Beijing may be known as the engine-house of the largest and most economically influential country in the world, but in amongst the hustle and bustle of this ever-expanding city is an equally burgeoning literary scene.

This latest instalment in Comma's popular 'Reading the City' series, offers a cross-section of this writing community, giving readers the opportunity to dive beneath the noisy urban exterior and see the city from the quieter, personal perspective of its many residents.

Two former school friends bump into each other and catch up fleetingly in Beijing's busiest subway station; a journalist investigating a counterfeiters flooding the city with fake IDs begins to struggle with his own identity; the appearance of Maradona at a friendly tournament sparks hysteria among the city's new football fans...

The characters in these stories may struggle with the pressures of a city that grows less and less forgiving every year, but, through creativity and humour, each one refuses to let themselves be lost in it.