The August issue of Urbane is out

New Beijing is on the scene. In this month's Urbane, distributed concurrently with the city's explosive self-exhibition, we reflect on the shape of the "New" metropolis. Our August mega-feature, made up of six essays, explores the city that greets the world this month. From Old Beijing, Green Beijing, and Beijing TV to addressing the question of what will happen to the city after the Games, One Dream Beijing Infinity offers an in-depth snapshot of the New Beijing that has evolved before our eyes.

We also go behind the scenes of the Beijing Games image-making machine, into the design workshop at CAFA (China Academy of Fine Arts) with Olympic designer Wang Jie in our designer Spotlight, as well as the mastermind of this Games' design, Wang Min, in our second feature. What was the creative process behind the Olympic banners, logos and emblems blitzing the city from every angle? Read on.

Meanwhile, Red Box editors Katie Grube and Katherine Don contribute a special Olympic-edition roundup for the Exhibitionist section, as Beijing's premier art galleries and museums unveil an impressive array of exhibitions to coincide with the Games.

Enough Beijing? In the Voyage section, Amy Fabris-Shi checks out the wild-designs of Shanghai's 50s-movie-theater-turned-boutique-hotel, the Ivy; Gary Bowerman feels the vibrant pulse of Hangzhou; Kristina Pérez investigates Hong Kong's large format Champagne bottle craze; and Robert la Bua samples the delights of Switzerland.

All this and rebuilding Sichuan, bringing solar power to nomads, summer discount golf rounds in Beijing, Nandouya Mosque, the designer behind 1949: The Hidden City, and much more ...