On 25-27 September 2016, Global China Studies co-organised a workshop with the Department of China Studies of the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou, China. Twenty-five international experts from the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, Sweden, and other countries were invited to attend the workshop to present their contributions to The Handbook of the Family and Marriage in China.

Various topics were discussed at the workshop, ranging from mate selection, marital instability and marriage squeeze to old-age support, the changing family structure and so forth. To facilitate exchanges of comments, in addition to presenting their own chapters, each of the contributing authors served as the discussant on one draft chapter by another contributor.

Based on the workshop, The Handbook of the Family and Marriage in China will be published in 2017 by Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., UK. This book will make a major contribution to the research on the family and marriage in China.

Cover: The workshop promoted fruitful exchanges of ideas.

Photo 2: Discussions were held on each contributing chapter.

Photo 3: Professor Xiaowei Zang (back row, right 7) convened a meeting with experts from all over the world in preparation for the publication of a book on the family and marriage in China.