/akshare download + constituents
• examples/alphas/ — example external alpha(s)

Roadmap (not yet implemented)

The pipeline currently ends at combo, and alpha eval only interprets a weight series as a portfolio for quick scoring (return / Sharpe / turnover / drawdown). It is not a true backtest — there is no transaction-cost, slippage, or execution modeling. The following phases are planned but not built yet:

• Portfolio construction — turn combo weights into target positions (gross/net exposure caps, per-name and sector limits, capital allocation, rebalance schedule).
• Backtesting — event-driven simulation over the constructed positions with realistic fills, transaction costs, slippage, and borrow constraints; richer P&L / risk attribution than alpha eval.
• Forward / paper trading — run the same construction logic on live daily data, track simulated fills and a running P&L without real capital.

Until these land, treat alpha eval as a fast sanity check on a weight series, not a performance estimate.