Handbooks are difficult publications to craft, given the number of contributors involved and the range of topics covered. An additional concern is longer-term relevance as new developments eclipse what is on the page. Happily, in this instance the Handbook of Social Welfare in China is a good example of a handbook. The text finds the balance between the contributors’ detailed knowledge and the editors’ efforts to produce coherent contribution. It is a publication entering what will be an increasingly competitive market with a number of edited volumes covering welfare in China from a research perspective already out, and a number of handbooks planned for the future which either touch on or are exclusively focused on welfare.

Despite this competition I would suggest that the Handbook of Social Welfare in China will successfully find a space on many reading lists and a place in any good library. This is for four main reasons. First, the structure of the book is very clear and ensures that it will be easy to use as a reference text for students and scholars. The first part covers the subject of welfare in China from a historical perspective; part two examines specific aspects of the welfare system during the reform era; part three discusses gaps in the system; part four outlines non-state welfare providers; and the fifth and final part focuses on the future challenges to welfare in China.

Second, the handbook provides a comprehensive coverage of topics while managing to highlight some areas that might not always get the coverage they warrant and also others which are just emerging onto the broader research agenda. These include but are not limited to the treatment of leprosy and psychiatric conditions, health insurance and assistance, housing, social assistance in urban areas, education, migrants, services for those with disabilities, gender, the role of NGOs, health diplomacy, the environment, population policy and pensions.

Third, lending the text as a whole a very strong coherence are the short passages from the editors linking together different sections. Not only do these provide an overview of what will follow, but these sections also introduce the reader to broader themes regarding welfare beyond the study of China. Contributors are also aware of the discussions and points made in the other chapters, which further reinforces the sense of coherence and improves the overall usefulness of the text.

Fourth, there is a good discussion of historical, future and general overviews within the handbook. This is important for a number of reasons. As our understanding of developments in China's welfare system grows, so does our awareness of the importance of historical trends, institutions and precedents. The handbook embraces this through three chapters – one focusing on broad developments since the late Qing (by Thomas Dubois) and the other two discussing the specific cases of leprosy (by Shao-hua Liu) and psychiatric care (by Emily Baum). At the other end of the handbook the discussion turns to the future and the three chapters on the environment (by Ole Bruun), demography (by Yi Zeng and Therese Hesketh) and pensions (by Mark Frazier and Yimin Li) highlight the ongoing challenges China faces in ensuring the delivery of politically, socially and economically acceptable levels of welfare. The final chapters help to bring the text together and ensure it looks to what will happen next rather than giving the impression that welfare in China is in some way fixed as a policy area.

There are only two negative points which could be raised, but ultimately neither undermines the contribution of the text as a whole. First, there is some inconsistency in what different chapters are doing, especially the core policy specific contributions. It is quite clear that some of the chapters are based on extensive research and the authors have made an effort to work with the editors in ensuring that they achieve certain goals in terms of what the chapter does. In other contributions this is not as apparent. This might be because the topic covered is in and of itself challenging to write about, but when reading the text as a whole these inconsistent contributions stand out. If the text is being used as a reference to dip into, this will be less of an issue. Second, not everything gets covered in the volume. While there are no fundamental oversights or exclusions there will, inevitably, be areas which are not included or where the nuance of the different systems in place are not discussed. As a consequence, the text is not going to be able to stand alone as the only reference on the topic of welfare in China.

It will be useful for a range of different people, including students, China scholars, social welfare scholars and those working outside academia. Because of its structure and content, it should have a degree of longevity in its current form.