I had the opportunity to visit Beijing, China in early November 2009. While I been to Beijing on several earlier occasions, I was surprised to see the level of polution that chocked the city at this early point in the heating season. A brief rerun through the Forbidden City did not product many good pictures as the haze cut out the light and dulled the pictures. I did manage to get this shot of the sun in mid-afternoon through the smoke and haze.