Small Town Saga

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.

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