Nearly three decades from when China officially connected to the internet, our cover story this issue investigates the development and changing nature of the country’s online landscape. We trace the rise and demise of China’s first social media platforms, investigate the impact of the internet on cellphone-addicted rural children, and find out how seniors are becoming obsessed with influencers. Elsewhere in this magazine, we discover how female sports fans fight against misogyny to create safe spaces for their passion, ask translators what ChatGPT means for their careers, find out why there’s a consumer backlash against pre-prepared meals, ask whether Chinese comic strips will ever be as interesting as they were in the 1990s, and spend time with local herders on the Inner Mongolian grassland.

For our 100th magazine issue, we once again explore an under-reported part of Chinese society—life in its small cities and towns. We find rich stories to uncover outside of Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen when we shine the spotlight on “lower-tier” cities like Hefei, Zhengzhou, Qingdao, and Zhaoqing. Elsewhere, we investigate a deadly craze for extreme weight loss methods, report on China’s public sleepers struggling to find accommodation night after night, travel to a Christian community in the Yunnan mountains, discover how an imported noodle dish became the pride of a Hunan city, and enter the debate on ethics among China’s documentary-makers.

Forty years ago, migrants from China’s countryside transformed its economy. But today, the labor market is markedly different. We look at where aging migrant workers go when they reach retirement age, and why the assembly line no longer attract youths. We also explore depressed teens’ search for understanding, take a ride on China’s disappearing rural buses, assess renowned author’s quest to shed his sexist reputation, and remember the glory days of wangba—China’s smokey, wild internet cafes.

Can China make urban life friendly for children? We investigate by examining childcare shortages and child-friendly cities initiatives in this issue’s cover story. Elsewhere, we report the last days of an iconic Hong Kong market, take a motorbike trip around Taiwan, interview a couple making art out of hair, discover how the pandemic affected tattooists in Chengdu, and much more.

China’s construction boom has come to the countryside. In this issue, we investigate the complicated repercussions for land rights. Elsewhere, we examine the legacy of corporal punishment, reveal the secret behind a booming milk tea brand, explore China’s “outsider art” community, discover forgotten relics, and much more.

Big data is transforming everyday life in China—but has the digital revolution gone too far? We investigate in this issue’s cover story. Elsewhere, we analyze the representation of China’s Northwest in film, talk to modern pilgrims on spiritual journeys, explore how abandoned factories are being given new life, and more.

This issue, we explore China’s lack of public spaces and debates over which people (and dogs) should have access to them. Elsewhere, we investigate dialect content on social media, unpack the drive for food security, experience centuries-old Kazakh falconry culture, feature an exclusive piece from translator Nicky Harman, and more.

In this issue, we investigate efforts to fill three vital gaps in China’s public education: on sex, death, and aesthetics. We also enter the world of UFO hunters; find out why young Chinese are giving up sugar; ask when domestic TV will get good female characters; talk to graffiti artists working with government; and more.

The Future of Art Issue: China’s chaotic contemporary art trends; unpacking over-packaging; Eileen Gu and naturalized athletes; the struggles of social workers; why Chinese horror films fail; and more.

Ahead of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, we investigate the development of sports for people with disabilities and those in the countryside; venture with yak herders onto the Tibetan Plateau; make predictions for China’s independent documentary scene; talk to coffee connoisseurs in Yunnan; and more.

We hear from people with disabilities about the challenges of access in China and what real inclusion means; investigate abuses in the pet industry; hear the harrowing story of a miner-turned-poet; tour an abandoned nuclear facility; and more.

We look at the uncertain fate of hundreds of small-scale regional opera types around China; speak with HIV/AIDS patients living in the shadows; go speed-dating with Shanghai’s elites; and dance with the Tujia ethnic group...at a funeral; and more.