The above pictures are from Shanhaiguan, a former garrison city in Hebei Province near the eastern terminus of the Great Wall. The first photo is taken atop the Great Wall near the East Gate, which leads into the old walled city. Looks new, doesn't it? The second photo shows a little walkway under a not-yet-renovated part of the walled city.

Like numerous other places in China, Shanhaiguan is undergoing massive redevelopment based on its imperial heritage. If you want to learn more about whether this mammoth $330 million plan is good or bad, click here to read my story.

In more shameless touting, click here to read how China is finally sharing bird flu virus samples with foreign researchers, and here to find how Japan wants China to shoulder more of the financial burden for the United Nations. Also, there is an article about the recent Sino-African summit and one about the richest man in China. This one is about the Shanghai pension fund scandal.

My favorite recent article was about the travails of the large ethnic Korean population in Japan. Did you know there are schools in Japan where children are taught to adore Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the founder of North Korea and his son, the current leader?