Post-Mao China has been characterised in the literature and the media as a burgeoning consumer society. Consuming China investigates in what ways and to what extent this is a valid characterization of China at the turn of the millennium. The authors question theories of consumption and consumer culture as applied to Chinese practices, asking what, if anything, is particular to China? To what extent are theories of consumption, which have been worked out largely in relation to European and American experiences, relevant for understanding consumption in China?