AbstractChina ishas a rich record of Holocene volcanism that is relatively little known outside the country. It is encountered in home to a number of volcanoes that have erupted in the Holocene. These range from large stratovolcanoes in the northeast, linked to subduction of the pPacific plate (e.g., Changbaishan); in , more diffuse volcanismsmaller volcanoes on the edges of the TibetTibetan margin, linked toassociated with the collision of India and AEurasia (e.g., Tengchong, Ashishan), and more isolated regions of volcanismcentres possibly linked topossibly resulting from mantle upwelling (e.g., volcanoes in Hainan island). This makes China a natural laboratory for studyingstudies of intraplate volcanism, yet the study of volcanology in China is young, with a significant increase in research only over the last 25 yearsand significant progress in understanding its nature and origins has been made over the past quarter century. To highlight recent advances and the current state of knowledge, thisHere, we introduce the first publication in English to provide a comprehensive survey of the state of knowledge and research highlights. special volume presents the first compilation of research on the active volcanoes of China in English. This first paper introduces the book, which coversAccordingly, we provide an overview of the dynamics, geology, geochemistry, volcanic histories and geophysical studies of the 14 volcanoesvolcanic areas that have erupted in theassociated with Holocene documented thus far. Our hope is that this special publication acts as The special publication represents a benchmark reference on the topic but, as importantly, we hope it will stimulatea resource to allow new, international collaborations to be developed to help understandaimed at deepening our understanding of the origins, history, hazards and associated risks from future eruptions of China's volcanoes.