The stories that provided the highlights of 2015

Xu Wei: Diverse forms of devotion

Best story: The growing appeal of Buddhism among the middle classes and urban elites as a result of the use of new media to disseminate information among city dwellers.

Most interesting person: I met several very devout students at the National Seminary of the Catholic Church in China. One of them, Meng Dongdong, told me how he had undergone many heartbreaking discussions with his family before his parents finally agreed to him entering the seminary. In a country where parents generally have high expectations of their children caring for them in old age, every one of the young men who entered the seminary had made an extraordinary choice.

Best interview: I spoke with a villager who lives close to a minefield along the Sino-Vietnamese border in Yunnan province. He told me how he and other residents risked their lives deactivating mines and turning minefields, some of them as big as 15 hectares, into farmland. I was deeply interested in the deadly legacy of war, and how it affects people's lives in the long term, and it was fascinating to listen to his personal story, and discuss the mental anguish he and his family were subjected to over the years.

Most memorable reporting experience: It was my most dangerous experience as a reporter. I was on a boat with several other reporters, traveling to a small island in the South China Sea when we found ourselves in very heavy waters. The boat rode waves as high as 3 or 4 meters, and rose several meters into the air before thudding back into the surface of the ocean. All we could do was hold tightly to the handrails on the boat. Everyone offered up prayers, but we were too tired and frightened to even yell in fear. We all survived, but one of the reporters sustained a fractured spine.

Best quotes: "As people become more wealthy, quality of life is not determined by your position or how much money you make, but by your inner strength.

"The experience of religion is a source of inner power to many people."

Yu Yueming, a lay Buddhist at the Longquan Temple in Beijing