Athough planetary nebulae (PNe) have been discovered for over 200 years, it was not until 30 years ago that we arrived at a basic understanding of their origin and evolution. Even today, with observations covering the entire electromagnetic spectrum from radio to X-ray, there are still many unanswered questions on their structure and morphology. In this review, we summarize recent theoretical and observational advances in PNe research, and discuss the roles of PNe in the chemical (atomic, molecular, and solid-state) enrichment of the galaxy and as tracers of the large scale structure of the Universe.

• SUN KWOK(Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics)