diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index e98746f..b9465c6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -8,10 +8,9 @@ jobs:
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        python-version: ["2.7", "3.5", "3.6", "3.7", "3.8", "3.9"]
+        python-version: ["3.5", "3.6", "3.7", "3.8", "3.9"]
         os: [ubuntu-18.04, ubuntu-16.04, macos-latest, windows-2019]
         exclude:
-          - { python-version: 2.7, os: windows-2019 }
           - { python-version: 3.9, os: ubuntu-16.04 }
           - { python-version: 3.9, os: macos-latest }
           - { python-version: 3.9, os: windows-2019 }
@@ -72,7 +71,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: |
           python -m pip install --upgrade pip
-          python -m pip install --upgrade pytest six
+          python -m pip install --upgrade pytest
           python -m pip install .
 
       - name: Tests
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 292de16..32ca83c 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -38,19 +38,20 @@ pip-log.txt
 pip-delete-this-directory.txt
 
 # Unit test / coverage reports
-htmlcov/
-.tox/
-.nox/
-.coverage
-.coverage.*
-.cache
-nosetests.xml
-coverage.xml
 *.cover
 *.py,cover
+.cache
+.coverage
+.coverage.*
 .hypothesis/
+.nox/
 .pytest_cache/
+.testmondata
+.tox/
 cover/
+coverage.xml
+htmlcov/
+nosetests.xml
 
 # Translations
 *.mo
diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index b3df78b..c8a225f 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -3,12 +3,13 @@ repos:
     rev: v2.1.0
     hooks:
       - id: pyupgrade
+        args: ["--py3-plus"]
 
   - repo: https://github.com/psf/black
     rev: 19.10b0
     hooks:
       - id: black
-        args: ["--target-version", "py27"]
+        args: ["--target-version", "py35"]
 
   - repo: https://gitlab.com/pycqa/flake8
     rev: 3.7.9
diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index d854782..1922197 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ arch:
   - s390x
 
 python:
-  - "2.7"
   - "3.5"
   - "3.8"
   - "3.9-dev"
@@ -17,7 +16,7 @@ jobs:
 
 install:
   - pip install -U pip
-  - pip install -U pytest six
+  - pip install -U pytest
   - pip install .
 
 script: pytest
diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 8db5031..2afa048 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ UltraJSON
     :alt: Code style: Black
     :target: https://github.com/psf/black
 
-UltraJSON is an ultra fast JSON encoder and decoder written in pure C with bindings for Python 2.7 and 3.5+.
+UltraJSON is an ultra fast JSON encoder and decoder written in pure C with bindings for Python 3.5+.
 
 To install it just run pip as usual:
 
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index b60ba30..3f77411 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@
 requires = ["setuptools>=42", "wheel", "setuptools_scm[toml]>=3.4"]
 
 [tool.black]
-target_version = ["py27"]
+target_version = ["py35"]
diff --git a/python/JSONtoObj.c b/python/JSONtoObj.c
index b02aa02..cf8a3bc 100644
--- a/python/JSONtoObj.c
+++ b/python/JSONtoObj.c
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ http://www.opensource.apple.com/source/tcl/tcl-14/tcl/license.terms
  * Copyright (c) 1994 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
 */
 
-#include "py_defines.h"
+#include <Python.h>
 #include <ultrajson.h>
 
 
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ static JSOBJ Object_newArray(void *prv)
 
 static JSOBJ Object_newInteger(void *prv, JSINT32 value)
 {
-  return PyInt_FromLong( (long) value);
+  return PyLong_FromLong( (long) value);
 }
 
 static JSOBJ Object_newLong(void *prv, JSINT64 value)
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ PyObject* JSONToObj(PyObject* self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
       return NULL;
   }
 
-  if (PyString_Check(arg))
+  if (PyBytes_Check(arg))
   {
       sarg = arg;
   }
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ PyObject* JSONToObj(PyObject* self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
 
   dconv_s2d_init(DCONV_S2D_ALLOW_TRAILING_JUNK, 0.0, 0.0, "Infinity", "NaN");
 
-  ret = JSON_DecodeObject(&decoder, PyString_AS_STRING(sarg), PyString_GET_SIZE(sarg));
+  ret = JSON_DecodeObject(&decoder, PyBytes_AS_STRING(sarg), PyBytes_GET_SIZE(sarg));
 
   dconv_s2d_free();
 
diff --git a/python/objToJSON.c b/python/objToJSON.c
index 4083c79..381ddf0 100644
--- a/python/objToJSON.c
+++ b/python/objToJSON.c
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ http://www.opensource.apple.com/source/tcl/tcl-14/tcl/license.terms
 * Copyright (c) 1994 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
 */
 
-#include "py_defines.h"
+#include <Python.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <ultrajson.h>
 
@@ -98,14 +98,14 @@ void initObjToJSON(void)
 static void *PyIntToINT64(JSOBJ _obj, JSONTypeContext *tc, void *outValue, size_t *_outLen)
 {
   PyObject *obj = (PyObject *) _obj;
-  *((JSINT64 *) outValue) = PyInt_AS_LONG (obj);
+  *((JSINT64 *) outValue) = PyLong_AsLong (obj);
   return NULL;
 }
 #else
 static void *PyIntToINT32(JSOBJ _obj, JSONTypeContext *tc, void *outValue, size_t *_outLen)
 {
   PyObject *obj = (PyObject *) _obj;
-  *((JSINT32 *) outValue) = PyInt_AS_LONG (obj);
+  *((JSINT32 *) outValue) = PyLong_AsLong (obj);
   return NULL;
 }
 #endif
@@ -132,15 +132,14 @@ static void *PyFloatToDOUBLE(JSOBJ _obj, JSONTypeContext *tc, void *outValue, si
 static void *PyStringToUTF8(JSOBJ _obj, JSONTypeContext *tc, void *outValue, size_t *_outLen)
 {
   PyObject *obj = (PyObject *) _obj;
-  *_outLen = PyString_GET_SIZE(obj);
-  return PyString_AS_STRING(obj);
+  *_outLen = PyBytes_GET_SIZE(obj);
+  return PyBytes_AS_STRING(obj);
 }
 
 static void *PyUnicodeToUTF8(JSOBJ _obj, JSONTypeContext *tc, void *outValue, size_t *_outLen)
 {
   PyObject *obj = (PyObject *) _obj;
   PyObject *newObj;
-#if (PY_VERSION_HEX >= 0x03030000)
   if (PyUnicode_IS_COMPACT_ASCII(obj))
   {
     Py_ssize_t len;
@@ -148,7 +147,6 @@ static void *PyUnicodeToUTF8(JSOBJ _obj, JSONTypeContext *tc, void *outValue, si
     *_outLen = len;
     return data;
   }
-#endif
   newObj = PyUnicode_AsUTF8String(obj);
   if(!newObj)
   {
@@ -157,8 +155,8 @@ static void *PyUnicodeToUTF8(JSOBJ _obj, JSONTypeContext *tc, void *outValue, si
 
   GET_TC(tc)->newObj = newObj;
 
-  *_outLen = PyString_GET_SIZE(newObj);
-  return PyString_AS_STRING(newObj);
+  *_outLen = PyBytes_GET_SIZE(newObj);
+  return PyBytes_AS_STRING(newObj);
 }
 
 static void *PyRawJSONToUTF8(JSOBJ _obj, JSONTypeContext *tc, void *outValue, size_t *_outLen)
@@ -266,20 +264,18 @@ static int Dict_iterNext(JSOBJ obj, JSONTypeContext *tc)
     Py_DECREF(itemNameTmp);
   }
   else
-  if (!PyString_Check(GET_TC(tc)->itemName))
+  if (!PyBytes_Check(GET_TC(tc)->itemName))
   {
     if (UNLIKELY(GET_TC(tc)->itemName == Py_None))
     {
-      GET_TC(tc)->itemName = PyString_FromString("null");
+      GET_TC(tc)->itemName = PyUnicode_FromString("null");
       return 1;
     }
 
     GET_TC(tc)->itemName = PyObject_Str(GET_TC(tc)->itemName);
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
     itemNameTmp = GET_TC(tc)->itemName;
     GET_TC(tc)->itemName = PyUnicode_AsUTF8String (GET_TC(tc)->itemName);
     Py_DECREF(itemNameTmp);
-#endif
   }
   else
   {
@@ -308,17 +304,15 @@ static JSOBJ Dict_iterGetValue(JSOBJ obj, JSONTypeContext *tc)
 
 static char *Dict_iterGetName(JSOBJ obj, JSONTypeContext *tc, size_t *outLen)
 {
-  *outLen = PyString_GET_SIZE(GET_TC(tc)->itemName);
-  return PyString_AS_STRING(GET_TC(tc)->itemName);
+  *outLen = PyBytes_GET_SIZE(GET_TC(tc)->itemName);
+  return PyBytes_AS_STRING(GET_TC(tc)->itemName);
 }
 
 static int SortedDict_iterNext(JSOBJ obj, JSONTypeContext *tc)
 {
   PyObject *items = NULL, *item = NULL, *key = NULL, *value = NULL;
   Py_ssize_t i, nitems;
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
   PyObject* keyTmp;
-#endif
 
   // Upon first call, obtain a list of the keys and sort them. This follows the same logic as the
   // stanard library's _json.c sort_keys handler.
@@ -355,14 +349,12 @@ static int SortedDict_iterNext(JSOBJ obj, JSONTypeContext *tc)
       {
         key = PyUnicode_AsUTF8String(key);
       }
-      else if (!PyString_Check(key))
+      else if (!PyBytes_Check(key))
       {
         key = PyObject_Str(key);
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
         keyTmp = key;
         key = PyUnicode_AsUTF8String(key);
         Py_DECREF(keyTmp);
-#endif
       }
       else
       {
@@ -421,8 +413,8 @@ static JSOBJ SortedDict_iterGetValue(JSOBJ obj, JSONTypeContext *tc)
 
 static char *SortedDict_iterGetName(JSOBJ obj, JSONTypeContext *tc, size_t *outLen)
 {
-  *outLen = PyString_GET_SIZE(GET_TC(tc)->itemName);
-  return PyString_AS_STRING(GET_TC(tc)->itemName);
+  *outLen = PyBytes_GET_SIZE(GET_TC(tc)->itemName);
+  return PyBytes_AS_STRING(GET_TC(tc)->itemName);
 }
 
 static void SetupDictIter(PyObject *dictObj, TypeContext *pc, JSONObjectEncoder *enc)
@@ -522,7 +514,7 @@ static void Object_beginTypeContext (JSOBJ _obj, JSONTypeContext *tc, JSONObject
     return;
   }
   else
-  if (PyInt_Check(obj))
+  if (PyLong_Check(obj))
   {
     PRINTMARK();
 #ifdef _LP64
@@ -533,7 +525,7 @@ static void Object_beginTypeContext (JSOBJ _obj, JSONTypeContext *tc, JSONObject
     return;
   }
   else
-  if (PyString_Check(obj))
+  if (PyBytes_Check(obj))
   {
     PRINTMARK();
     pc->PyTypeToJSON = PyStringToUTF8; tc->type = JT_UTF8;
@@ -644,7 +636,7 @@ ISITERABLE:
       goto INVALID;
     }
 
-    if (!PyString_Check(toJSONResult) && !PyUnicode_Check(toJSONResult))
+    if (!PyBytes_Check(toJSONResult) && !PyUnicode_Check(toJSONResult))
     {
       Py_DECREF(toJSONResult);
       PyErr_Format (PyExc_TypeError, "expected string");
@@ -662,13 +654,9 @@ ISITERABLE:
   PyErr_Clear();
 
   objRepr = PyObject_Repr(obj);
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
   PyObject* str = PyUnicode_AsEncodedString(objRepr, "utf-8", "~E~");
-  PyErr_Format (PyExc_TypeError, "%s is not JSON serializable", PyString_AS_STRING(str));
+  PyErr_Format (PyExc_TypeError, "%s is not JSON serializable", PyBytes_AS_STRING(str));
   Py_XDECREF(str);
-#else
-  PyErr_Format (PyExc_TypeError, "%s is not JSON serializable", PyString_AS_STRING(objRepr));
-#endif
   Py_DECREF(objRepr);
 
 INVALID:
@@ -841,7 +829,7 @@ PyObject* objToJSON(PyObject* self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
     return NULL;
   }
 
-  newobj = PyString_FromString (ret);
+  newobj = PyUnicode_FromString (ret);
 
   if (ret != buffer)
   {
diff --git a/python/py_defines.h b/python/py_defines.h
deleted file mode 100644
index 5b89ccd..0000000
--- a/python/py_defines.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,53 +0,0 @@
-/*
-Developed by ESN, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio. 
-Copyright (c) 2014, Electronic Arts Inc.
-All rights reserved.
-
-Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
-modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
-* Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
-notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
-* Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
-notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
-documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
-* Neither the name of ESN, Electronic Arts Inc. nor the
-names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products
-derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
-
-THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND
-ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
-WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
-DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL ELECTRONIC ARTS INC. BE LIABLE 
-FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
-(INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
-LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND
-ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
-(INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
-SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
-
-
-Portions of code from MODP_ASCII - Ascii transformations (upper/lower, etc)
-https://github.com/client9/stringencoders
-Copyright (c) 2007  Nick Galbreath -- nickg [at] modp [dot] com. All rights reserved.
-
-Numeric decoder derived from from TCL library
-https://opensource.apple.com/source/tcl/tcl-14/tcl/license.terms
- * Copyright (c) 1988-1993 The Regents of the University of California.
- * Copyright (c) 1994 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
-*/
-
-#include <Python.h>
-
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
-
-#define PyInt_Check             PyLong_Check
-#define PyInt_AS_LONG           PyLong_AsLong
-#define PyInt_FromLong          PyLong_FromLong
-
-#define PyString_Check          PyBytes_Check
-#define PyString_GET_SIZE       PyBytes_GET_SIZE
-#define PyString_AS_STRING      PyBytes_AS_STRING
-
-#define PyString_FromString     PyUnicode_FromString
-
-#endif
diff --git a/python/ujson.c b/python/ujson.c
index 715ac8c..26bfecb 100644
--- a/python/ujson.c
+++ b/python/ujson.c
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ http://www.opensource.apple.com/source/tcl/tcl-14/tcl/license.terms
 * Copyright (c) 1994 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
 */
 
-#include "py_defines.h"
+#include <Python.h>
 #include "version.h"
 
 /* objToJSON */
@@ -65,8 +65,6 @@ static PyMethodDef ujsonMethods[] = {
   {NULL, NULL, 0, NULL}       /* Sentinel */
 };
 
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
-
 static struct PyModuleDef moduledef = {
   PyModuleDef_HEAD_INIT,
   "ujson",
@@ -79,35 +77,21 @@ static struct PyModuleDef moduledef = {
   NULL            /* m_free */
 };
 
-#define PYMODINITFUNC       PyObject *PyInit_ujson(void)
-#define PYMODULE_CREATE()   PyModule_Create(&moduledef)
-#define MODINITERROR        return NULL
-
-#else
-
-#define PYMODINITFUNC       PyMODINIT_FUNC initujson(void)
-#define PYMODULE_CREATE()   Py_InitModule("ujson", ujsonMethods)
-#define MODINITERROR        return
-
-#endif
-
-PYMODINITFUNC
+PyObject *PyInit_ujson(void)
 {
   PyObject *module;
   PyObject *version_string;
 
   initObjToJSON();
-  module = PYMODULE_CREATE();
+  module = PyModule_Create(&moduledef);
 
   if (module == NULL)
   {
-    MODINITERROR;
+    return NULL;
   }
 
-  version_string = PyString_FromString (UJSON_VERSION);
+  version_string = PyUnicode_FromString (UJSON_VERSION);
   PyModule_AddObject (module, "__version__", version_string);
 
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
   return module;
-#endif
 }
diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index 94069c9..ef7aac6 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 max_line_length = 88
 
 [tool:isort]
-known_third_party = pytest,setuptools,six,ujson
+known_third_party = pytest,setuptools,ujson
 force_grid_wrap = 0
 include_trailing_comma = True
 line_length = 88
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 06eb031..87b96fa 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -9,13 +9,12 @@ Development Status :: 5 - Production/Stable
 Intended Audience :: Developers
 License :: OSI Approved :: BSD License
 Programming Language :: C
-Programming Language :: Python :: 2
-Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7
 Programming Language :: Python :: 3
 Programming Language :: Python :: 3.5
 Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6
 Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7
 Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8
+Programming Language :: Python :: 3 :: Only
 """
 
 dconv_source_files = glob("./deps/double-conversion/double-conversion/*.cc")
@@ -84,6 +83,6 @@ setup(
         "write_to_template": version_template,
     },
     setup_requires=["setuptools_scm"],
-    python_requires=">=2.7, !=3.0.*, !=3.1.*, !=3.2.*, !=3.3.*, !=3.4.*",
+    python_requires=">=3.5",
     classifiers=[x for x in CLASSIFIERS.split("\n") if x],
 )
diff --git a/tests/benchmark.py b/tests/benchmark.py
index 9e25b0d..13d5588 100644
--- a/tests/benchmark.py
+++ b/tests/benchmark.py
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 # coding=UTF-8
-from __future__ import division, print_function, unicode_literals
 
 import json
 import os
@@ -376,7 +375,7 @@ def benchmark_complex_object():
     results_new_benchmark("Complex object")
     COUNT = 100
 
-    with open(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "sample.json"), "r") as f:
+    with open(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "sample.json")) as f:
         test_object = json.load(f)
     run_encode(COUNT)
 
diff --git a/tests/test_ujson.py b/tests/test_ujson.py
index f1aa5e5..52adec7 100644
--- a/tests/test_ujson.py
+++ b/tests/test_ujson.py
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 # coding=UTF-8
-from __future__ import print_function, unicode_literals
 
 import decimal
-import functools
+import io
 import json
 import math
 import re
@@ -10,13 +9,7 @@ import sys
 from collections import OrderedDict
 
 import pytest
-import six
 import ujson
-from six.moves import range, zip
-
-json_unicode = (
-    functools.partial(json.dumps, encoding="utf-8") if six.PY2 else json.dumps
-)
 
 
 def assert_almost_equal(a, b):
@@ -144,7 +137,7 @@ def test_encode_control_escaping():
     enc = ujson.encode(test_input)
     dec = ujson.decode(enc)
     assert test_input == dec
-    assert enc == json_unicode(test_input)
+    assert enc == json.dumps(test_input)
 
 
 # Characters outside of Basic Multilingual Plane(larger than
@@ -164,11 +157,8 @@ def test_encode_unicode_bmp():
     decoded = ujson.loads(encoded)
     assert s == decoded
 
-    # ujson outputs an UTF-8 encoded str object
-    if six.PY2:
-        encoded = ujson.dumps(s, ensure_ascii=False).decode("utf-8")
-    else:
-        encoded = ujson.dumps(s, ensure_ascii=False)
+    # ujson outputs a UTF-8 encoded str object
+    encoded = ujson.dumps(s, ensure_ascii=False)
 
     # json outputs an unicode object
     encoded_json = json.dumps(s, ensure_ascii=False)
@@ -187,11 +177,8 @@ def test_encode_symbols():
     decoded = ujson.loads(encoded)
     assert s == decoded
 
-    # ujson outputs an UTF-8 encoded str object
-    if six.PY2:
-        encoded = ujson.dumps(s, ensure_ascii=False).decode("utf-8")
-    else:
-        encoded = ujson.dumps(s, ensure_ascii=False)
+    # ujson outputs a UTF-8 encoded str object
+    encoded = ujson.dumps(s, ensure_ascii=False)
 
     # json outputs an unicode object
     encoded_json = json.dumps(s, ensure_ascii=False)
@@ -251,9 +238,7 @@ def test_encode_dict_key_ref_counting():
 
 
 def test_encode_to_utf8():
-    test_input = b"\xe6\x97\xa5\xd1\x88"
-    if not six.PY2:
-        test_input = test_input.decode("utf-8")
+    test_input = b"\xe6\x97\xa5\xd1\x88".decode("utf-8")
     enc = ujson.encode(test_input, ensure_ascii=False)
     dec = ujson.decode(enc)
     assert enc == json.dumps(test_input, ensure_ascii=False)
@@ -325,7 +310,7 @@ def test_decode_null_character():
 
 
 def test_dump_to_file():
-    f = six.StringIO()
+    f = io.StringIO()
     ujson.dump([1, 2, 3], f)
     assert "[1,2,3]" == f.getvalue()
 
@@ -349,7 +334,7 @@ def test_dump_file_args_error():
 
 
 def test_load_file():
-    f = six.StringIO("[1,2,3,4]")
+    f = io.StringIO("[1,2,3,4]")
     assert [1, 2, 3, 4] == ujson.load(f)
 
 
@@ -393,22 +378,15 @@ def test_decode_number_with32bit_sign_bit():
 
 def test_encode_big_escape():
     for x in range(10):
-        if six.PY2:
-            base = "\xc3\xa5"
-        else:
-            base = "\u00e5".encode("utf-8")
+        base = "\u00e5".encode()
         test_input = base * 1024 * 1024 * 2
         ujson.encode(test_input)
 
 
 def test_decode_big_escape():
     for x in range(10):
-        if six.PY2:
-            base = "\xc3\xa5"
-            quote = '"'
-        else:
-            base = "\u00e5".encode("utf-8")
-            quote = b'"'
+        base = "\u00e5".encode()
+        quote = b'"'
         test_input = quote + (base * 1024 * 1024 * 2) + quote
         ujson.decode(test_input)
 
@@ -489,7 +467,6 @@ def test_decode_array_empty():
     assert [] == obj
 
 
-@pytest.mark.skipif(six.PY2, reason="Only raises on Python 3")
 def test_encoding_invalid_unicode_character():
     s = "\udc7f"
     with pytest.raises(UnicodeEncodeError):
@@ -622,19 +599,11 @@ class SomeObject:
         return "Some Object"
 
 
-if sys.version_info.major == 2:
-    EMPTY_SET_ERROR = "set([]) is not JSON serializable"
-    FILLED_SET_ERROR = "set([1, 2, 3]) is not JSON serializable"
-else:
-    EMPTY_SET_ERROR = "set() is not JSON serializable"
-    FILLED_SET_ERROR = "{1, 2, 3} is not JSON serializable"
-
-
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "test_input, expected_exception, expected_message",
     [
-        (set(), TypeError, EMPTY_SET_ERROR),
-        ({1, 2, 3}, TypeError, FILLED_SET_ERROR),
+        (set(), TypeError, "set() is not JSON serializable"),
+        ({1, 2, 3}, TypeError, "{1, 2, 3} is not JSON serializable"),
         (SomeObject(), TypeError, "Some Object is not JSON serializable"),
     ],
 )
@@ -749,7 +718,7 @@ def test_encode_unicode(test_input):
     enc = ujson.encode(test_input)
     dec = ujson.decode(enc)
 
-    assert enc == json_unicode(test_input)
+    assert enc == json.dumps(test_input)
     assert dec == json.loads(enc)