REUTERS/China Daily

A 32-meter (or 105-foot) statue of a youthful Chairman Mao is under construction in Hunan province, China.

REUTERS/David Gray

Actually, we’re not sure there was a wedding—but at the very least, a woman in a bridal gown poses for photos on a section of the Great Wall of China.

The Atlantic’s former China correspondent reflects on the health issues he faced as an expat amid the “ochre skies and suspect sanitation of China.” The air quality there can be so bad, one doctor told Fallows, “I encourage people with children not to consider extended tours in China. Those little lungs.”

What will future air quality be like in China? In Beijing, at least, it’s already improving.

REUTERS/China Daily

Diners sit at a table in an ice restaurant in Harbin, in north east China. The temperature in the restaurant is about 25 degrees.

REUTERS/David Gray

Tourists look south over the Forbidden City from Beijing’s Jingshan Park.

REUTERS/Aly Song

A passenger jet cruises past the setting sun in Shanghai yesterday.

Photo by maxf via Flickr (Creative Commons)

In a powerful column, Jan Wong, the author of Red China Blues: My Long March From Mao to Now looks back on her complicated love affair with China—from studying abroad in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution to covering the Tiananmen Square massacre from a hotel room uncomfortably nearby. As the country celebrates its 60th anniversary this week, it’s good to see some thoughtful reflection on the dark times in China’s past, too. (Via @DougSaunders)

Why, you ask?

According to the AP, the closure is designed to ensure stability during celebrations of the 60th anniversary of communist rule in China, which will be marked Oct. 1. The closure will remain in effect through Oct. 8.

Officials have also curtailed kite flying in Beijing.

Critics will shake their heads, but I can think of no better way to celebrate authoritarian rule. Nicely done, China.

The People’s Republic of China will celebrate its sixtieth anniversary on October 1. The Big Picture has yet another stellar photo essay of the elaborate preparations for the big day.