Beijing Photos – Before the Olympics
Filed Under: 
Beijing, China: a place where yesterday’s icons – dragons, Mao, pagodas, drum towers and the Great Wall – meet today’s urge to modernize and build to the sky.
Last winter, we captured a few images that defined our glimpse of Beijing in full-tilt transformation. We watched buildings as they were demolished in hours and built in record time; sampled bites from Beijing’s local and international food scenes; visited Factory 798 (Beijing’s artists’ quarter); hiked along the Great Wall in virtual winter desolation at Jinshanling; spied prodigious cats prowling in traditional neighborhoods whose buildings hadn’t yet met the wrecking ball; and were entertained by the proliferation of Chinglish on street corners and in English-language menus.
With the 2008 Olympics approaching, all eyes are now on Beijing. Take a leisurely stroll through the city before the Olympics – and ensuing mayhem – begin.
Note: If you prefer to watch the photo set in slideshow format, click “Slideshow” on the top left corner of the photo set page.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Great photos! I especially like the photos of the families.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
The families were fun – they don’t seem to change as much as Beijing’s skyline! Given how Beijing is constantly changing, each visitor probably has a different set of photos based on when they visited.