Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : moving on from images of Red Guards, the tank man and little emperors -- Experiencing neighbourhoods -- Ambivalence and tactics for coping with the tensions of metropolitan life -- Bricolaic national and international orientations -- Intergenerational dynamics -- Ambivalence toward secondary education and the bitterness of the gaokao -- Engagements with traditional media -- The Internet in everyday life -- Online carnival.

"This book examines the condition of being a young person in China and the way in which changes in various dimensions of urban life have affected Chinese youths' quest to understand themselves."--Publisher's description.