China

This video from the Wall St. Journal Online gives a first-hand look at the current bicycle culture in Beijing, and the variety of bike types available.

The economic boost expected from Olympics-related tourism has fallen way short of predictions in Beijing. Many business people blame the government's stringent visa-granting policies.

Despite improved air quality, China says it has no plans to continue the car control measures it has enacted during the Olympics to clean the city's air.

Security is a major concern during large public events like the Olympics. The Chinese government is making preparations for a safe event, but could they go too far?

Rob Gifford reviews Michael Meyer's new book "The Last Days of Old Beijing," and how it brings to life a rapidly vanishing element of the Chinese city: the hutong, or alleyways, which are being swiftly demolished and redeveloped.

Olympics-related construction in Beijing has impressed many, but does little to make the city a better place. Architecture critic Blair Kamin says Chicago needs to be careful about not repeating China's mistakes if it hosts the games in 2016.

China is rapidly becoming home to more and more mega-cities, and there's little sign of it slowing down.

A new high-speed rail line has opened in China, just in time for the Olympics.

For China, the Olympics represent a struggle between letting people in and controlling what they see and do. This is a problem, writes Andrew Yang, that implicates the Olympics-related architecture in a bad way.

In a last-minute effort to beautify the city before the start of the 2008 Summer Olympics, officials in Beijing have put up walls and screens to hide unsightly neighborhoods from the eyes of visitors. Those behind the walls are not happy.

Its efforts to reduce air pollution in advance of the Olympics failing, Beijing is considering even more draconian measures, including removing up to 90% of cars from the streets.

As Beijing undergoes rapid redevelopment, many historic buildings have been lost in the scramble. Now the few that remain are inspiring a flood of gentrification.

With less than a month left before the start of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, residents in the Chinese metropolis are still being evicted to make way for event-related construction.

Unless international carbon-capping treaties are implemented, fossil fuel consumption (with their greenhouse gas emissions) will increase 50% by 2030, largely resulting from growth in energy consumption in China and other developing nations.

A new building by Rem Koolhaas in Beijing is part of a wave of modern construction that is changing the tightly-planned urban fabric of the Chinese capital.

Dwell talks with a prolific Hong Kong architect about his city and its development.

The Oil Drum charts recent figures released by the U.S. Geological Survey, which show a stunning growth in cement use (and therefore, presumably, building activity) in China as compared to world usage.

While the city's regional approach is the envy of many American planners, Shanghai is also guilty of top-down planning that may end up encouraging sprawl.

As rescue work continues in the aftermath of the earthquake in China's Sichuan province, many -- including the state-run media -- are asking questions about why so many buildings collapsed, and blame corruption and shoddy construction methods.

The extent of China's embrace of American-style suburbanization is best illustrated by one of its newest gated communities, which is actually called Orange County.