The scene is familiar to anyone who has visited an art museum or cultural district in a major Chinese city:gaggles of stylishly garbed youngsters lined up in front of modern art installations,waiting for their chance to strike a pose for the camera.Never mind that the name of the artwork is rarely visible in the photo and video—often,today’s art exhibitions are not something to see,but someplace to be seen in.

In this issue’s cover story,we discover this and other trends shaping China’s burgeoning contemporary art culture,which is in breakneck development despite being almost nonexistent 20 years ago.While new private museums hungry for visitors are walking the tightrope between being trendy and educational,artists are being invited to create works that will revitalize the countryside,and having to balance the creative and economic value of their work.Meanwhile,Chinese creators are joining the global NFT craze despite its gray legal status within the country,and the market is evolving to meet the taste of middleclass buyers.All this adds up to a colorful palette of stories illustrating the future of a vibrant creative scene.

Elsewhere in the issue,we hear from frontline employees in the young field of social work as they try to make a difference despite bureaucratic hurdles,and investigate whether naturalized athletes can help grow China’s domestic sports industry.We tackle overpackaging—a ubiquitous yet overlooked problem in China’s consumer economy—and find out what spooked China’s domestic movie market from making good horror films,and more.