Five years after Marketplace visited China for a special series of broadcasts, host Kai Ryssdal and a small team returned to see how the country has changed and what lies ahead for its economic future.

Click the “Listen” button above to hear a compilation of all of the stories from our series.

Learn about China’s changing role in the world’s economy and its importance to the United States and the global economic recovery.

Meet some successful Chinese entrepreneurs who are charting new ground. And take a journey through the country’s growing middle class.

Discover the challenges that lie ahead for China as its economy grows, and learn about the U.S. companies succeeding and failing while doing business there.

And finally, find out why we decided to return to China in the first place.

Visit our special section for more coverage from this series, including our Postcards from China, where you can view pictures from the trip, watch videos, and read about our journey through China.