Age of Reform

Throughout the whole week following Lantern Festival， which fell on February 14 this year， Beijing， “a city with azure sky” according to modern Chinese writer Lin Yutang （1895-1976）， was shrouded in thick smog. GDP or clean air？ The choice has become a pressing issue for both the government and ordinary people.

Since its implementation of reform and opening-up in 1978， China has blazed a path to modern development with Chinese characteristics. While rapid development has afforded huge achievements， it has also been accompanied by social conflicts and problems. To mark this year’s annual sessions of the National People’s Congress （NPC） and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference （CPPCC）， China Pictorial produced a special feature in this issue. First， from the angle of “China and the world，” we provide readers with three international scholars’understandings of “China and the Chinese Dream.” They discuss common challenges everyone faces today and suggest ways to make better choices for future development and life. Second， we pay attention to the past and present. On a macro level， we illustrate the development and changes over the past 60 years of NPC， China’s top legislative body. At the same time， we carefully observe the subtle changes of everyday Chinese life. The rich imagery of Beijing Silvermine： Nostalgia from Negatives documents the drastic changes of Chinese life in various aspects from the late 1980s to the turn of the millennium.

Reform has been the major driver of China’s development. In late 2013， the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee produced a new blueprint to deepen reform. The Chinese people have reached consensus that deepening reform remains the only avenue for realizing the Chinese Dream and that learning from past experience is the best way to solve new problems arising along 30 years of lightningfast development.