diff --git a/lib/py/setup.py b/lib/py/setup.py
index 7e0a964..090544c 100644
--- a/lib/py/setup.py
+++ b/lib/py/setup.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 # under the License.
 #
 
+import platform
 import sys
 try:
     from setuptools import setup, Extension
@@ -69,7 +70,7 @@
         )
     else:
         extensions = dict()
-        
+
     setup(name = 'thrift',
         version = '1.0.0-dev',
         description = 'Python bindings for the Apache Thrift RPC system',
@@ -77,6 +78,7 @@
         author_email = 'dev@thrift.apache.org',
         url = 'http://thrift.apache.org',
         license = 'Apache License 2.0',
+        install_requires=['six>=1.7.2'],
         packages = [
             'thrift',
             'thrift.protocol',
@@ -90,15 +92,20 @@
             'Intended Audience :: Developers',
             'Programming Language :: Python',
             'Programming Language :: Python :: 2',
+            'Programming Language :: Python :: 3',
             'Topic :: Software Development :: Libraries',
             'Topic :: System :: Networking'
         ],
-        use_2to3 = True,
         **extensions
     )
 
 try:
-    run_setup(True)
+    with_binary = False
+    # Don't even try to build the C module unless we're on CPython 2.x.
+    # TODO: fix it for CPython 3.x
+    if platform.python_implementation() == 'CPython' and sys.version_info < (3,):
+        with_binary = True
+    run_setup(with_binary)
 except BuildFailed:
     print()
     print('*' * 80)
diff --git a/lib/py/src/TSCons.py b/lib/py/src/TSCons.py
index da8d283..ed2601a 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/TSCons.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/TSCons.py
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@
 
 from os import path
 from SCons.Builder import Builder
+from six.moves import map
+from six.moves import zip
 
 
 def scons_env(env, add=''):
diff --git a/lib/py/src/TSerialization.py b/lib/py/src/TSerialization.py
index 8a58d89..fbbe768 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/TSerialization.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/TSerialization.py
@@ -17,8 +17,8 @@
 # under the License.
 #
 
-from protocol import TBinaryProtocol
-from transport import TTransport
+from .protocol import TBinaryProtocol
+from .transport import TTransport
 
 
 def serialize(thrift_object,
diff --git a/lib/py/src/TTornado.py b/lib/py/src/TTornado.py
index 65795ab..e3b4df7 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/TTornado.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/TTornado.py
@@ -20,11 +20,10 @@
 from __future__ import absolute_import
 import socket
 import struct
-
 import logging
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
-from thrift.transport.TTransport import TTransportException, TTransportBase, TMemoryBuffer
+from .transport.TTransport import TTransportException, TTransportBase, TMemoryBuffer
 
 from io import BytesIO
 from collections import deque
diff --git a/lib/py/src/compat.py b/lib/py/src/compat.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b2f47dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/py/src/compat.py
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+import sys
+
+if sys.version_info[0] == 2:
+
+  from cStringIO import StringIO as BufferIO
+
+  def binary_to_str(bin_val):
+    return bin_val
+
+  def str_to_binary(str_val):
+    return str_val
+
+else:
+
+  from io import BytesIO as BufferIO
+
+  def binary_to_str(bin_val):
+    try:
+      return bin_val.decode('utf8')
+    except:
+      return bin_val
+
+  def str_to_binary(str_val):
+    try:
+      return bytearray(str_val, 'utf8')
+    except:
+      return str_val
diff --git a/lib/py/src/protocol/TBase.py b/lib/py/src/protocol/TBase.py
index 6cbd5f3..118a679 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/protocol/TBase.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/protocol/TBase.py
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@
 # under the License.
 #
 
-from thrift.Thrift import *
 from thrift.protocol import TBinaryProtocol
 from thrift.transport import TTransport
 
@@ -31,8 +30,7 @@
   __slots__ = []
 
   def __repr__(self):
-    L = ['%s=%r' % (key, getattr(self, key))
-              for key in self.__slots__]
+    L = ['%s=%r' % (key, getattr(self, key)) for key in self.__slots__]
     return '%s(%s)' % (self.__class__.__name__, ', '.join(L))
 
   def __eq__(self, other):
@@ -50,9 +48,9 @@
 
   def read(self, iprot):
     if (iprot.__class__ == TBinaryProtocol.TBinaryProtocolAccelerated and
-        isinstance(iprot.trans, TTransport.CReadableTransport) and
-        self.thrift_spec is not None and
-        fastbinary is not None):
+       isinstance(iprot.trans, TTransport.CReadableTransport) and
+       self.thrift_spec is not None and
+       fastbinary is not None):
       fastbinary.decode_binary(self,
                                iprot.trans,
                                (self.__class__, self.thrift_spec))
@@ -61,21 +59,13 @@
 
   def write(self, oprot):
     if (oprot.__class__ == TBinaryProtocol.TBinaryProtocolAccelerated and
-        self.thrift_spec is not None and
-        fastbinary is not None):
+       self.thrift_spec is not None and
+       fastbinary is not None):
       oprot.trans.write(
         fastbinary.encode_binary(self, (self.__class__, self.thrift_spec)))
       return
     oprot.writeStruct(self, self.thrift_spec)
 
 
-class TExceptionBase(Exception):
-  # old style class so python2.4 can raise exceptions derived from this
-  #  This can't inherit from TBase because of that limitation.
+class TExceptionBase(TBase, Exception):
   __slots__ = []
-
-  __repr__ = TBase.__repr__.im_func
-  __eq__ = TBase.__eq__.im_func
-  __ne__ = TBase.__ne__.im_func
-  read = TBase.read.im_func
-  write = TBase.write.im_func
diff --git a/lib/py/src/protocol/TBinaryProtocol.py b/lib/py/src/protocol/TBinaryProtocol.py
index 6fdd08c..f92f558 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/protocol/TBinaryProtocol.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/protocol/TBinaryProtocol.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 # under the License.
 #
 
-from TProtocol import *
+from .TProtocol import TType, TProtocolBase, TProtocolException
 from struct import pack, unpack
 
 
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@
     buff = pack("!d", dub)
     self.trans.write(buff)
 
-  def writeString(self, str):
+  def writeBinary(self, str):
     self.writeI32(len(str))
     self.trans.write(str)
 
@@ -217,10 +217,10 @@
     val, = unpack('!d', buff)
     return val
 
-  def readString(self):
+  def readBinary(self):
     len = self.readI32()
-    str = self.trans.readAll(len)
-    return str
+    s = self.trans.readAll(len)
+    return s
 
 
 class TBinaryProtocolFactory:
diff --git a/lib/py/src/protocol/TCompactProtocol.py b/lib/py/src/protocol/TCompactProtocol.py
index 7054ab0..b8d171e 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/protocol/TCompactProtocol.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/protocol/TCompactProtocol.py
@@ -17,9 +17,11 @@
 # under the License.
 #
 
-from TProtocol import *
+from .TProtocol import TType, TProtocolBase, TProtocolException, checkIntegerLimits
 from struct import pack, unpack
 
+from ..compat import binary_to_str, str_to_binary
+
 __all__ = ['TCompactProtocol', 'TCompactProtocolFactory']
 
 CLEAR = 0
@@ -62,7 +64,7 @@
     else:
       out.append((n & 0xff) | 0x80)
       n = n >> 7
-  trans.write(''.join(map(chr, out)))
+  trans.write(bytearray(out))
 
 
 def readVarint(trans):
@@ -141,7 +143,7 @@
     self.__writeUByte(self.PROTOCOL_ID)
     self.__writeUByte(self.VERSION | (type << self.TYPE_SHIFT_AMOUNT))
     self.__writeVarint(seqid)
-    self.__writeString(name)
+    self.__writeBinary(str_to_binary(name))
     self.state = VALUE_WRITE
 
   def writeMessageEnd(self):
@@ -254,10 +256,10 @@
   def writeDouble(self, dub):
     self.trans.write(pack('<d', dub))
 
-  def __writeString(self, s):
+  def __writeBinary(self, s):
     self.__writeSize(len(s))
     self.trans.write(s)
-  writeString = writer(__writeString)
+  writeBinary = writer(__writeBinary)
 
   def readFieldBegin(self):
     assert self.state == FIELD_READ, self.state
@@ -302,7 +304,7 @@
   def __readSize(self):
     result = self.__readVarint()
     if result < 0:
-      raise TException("Length < 0")
+      raise TProtocolException("Length < 0")
     return result
 
   def readMessageBegin(self):
@@ -310,15 +312,15 @@
     proto_id = self.__readUByte()
     if proto_id != self.PROTOCOL_ID:
       raise TProtocolException(TProtocolException.BAD_VERSION,
-          'Bad protocol id in the message: %d' % proto_id)
+                               'Bad protocol id in the message: %d' % proto_id)
     ver_type = self.__readUByte()
     type = (ver_type >> self.TYPE_SHIFT_AMOUNT) & self.TYPE_BITS
     version = ver_type & self.VERSION_MASK
     if version != self.VERSION:
       raise TProtocolException(TProtocolException.BAD_VERSION,
-          'Bad version: %d (expect %d)' % (version, self.VERSION))
+                               'Bad version: %d (expect %d)' % (version, self.VERSION))
     seqid = self.__readVarint()
-    name = self.__readString()
+    name = binary_to_str(self.__readBinary())
     return (name, type, seqid)
 
   def readMessageEnd(self):
@@ -388,10 +390,10 @@
     val, = unpack('<d', buff)
     return val
 
-  def __readString(self):
+  def __readBinary(self):
     len = self.__readSize()
     return self.trans.readAll(len)
-  readString = reader(__readString)
+  readBinary = reader(__readBinary)
 
   def __getTType(self, byte):
     return TTYPES[byte & 0x0f]
diff --git a/lib/py/src/protocol/TJSONProtocol.py b/lib/py/src/protocol/TJSONProtocol.py
index 7807a6c..3ed8bcb 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/protocol/TJSONProtocol.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/protocol/TJSONProtocol.py
@@ -17,11 +17,13 @@
 # under the License.
 #
 
-from TProtocol import TType, TProtocolBase, TProtocolException, \
-    checkIntegerLimits
+from .TProtocol import TType, TProtocolBase, TProtocolException, checkIntegerLimits
 import base64
-import json
 import math
+import sys
+
+from ..compat import str_to_binary
+
 
 __all__ = ['TJSONProtocol',
            'TJSONProtocolFactory',
@@ -30,20 +32,39 @@
 
 VERSION = 1
 
-COMMA = ','
-COLON = ':'
-LBRACE = '{'
-RBRACE = '}'
-LBRACKET = '['
-RBRACKET = ']'
-QUOTE = '"'
-BACKSLASH = '\\'
-ZERO = '0'
+COMMA = b','
+COLON = b':'
+LBRACE = b'{'
+RBRACE = b'}'
+LBRACKET = b'['
+RBRACKET = b']'
+QUOTE = b'"'
+BACKSLASH = b'\\'
+ZERO = b'0'
 
-ESCSEQ = '\\u00'
-ESCAPE_CHAR = '"\\bfnrt/'
-ESCAPE_CHAR_VALS = ['"', '\\', '\b', '\f', '\n', '\r', '\t', '/']
-NUMERIC_CHAR = '+-.0123456789Ee'
+ESCSEQ0 = ord('\\')
+ESCSEQ1 = ord('u')
+ESCAPE_CHAR_VALS = {
+  '"': '\\"',
+  '\\': '\\\\',
+  '\b': '\\b',
+  '\f': '\\f',
+  '\n': '\\n',
+  '\r': '\\r',
+  '\t': '\\t',
+  # '/': '\\/',
+}
+ESCAPE_CHARS = {
+    b'"': '"',
+    b'\\': '\\',
+    b'b': '\b',
+    b'f': '\f',
+    b'n': '\n',
+    b'r': '\r',
+    b't': '\t',
+    b'/': '/',
+}
+NUMERIC_CHAR = b'+-.0123456789Ee'
 
 CTYPES = {TType.BOOL:       'tf',
           TType.BYTE:       'i8',
@@ -70,7 +91,7 @@
 
   def doIO(self, function):
     pass
-  
+
   def write(self):
     pass
 
@@ -85,7 +106,7 @@
 
 
 class JSONListContext(JSONBaseContext):
-    
+
   def doIO(self, function):
     if self.first is True:
       self.first = False
@@ -100,7 +121,7 @@
 
 
 class JSONPairContext(JSONBaseContext):
-  
+
   def __init__(self, protocol):
     super(JSONPairContext, self).__init__(protocol)
     self.colon = True
@@ -146,6 +167,7 @@
     self.hasData = True
     return self.data
 
+
 class TJSONProtocolBase(TProtocolBase):
 
   def __init__(self, trans):
@@ -174,14 +196,22 @@
 
   def writeJSONString(self, string):
     self.context.write()
-    self.trans.write(json.dumps(string, ensure_ascii=False))
+    json_str = ['"']
+    for s in string:
+      escaped = ESCAPE_CHAR_VALS.get(s, s)
+      json_str.append(escaped)
+    json_str.append('"')
+    self.trans.write(str_to_binary(''.join(json_str)))
 
   def writeJSONNumber(self, number, formatter='{}'):
     self.context.write()
-    jsNumber = formatter.format(number)
+    jsNumber = str(formatter.format(number)).encode('ascii')
     if self.context.escapeNum():
-      jsNumber = "%s%s%s" % (QUOTE, jsNumber, QUOTE)
-    self.trans.write(jsNumber)
+      self.trans.write(QUOTE)
+      self.trans.write(jsNumber)
+      self.trans.write(QUOTE)
+    else:
+      self.trans.write(jsNumber)
 
   def writeJSONBase64(self, binary):
     self.context.write()
@@ -222,18 +252,23 @@
       character = self.reader.read()
       if character == QUOTE:
         break
-      if character == ESCSEQ[0]:
+      if ord(character) == ESCSEQ0:
         character = self.reader.read()
-        if character == ESCSEQ[1]:
-          self.readJSONSyntaxChar(ZERO)
-          self.readJSONSyntaxChar(ZERO)
-          character = json.JSONDecoder().decode('"\u00%s"' % self.trans.read(2))
+        if ord(character) == ESCSEQ1:
+          character = chr(int(self.trans.read(4)))
         else:
-          off = ESCAPE_CHAR.find(character)
-          if off == -1:
+          if character not in ESCAPE_CHARS:
             raise TProtocolException(TProtocolException.INVALID_DATA,
                                      "Expected control char")
-          character = ESCAPE_CHAR_VALS[off]
+          character = ESCAPE_CHARS[character]
+      elif character in ESCAPE_CHAR_VALS:
+        raise TProtocolException(TProtocolException.INVALID_DATA,
+                                 "Unescaped control char")
+      elif sys.version_info[0] > 2:
+        utf8_bytes = bytearray([ord(character)])
+        while ord(self.reader.peek()) >= 0x80:
+          utf8_bytes.append(ord(self.reader.read()))
+        character = utf8_bytes.decode('utf8')
       string.append(character)
     return ''.join(string)
 
@@ -251,7 +286,7 @@
       if self.isJSONNumeric(character) is False:
         break
       numeric.append(self.reader.read())
-    return ''.join(numeric)
+    return b''.join(numeric).decode('ascii')
 
   def readJSONInteger(self):
     self.context.read()
@@ -267,12 +302,12 @@
   def readJSONDouble(self):
     self.context.read()
     if self.reader.peek() == QUOTE:
-      string  = self.readJSONString(True)
+      string = self.readJSONString(True)
       try:
         double = float(string)
         if (self.context.escapeNum is False and
-            not math.isinf(double) and
-            not math.isnan(double)):
+           not math.isinf(double) and
+           not math.isnan(double)):
           raise TProtocolException(TProtocolException.INVALID_DATA,
                                    "Numeric data unexpectedly quoted")
         return double
@@ -430,12 +465,12 @@
   def writeMapEnd(self):
     self.writeJSONObjectEnd()
     self.writeJSONArrayEnd()
-    
+
   def writeListBegin(self, etype, size):
     self.writeJSONArrayStart()
     self.writeJSONString(CTYPES[etype])
     self.writeJSONNumber(size)
-    
+
   def writeListEnd(self):
     self.writeJSONArrayEnd()
 
@@ -443,7 +478,7 @@
     self.writeJSONArrayStart()
     self.writeJSONString(CTYPES[etype])
     self.writeJSONNumber(size)
-    
+
   def writeSetEnd(self):
     self.writeJSONArrayEnd()
 
@@ -472,7 +507,7 @@
 
   def writeString(self, string):
     self.writeJSONString(string)
-    
+
   def writeBinary(self, binary):
     self.writeJSONBase64(binary)
 
@@ -485,49 +520,49 @@
 
 class TSimpleJSONProtocol(TJSONProtocolBase):
     """Simple, readable, write-only JSON protocol.
-    
+
     Useful for interacting with scripting languages.
     """
 
     def readMessageBegin(self):
         raise NotImplementedError()
-    
+
     def readMessageEnd(self):
         raise NotImplementedError()
-    
+
     def readStructBegin(self):
         raise NotImplementedError()
-    
+
     def readStructEnd(self):
         raise NotImplementedError()
-    
+
     def writeMessageBegin(self, name, request_type, seqid):
         self.resetWriteContext()
-    
+
     def writeMessageEnd(self):
         pass
-    
+
     def writeStructBegin(self, name):
         self.writeJSONObjectStart()
-    
+
     def writeStructEnd(self):
         self.writeJSONObjectEnd()
-      
+
     def writeFieldBegin(self, name, ttype, fid):
         self.writeJSONString(name)
-    
+
     def writeFieldEnd(self):
         pass
-    
+
     def writeMapBegin(self, ktype, vtype, size):
         self.writeJSONObjectStart()
-    
+
     def writeMapEnd(self):
         self.writeJSONObjectEnd()
-    
+
     def _writeCollectionBegin(self, etype, size):
         self.writeJSONArrayStart()
-    
+
     def _writeCollectionEnd(self):
         self.writeJSONArrayEnd()
     writeListBegin = _writeCollectionBegin
@@ -550,16 +585,16 @@
     def writeI64(self, i64):
         checkIntegerLimits(i64, 64)
         self.writeJSONNumber(i64)
-    
+
     def writeBool(self, boolean):
         self.writeJSONNumber(1 if boolean is True else 0)
 
     def writeDouble(self, dbl):
         self.writeJSONNumber(dbl)
-    
+
     def writeString(self, string):
         self.writeJSONString(string)
-      
+
     def writeBinary(self, binary):
         self.writeJSONBase64(binary)
 
diff --git a/lib/py/src/protocol/TProtocol.py b/lib/py/src/protocol/TProtocol.py
index 311a635..22339c0 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/protocol/TProtocol.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/protocol/TProtocol.py
@@ -17,7 +17,10 @@
 # under the License.
 #
 
-from thrift.Thrift import *
+from thrift.Thrift import TException, TType
+import six
+
+from ..compat import binary_to_str, str_to_binary
 
 
 class TProtocolException(TException):
@@ -100,6 +103,9 @@
     pass
 
   def writeString(self, str_val):
+    self.writeBinary(str_to_binary(str_val))
+
+  def writeBinary(self, str_val):
     pass
 
   def readMessageBegin(self):
@@ -157,6 +163,9 @@
     pass
 
   def readString(self):
+    return binary_to_str(self.readBinary())
+
+  def readBinary(self):
     pass
 
   def skip(self, ttype):
@@ -187,18 +196,18 @@
       self.readStructEnd()
     elif ttype == TType.MAP:
       (ktype, vtype, size) = self.readMapBegin()
-      for i in xrange(size):
+      for i in range(size):
         self.skip(ktype)
         self.skip(vtype)
       self.readMapEnd()
     elif ttype == TType.SET:
       (etype, size) = self.readSetBegin()
-      for i in xrange(size):
+      for i in range(size):
         self.skip(etype)
       self.readSetEnd()
     elif ttype == TType.LIST:
       (etype, size) = self.readListBegin()
-      for i in xrange(size):
+      for i in range(size):
         self.skip(etype)
       self.readListEnd()
 
@@ -246,13 +255,13 @@
     (list_type, list_len) = self.readListBegin()
     if tspec is None:
       # list values are simple types
-      for idx in xrange(list_len):
+      for idx in range(list_len):
         results.append(reader())
     else:
       # this is like an inlined readFieldByTType
       container_reader = self._TTYPE_HANDLERS[list_type][0]
       val_reader = getattr(self, container_reader)
-      for idx in xrange(list_len):
+      for idx in range(list_len):
         val = val_reader(tspec)
         results.append(val)
     self.readListEnd()
@@ -266,12 +275,12 @@
     (set_type, set_len) = self.readSetBegin()
     if tspec is None:
       # set members are simple types
-      for idx in xrange(set_len):
+      for idx in range(set_len):
         results.add(reader())
     else:
       container_reader = self._TTYPE_HANDLERS[set_type][0]
       val_reader = getattr(self, container_reader)
-      for idx in xrange(set_len):
+      for idx in range(set_len):
         results.add(val_reader(tspec))
     self.readSetEnd()
     return results
@@ -292,7 +301,7 @@
     key_reader = getattr(self, self._TTYPE_HANDLERS[key_ttype][0])
     val_reader = getattr(self, self._TTYPE_HANDLERS[val_ttype][0])
     # list values are simple types
-    for idx in xrange(map_len):
+    for idx in range(map_len):
       if key_spec is None:
         k_val = key_reader()
       else:
@@ -363,7 +372,7 @@
     k_writer = getattr(self, ktype_name)
     v_writer = getattr(self, vtype_name)
     self.writeMapBegin(k_type, v_type, len(val))
-    for m_key, m_val in val.iteritems():
+    for m_key, m_val in six.iteritems(val):
       if not k_is_container:
         k_writer(m_key)
       else:
@@ -402,6 +411,7 @@
     else:
       writer(val)
 
+
 def checkIntegerLimits(i, bits):
     if bits == 8 and (i < -128 or i > 127):
         raise TProtocolException(TProtocolException.INVALID_DATA,
@@ -416,6 +426,7 @@
          raise TProtocolException(TProtocolException.INVALID_DATA,
                                   "i64 requires -9223372036854775808 <= number <= 9223372036854775807")
 
+
 class TProtocolFactory:
   def getProtocol(self, trans):
     pass
diff --git a/lib/py/src/server/THttpServer.py b/lib/py/src/server/THttpServer.py
index 6f92173..bf3b0e3 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/server/THttpServer.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/server/THttpServer.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 # under the License.
 #
 
-import BaseHTTPServer
+from six.moves import BaseHTTPServer
 
 from thrift.server import TServer
 from thrift.transport import TTransport
diff --git a/lib/py/src/server/TNonblockingServer.py b/lib/py/src/server/TNonblockingServer.py
index 39486cd..79748b7 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/server/TNonblockingServer.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/server/TNonblockingServer.py
@@ -26,13 +26,14 @@
 """
 import threading
 import socket
-import Queue
 import select
 import struct
 
 import logging
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
+from six.moves import queue
+
 from thrift.transport import TTransport
 from thrift.protocol.TBinaryProtocol import TBinaryProtocolFactory
 
@@ -57,7 +58,7 @@
                 callback(True, otrans.getvalue())
             except Exception:
                 logger.exception("Exception while processing request")
-                callback(False, '')
+                callback(False, b'')
 
 WAIT_LEN = 0
 WAIT_MESSAGE = 1
@@ -104,7 +105,7 @@
         self.socket.setblocking(False)
         self.status = WAIT_LEN
         self.len = 0
-        self.message = ''
+        self.message = b''
         self.lock = threading.Lock()
         self.wake_up = wake_up
 
@@ -132,7 +133,7 @@
                 logger.error("empty frame, it's really strange")
                 self.close()
             else:
-                self.message = ''
+                self.message = b''
                 self.status = WAIT_MESSAGE
 
     @socket_exception
@@ -162,7 +163,7 @@
         sent = self.socket.send(self.message)
         if sent == len(self.message):
             self.status = WAIT_LEN
-            self.message = ''
+            self.message = b''
             self.len = 0
         else:
             self.message = self.message[sent:]
@@ -185,10 +186,10 @@
             self.close()
             self.wake_up()
             return
-        self.len = ''
+        self.len = 0
         if len(message) == 0:
             # it was a oneway request, do not write answer
-            self.message = ''
+            self.message = b''
             self.status = WAIT_LEN
         else:
             self.message = struct.pack('!i', len(message)) + message
@@ -236,7 +237,7 @@
         self.out_protocol = outputProtocolFactory or self.in_protocol
         self.threads = int(threads)
         self.clients = {}
-        self.tasks = Queue.Queue()
+        self.tasks = queue.Queue()
         self._read, self._write = socket.socketpair()
         self.prepared = False
         self._stop = False
@@ -252,7 +253,7 @@
         if self.prepared:
             return
         self.socket.listen()
-        for _ in xrange(self.threads):
+        for _ in range(self.threads):
             thread = Worker(self.tasks)
             thread.setDaemon(True)
             thread.start()
@@ -269,7 +270,7 @@
         In this case, we can just write anything to the second socket from
         socketpair.
         """
-        self._write.send('1')
+        self._write.send(b'1')
 
     def stop(self):
         """Stop the server.
@@ -290,7 +291,7 @@
         """Does select on open connections."""
         readable = [self.socket.handle.fileno(), self._read.fileno()]
         writable = []
-        for i, connection in self.clients.items():
+        for i, connection in list(self.clients.items()):
             if connection.is_readable():
                 readable.append(connection.fileno())
             if connection.is_writeable():
@@ -332,7 +333,7 @@
 
     def close(self):
         """Closes the server."""
-        for _ in xrange(self.threads):
+        for _ in range(self.threads):
             self.tasks.put([None, None, None, None, None])
         self.socket.close()
         self.prepared = False
diff --git a/lib/py/src/server/TProcessPoolServer.py b/lib/py/src/server/TProcessPoolServer.py
index ae7fe1c..b2c2308 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/server/TProcessPoolServer.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/server/TProcessPoolServer.py
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 
 from multiprocessing import  Process, Value, Condition, reduction
 
-from TServer import TServer
+from .TServer import TServer
 from thrift.transport.TTransport import TTransportException
 
 
diff --git a/lib/py/src/server/TServer.py b/lib/py/src/server/TServer.py
index 8c58e39..130f730 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/server/TServer.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/server/TServer.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 # under the License.
 #
 
-import Queue
+from six.moves import queue
 import os
 import sys
 import threading
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@
 
   def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
     TServer.__init__(self, *args)
-    self.clients = Queue.Queue()
+    self.clients = queue.Queue()
     self.threads = 10
     self.daemon = kwargs.get("daemon", False)
 
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@
             try:
               while True:
                 self.processor.process(iprot, oprot)
-            except TTransport.TTransportException as tx:
+            except TTransport.TTransportException:
               pass
             except Exception as e:
               logger.exception(e)
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@
 
           os._exit(ecode)
 
-      except TTransport.TTransportException as tx:
+      except TTransport.TTransportException:
         pass
       except Exception as x:
         logger.exception(x)
diff --git a/lib/py/src/transport/THttpClient.py b/lib/py/src/transport/THttpClient.py
index 5851fa2..5abd41c 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/transport/THttpClient.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/transport/THttpClient.py
@@ -17,17 +17,17 @@
 # under the License.
 #
 
-import httplib
+from io import BytesIO
 import os
 import socket
 import sys
-import urllib
-import urlparse
 import warnings
 
-from cStringIO import StringIO
+from six.moves import urllib
+from six.moves import http_client
 
-from TTransport import *
+from .TTransport import *
+import six
 
 
 class THttpClient(TTransportBase):
@@ -52,31 +52,33 @@
       self.path = path
       self.scheme = 'http'
     else:
-      parsed = urlparse.urlparse(uri_or_host)
+      parsed = urllib.parse.urlparse(uri_or_host)
       self.scheme = parsed.scheme
       assert self.scheme in ('http', 'https')
       if self.scheme == 'http':
-        self.port = parsed.port or httplib.HTTP_PORT
+        self.port = parsed.port or http_client.HTTP_PORT
       elif self.scheme == 'https':
-        self.port = parsed.port or httplib.HTTPS_PORT
+        self.port = parsed.port or http_client.HTTPS_PORT
       self.host = parsed.hostname
       self.path = parsed.path
       if parsed.query:
         self.path += '?%s' % parsed.query
-    self.__wbuf = StringIO()
+    self.__wbuf = BytesIO()
     self.__http = None
+    self.__http_response = None
     self.__timeout = None
     self.__custom_headers = None
 
   def open(self):
     if self.scheme == 'http':
-      self.__http = httplib.HTTP(self.host, self.port)
+      self.__http = http_client.HTTPConnection(self.host, self.port)
     else:
-      self.__http = httplib.HTTPS(self.host, self.port)
+      self.__http = http_client.HTTPSConnection(self.host, self.port)
 
   def close(self):
     self.__http.close()
     self.__http = None
+    self.__http_response = None
 
   def isOpen(self):
     return self.__http is not None
@@ -94,7 +96,7 @@
     self.__custom_headers = headers
 
   def read(self, sz):
-    return self.__http.file.read(sz)
+    return self.__http_response.read(sz)
 
   def write(self, buf):
     self.__wbuf.write(buf)
@@ -117,13 +119,12 @@
 
     # Pull data out of buffer
     data = self.__wbuf.getvalue()
-    self.__wbuf = StringIO()
+    self.__wbuf = BytesIO()
 
     # HTTP request
     self.__http.putrequest('POST', self.path)
 
     # Write headers
-    self.__http.putheader('Host', self.host)
     self.__http.putheader('Content-Type', 'application/x-thrift')
     self.__http.putheader('Content-Length', str(len(data)))
 
@@ -131,11 +132,11 @@
       user_agent = 'Python/THttpClient'
       script = os.path.basename(sys.argv[0])
       if script:
-        user_agent = '%s (%s)' % (user_agent, urllib.quote(script))
+        user_agent = '%s (%s)' % (user_agent, urllib.parse.quote(script))
       self.__http.putheader('User-Agent', user_agent)
 
     if self.__custom_headers:
-        for key, val in self.__custom_headers.iteritems():
+        for key, val in six.iteritems(self.__custom_headers):
             self.__http.putheader(key, val)
 
     self.__http.endheaders()
@@ -144,7 +145,10 @@
     self.__http.send(data)
 
     # Get reply to flush the request
-    self.code, self.message, self.headers = self.__http.getreply()
+    self.__http_response = self.__http.getresponse()
+    self.code = self.__http_response.status
+    self.message = self.__http_response.reason
+    self.headers = self.__http_response.msg
 
   # Decorate if we know how to timeout
   if hasattr(socket, 'getdefaulttimeout'):
diff --git a/lib/py/src/transport/TSocket.py b/lib/py/src/transport/TSocket.py
index 7b564aa..cb204a4 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/transport/TSocket.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/transport/TSocket.py
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 import socket
 import sys
 
-from TTransport import *
+from .TTransport import *
 
 
 class TSocketBase(TTransportBase):
diff --git a/lib/py/src/transport/TTransport.py b/lib/py/src/transport/TTransport.py
index 5914aca..3fe289a 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/transport/TTransport.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/transport/TTransport.py
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@
 # under the License.
 #
 
-from cStringIO import StringIO
 from struct import pack, unpack
 from thrift.Thrift import TException
+from ..compat import BufferIO
 
 
 class TTransportException(TException):
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@
     pass
 
   def readAll(self, sz):
-    buff = ''
+    buff = b''
     have = 0
     while (have < sz):
       chunk = self.read(sz - have)
@@ -138,8 +138,8 @@
 
   def __init__(self, trans, rbuf_size=DEFAULT_BUFFER):
     self.__trans = trans
-    self.__wbuf = StringIO()
-    self.__rbuf = StringIO("")
+    self.__wbuf = BufferIO()
+    self.__rbuf = BufferIO()
     self.__rbuf_size = rbuf_size
 
   def isOpen(self):
@@ -155,8 +155,7 @@
     ret = self.__rbuf.read(sz)
     if len(ret) != 0:
       return ret
-
-    self.__rbuf = StringIO(self.__trans.read(max(sz, self.__rbuf_size)))
+    self.__rbuf = BufferIO(self.__trans.read(max(sz, self.__rbuf_size)))
     return self.__rbuf.read(sz)
 
   def write(self, buf):
@@ -164,13 +163,14 @@
       self.__wbuf.write(buf)
     except Exception as e:
       # on exception reset wbuf so it doesn't contain a partial function call
-      self.__wbuf = StringIO()
+      self.__wbuf = BufferIO()
       raise e
+    self.__wbuf.getvalue()
 
   def flush(self):
     out = self.__wbuf.getvalue()
     # reset wbuf before write/flush to preserve state on underlying failure
-    self.__wbuf = StringIO()
+    self.__wbuf = BufferIO()
     self.__trans.write(out)
     self.__trans.flush()
 
@@ -189,12 +189,12 @@
     if len(retstring) < reqlen:
       retstring += self.__trans.readAll(reqlen - len(retstring))
 
-    self.__rbuf = StringIO(retstring)
+    self.__rbuf = BufferIO(retstring)
     return self.__rbuf
 
 
 class TMemoryBuffer(TTransportBase, CReadableTransport):
-  """Wraps a cStringIO object as a TTransport.
+  """Wraps a cBytesIO object as a TTransport.
 
   NOTE: Unlike the C++ version of this class, you cannot write to it
         then immediately read from it.  If you want to read from a
@@ -208,9 +208,9 @@
     If value is set, this will be a transport for reading,
     otherwise, it is for writing"""
     if value is not None:
-      self._buffer = StringIO(value)
+      self._buffer = BufferIO(value)
     else:
-      self._buffer = StringIO()
+      self._buffer = BufferIO()
 
   def isOpen(self):
     return not self._buffer.closed
@@ -256,8 +256,8 @@
 
   def __init__(self, trans,):
     self.__trans = trans
-    self.__rbuf = StringIO()
-    self.__wbuf = StringIO()
+    self.__rbuf = BufferIO()
+    self.__wbuf = BufferIO()
 
   def isOpen(self):
     return self.__trans.isOpen()
@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@
   def readFrame(self):
     buff = self.__trans.readAll(4)
     sz, = unpack('!i', buff)
-    self.__rbuf = StringIO(self.__trans.readAll(sz))
+    self.__rbuf = BufferIO(self.__trans.readAll(sz))
 
   def write(self, buf):
     self.__wbuf.write(buf)
@@ -288,7 +288,7 @@
     wout = self.__wbuf.getvalue()
     wsz = len(wout)
     # reset wbuf before write/flush to preserve state on underlying failure
-    self.__wbuf = StringIO()
+    self.__wbuf = BufferIO()
     # N.B.: Doing this string concatenation is WAY cheaper than making
     # two separate calls to the underlying socket object. Socket writes in
     # Python turn out to be REALLY expensive, but it seems to do a pretty
@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@
     while len(prefix) < reqlen:
       self.readFrame()
       prefix += self.__rbuf.getvalue()
-    self.__rbuf = StringIO(prefix)
+    self.__rbuf = BufferIO(prefix)
     return self.__rbuf
 
 
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@
 
 class TSaslClientTransport(TTransportBase, CReadableTransport):
   """
-  SASL transport 
+  SASL transport
   """
 
   START = 1
@@ -363,8 +363,8 @@
     self.transport = transport
     self.sasl = SASLClient(host, service, mechanism, **sasl_kwargs)
 
-    self.__wbuf = StringIO()
-    self.__rbuf = StringIO()
+    self.__wbuf = BufferIO()
+    self.__rbuf = BufferIO()
 
   def open(self):
     if not self.transport.isOpen():
@@ -409,7 +409,7 @@
     encoded = self.sasl.wrap(data)
     self.transport.write(''.join((pack("!i", len(encoded)), encoded)))
     self.transport.flush()
-    self.__wbuf = StringIO()
+    self.__wbuf = BufferIO()
 
   def read(self, sz):
     ret = self.__rbuf.read(sz)
@@ -423,7 +423,7 @@
     header = self.transport.readAll(4)
     length, = unpack('!i', header)
     encoded = self.transport.readAll(length)
-    self.__rbuf = StringIO(self.sasl.unwrap(encoded))
+    self.__rbuf = BufferIO(self.sasl.unwrap(encoded))
 
   def close(self):
     self.sasl.dispose()
@@ -441,6 +441,6 @@
     while len(prefix) < reqlen:
       self._read_frame()
       prefix += self.__rbuf.getvalue()
-    self.__rbuf = StringIO(prefix)
+    self.__rbuf = BufferIO(prefix)
     return self.__rbuf
 
diff --git a/lib/py/src/transport/TTwisted.py b/lib/py/src/transport/TTwisted.py
index 29bbd4c..cabe345 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/transport/TTwisted.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/transport/TTwisted.py
@@ -17,8 +17,8 @@
 # under the License.
 #
 
+from io import BytesIO
 import struct
-from cStringIO import StringIO
 
 from zope.interface import implements, Interface, Attribute
 from twisted.internet.protocol import ServerFactory, ClientFactory, \
@@ -29,19 +29,20 @@
 from twisted.web import server, resource, http
 
 from thrift.transport import TTransport
+import six
 
 
 class TMessageSenderTransport(TTransport.TTransportBase):
 
     def __init__(self):
-        self.__wbuf = StringIO()
+        self.__wbuf = BytesIO()
 
     def write(self, buf):
         self.__wbuf.write(buf)
 
     def flush(self):
         msg = self.__wbuf.getvalue()
-        self.__wbuf = StringIO()
+        self.__wbuf = BytesIO()
         return self.sendMessage(msg)
 
     def sendMessage(self, message):
@@ -82,7 +83,7 @@
         self.started.callback(self.client)
 
     def connectionLost(self, reason=connectionDone):
-        for k, v in self.client._reqs.iteritems():
+        for k, v in six.iteritems(self.client._reqs):
             tex = TTransport.TTransportException(
                 type=TTransport.TTransportException.END_OF_FILE,
                 message='Connection closed')
diff --git a/lib/py/src/transport/TZlibTransport.py b/lib/py/src/transport/TZlibTransport.py
index a2f42a5..7fe5853 100644
--- a/lib/py/src/transport/TZlibTransport.py
+++ b/lib/py/src/transport/TZlibTransport.py
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@
 
 from __future__ import division
 import zlib
-from cStringIO import StringIO
-from TTransport import TTransportBase, CReadableTransport
+from .TTransport import TTransportBase, CReadableTransport
+from ..compat import BufferIO
 
 
 class TZlibTransportFactory(object):
@@ -88,8 +88,8 @@
     """
     self.__trans = trans
     self.compresslevel = compresslevel
-    self.__rbuf = StringIO()
-    self.__wbuf = StringIO()
+    self.__rbuf = BufferIO()
+    self.__wbuf = BufferIO()
     self._init_zlib()
     self._init_stats()
 
@@ -97,8 +97,8 @@
     """Internal method to initialize/reset the internal StringIO objects
     for read and write buffers.
     """
-    self.__rbuf = StringIO()
-    self.__wbuf = StringIO()
+    self.__rbuf = BufferIO()
+    self.__wbuf = BufferIO()
 
   def _init_stats(self):
     """Internal method to reset the internal statistics counters
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@
     self.bytes_in += len(zbuf)
     self.bytes_in_comp += len(buf)
     old = self.__rbuf.read()
-    self.__rbuf = StringIO(old + buf)
+    self.__rbuf = BufferIO(old + buf)
     if len(old) + len(buf) == 0:
       return False
     return True
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@
     ztail = self._zcomp_write.flush(zlib.Z_SYNC_FLUSH)
     self.bytes_out_comp += len(ztail)
     if (len(zbuf) + len(ztail)) > 0:
-      self.__wbuf = StringIO()
+      self.__wbuf = BufferIO()
       self.__trans.write(zbuf + ztail)
     self.__trans.flush()
 
@@ -244,5 +244,5 @@
       retstring += self.read(self.DEFAULT_BUFFSIZE)
     while len(retstring) < reqlen:
       retstring += self.read(reqlen - len(retstring))
-    self.__rbuf = StringIO(retstring)
+    self.__rbuf = BufferIO(retstring)
     return self.__rbuf