China’s most successful Olympic athletes are national celebrities—but what of its Paralympians? While the PRC has topped the gold-medal table at every Paralympic Games since 2004,professional parasport athletes receive less money,less recognition,and suffer worse training facilities than their Olympic counterparts.In this issue’s cover story,written as China gets ready to host the 2022 Winter Games,we investigate the challenges and rewards of being a professional para-athlete in China,and what hopes for changing society’s attitudes toward disabled sports.

Another divide in sport runs along the boundary of urban and rural,with China’s countryside yet to catch up in sports facilities and organization.We delve into attempts to take sports outside the cities against a backdrop of young people leaving villages,lack of funding,and villagers wondering why they should bother playing basketball after a day spent laboring in the fields.

In Grand Designs,a new column on the structures (physical and abstract) that shape China’s living spaces and architecture,we look at how an obsession with building skyscrapers has transformed cities,and what a recent government ban on buildings over 500 meters tall means for the future of urban planning and the environment.

We also take a look at the role-playing murder mystery games(jubensha),another recent target of government regulations,booming among young office-workers but accused of being violent,distasteful,or even encouraging criminal behavior.We ask players,writers,and businesses why these immersive games are so popular,and whether the craze is just a fad.

Elsewhere,we venture with yak herders in northern Sichuan province,talk to coffee connoisseurs building Yunnan’s brewing credentials,taste unique Peruvian-Chinese cuisine,and much more.