The post-Mao urban reforms of the last decade have physically and psychologically transformed China’s cities. These essays explore how the character of city life shifted after the political-economic restructuring intensified in 1984, and how this shift affected the creation of new physical, economic and cultural space in urban China. The authors draw on a wide range of backgrounds, including anthropology, comparative literature, economics, art history, law, political science and sociology, as well as their own experiences of living and working in Chinese cities to provide insight into lesser known dimensions of urban Chinese life: China’s large ‘floating populations’, avant-garde art, labor movements, and leisure.