Yet at no times has JTD missed so much support and input worldwide. To date, JTD has published a great number of articles with 80% of them submitted from outside mainland China (Figure 1). In this regard, we are grateful to our authors and reviewers who have contributed to make a difference at JTD, and to our audience who has delivered constructive opinions to make JTD more readable and relevant. Our heartfelt thanks go to members of first-term JTD Editorial Board (2009-2011) who come from many parts of the world (Figure 2). Their dedication and passion have made this newborn journal so appealing in the field. We also remember the efforts by Dr Prof Jianxing He, MD FACS, our Deputy Editor-in-Chief, who contributed to nearly 35.4% of papers from mainland China so far.

Globally, interest in JTD is increasing. Based on website traffic statistics starting from April 1 to November 24, 2011, Google Analytics identified 19,143 clicks from 138 countries/regions on JTD’s online data that were responsible for 49,103 pageviews (Figure 3). Interestingly, the hottest mouse hits came from the United States. Citations of JTD articles by other SCI-indexed journals have been constantly on the rise. According to manual calculation with data from Web of Science, the "potential" impact factor of JTD could be considerably inspiring.

They say this winter is not too cold – yes, they bet it. On December 10, an email from Chris Kelly, Production Team Leader at PubMed Central (PMC), reached us to inform that JTD is now officially PMC-covered. Successful coverage in the prestigious PubMed database may mean recognition of JTD by international peers, and a closer move towards the master publication list of SCI-indexed journals.

The upcoming 2012 heralds a new start! At this moment, we are confident in achieving new progress with the consistent backup from our friends. Hereby we take the honor to communicate on several innovations that are happening or coming soon at JTD.

Readers should have noticed that the current issue of JTD appears exceptionally large. The publication of more articles and pages compared with past issues was intentional and temporary, to eliminate a backlog of accepted manuscripts. From 2012 onwards, the frequency of JTD will be modified from quarterly to bimonthly. Such a decision was made according to the increasing number of submitted papers and improving awareness of this journal among colleagues. Believably, the higher publication frequency can pose additional burdens on the editorial team and board members. But diehards are often hard to die – we will manage.

The Chinese version of JTD ( JTD China) will be launched in March 2012. JTD China will be equivalently a Chinese translation, with rigorously censored contents that have been actually published in JTD, and nothing more. Release of JTD China is planned to meet the need of a huge population of Chinese physicians, surgeons and healthcare workers who are serving at community hospitals and who feedback difficulties in reading English papers. Furthermore, JTD China will benefit JTD with raised awareness and more popularity in China, a territory with the largest cohort of medical professionals in Asia, and in the world.

The new cover of JTD silently emerges. Unlike the previously plain "Green Journal", an elaborated cover image is designed and published for each issue starting from Issue 2, Volume 3. These images are illustrated with a text found in inside front cover, and may include courtesy pictures from accepted manuscripts, and authorized photographs or drawings. Cover images at JTD are desired to reflect and promote the arts of medical sciences, and the philosophy of publishing as well, in addition to the better cosmetics that JTD would put on.

While much has changed, the impacts of the changes that have and will take place will be monitored. If the changes do not work, they will be changed. "Nothing is cast in stone."