Guest Post- Alex Reeves in Beijing

Sight at the foot of Mutanyiu. I think every soldier deserves a break after a few thousand years on duty.

A human face on the Great Wall of China (Mutanyiu Section). Soldiers (mostly kids really) were fairly approachable everywhere I went (Viva the Olympics).

I saw Olympic Judo and Beach Volleyball during my trip. This girl from North Korea had a complete meltdown after finishing out of the medals and was something of an embarrassment to her coach and team mates.Anyone willing to take a bet she's cleaning army latrines with a toy shovel as we speak?

Cool airport terminal and another example of the daring architecture which abounds in Beijing. The biggest in the world and the setting for an Olympic music video I saw on local TV a few days after my arrival.

Pay close attention to visibility in this night shot and you'll understand why the Opening Ceremony organizers had to fake most of their
29 firework "foot prints". It would have looked like crap to film bird's-eye views of real fireworks over Beijing on a night like that, which is exactly how hazy it was on the night of August 8.

Mao still looms large in Beijing, although his titanic presence seems confined to university campuses these days.

What a difference 19 years make. One can't help but wonder what happened in the very spot those damned cute children are occupying in the middle of Tienanmen Square. Whatever you think of the events of June 1989, it's still an adorable picture....

Here's the ass meat. Draw your own conclusions. I think they were so busy policing dog meat out of local establishments that they forgot about the lesser, though no less offensive cuts. Apologies for the bad focus produced by my Blackberry camera.

I know they were being harsh on prostitutes during the Olympics, but did they have to be so rude? Courtesy of the Sea Sail Club in Northwest Beijing.

Well done Big Al.

You're the first guest post on the blog.

Something tells me you had a slow afternoon at your desk given we had an extended lunch and this must have taken a bit of time to upload..........

Very cool pics from the Middle Kingdom!

If you send some more I'll post em.

T