This is the Bird's Nest Olympic stadium, and in the distance Panggu Plaza, which is built to represent a dragon. To the rear of this tall block – you can just see the edge of a roof here – are a series of lower buildings that represent the dragon's back. The screens on the side of the buildings will transmit Olympic programming. Below, there's a close up. You can see a small sphere in the dragon's mouth, intended to represent a pearl. The building houses, as I understand it, a seven star (!?) hotel, as well as luxury office space. When I was there, a week or so ago, it looked as though it had a way to go before it was fully functioning. However, this is Beijing, and there are a whole four weeks before the opening ceremony, so there's plenty of time. The pictures give an idea of the smog which has blanketed the capital recently. The photograph of the Bird's Nest was taken from outside the perimeter fence, which is manned by guards.
