About the Authors

Simon Elegant was born in Hong Kong and since then it seems that, one way or another, China has pretty much always been at the center of his life. Though he lived and worked in Taiwan and Hong Kong and had visited mainland China many times, he never had the chance to spend more than a few weeks at a time there until the Spring of 2006 when he and his family moved to Beijing. Now it's full on, 24/7, in-your-face China, China, China.

Liam Fitzpatrick was born in Hong Kong and educated at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating with a First in Modern History. He wrote for several regional and international publications before joining TIME in 2003. He edits Time Global Adviser and is also Time Asia's senior writer. Liam is married with two daughters and lives in Hong Kong's New Territories.

Ling Woo Liu grew up in California, where she freelanced for Asian-American print and broadcast media. She worked as a television reporter in Beijing and California before earning graduate degrees in Journalism and Asian Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. In 2006, Ling moved to Hong Kong to report for TIME Asia.

Bill Powell is a senior writer for TIME in Shanghai. Prior to current his post, he was Chief International correspondent for Fortune based in Beijing and then New York. He also served as Newsweek bureau chief in Moscow, Berlin and Tokyo. Bill is married to Shanghai native Junling Cui. They have one daughter and live in a house they recently purchased in suburban Shanghai.

Austin Ramzy grew up in Iowa. He studied Mandarin in Harbin, China, and graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in Asian Studies. After working as a newspaper reporter in Washington state, he completed journalism school at the University of California, Berkeley. Austin joined TIME Asia's Hong Kong office in 2003 and has been Beijing correspondent for the magazine since 2007.