Ancient Beijing, host to the 2008 Olympic games, is in the throes of a massive building boom. Looking east from our hotel window we saw massive cranes topping dozens of new buildings that seem to be rising along with the sun. The joint symbolism of a rising sun and at least ten huge cranes makes this image go well beyond a standard shot of the Beijing skyline. The low light abstracts the entire scene, the color adds its own symbolic meaning, and the layer after layer of dimly perceived buildings attests to the size of this massive city.