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.

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.

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.