Despite the global slowdown and skew-whiff nature of Olympic economics, there's no doubting the ongoing hunger for architectural innovation in China. For a nation that once favoured state-controlled super-studios, the rise to prominence of small practices is remarkable. A fusion of art and commerce, new Chinese modernism has - at times - made the more ascetic elements of the Western avant-garde wince. But there's also an increasing maturity.

In this month's issue of Wallpaper* we present a selection of Chinese architectural studios that are busy stamping their own aesthetic on the country's built environment.

On wallpaper.com we take a deeper look at these eight practices portfolios, simply click on the images above to see a gallery of their past work and future projects.