Beijing is gray, but there is an eerily colorful combination of old-fashioned neon lights that start to glow as the day dies and the garish, outdated Olympic propaganda banners.

• 北京：我来中国希望找到西方媒体多年来一直提到的情景：令人窒息的政治气氛，更令人窒息的污染和无法形容的贫穷。