BEIJING—During the ceremonies for the unveiling of the emblem of the 2008 Olympic games at Tian Tan (Temple of Heaven) Park, 2003

ATHENS, Greece—The departure of the Olympic flame, 1967.

MOSCOW—Opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, July 19, 1980

TOKYO —The starting shot for runners, 1964

PARIS—Demonstrators protest the Chinese presence in Tibet during the running of the Olympic flame relay in the city center, 2008

BEIJING—China's second-largest city will host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Construction work on the Beijing National Stadium for the Olympics designed by Pritzker Prize-winning

architects Herzog and de Meuron, 2008.

MEXICO CITY—The 3,000-meter steeplechase, 1968.

JINSHANLING, China—H.A. Schult’s art installation, titled "Wall People." The piece is made up of 1,000 life-size sculptures constructed with high-tech garbage from Cologne, Germany, 2001

BEIJING—Migrant worker Mingong cleaning windows, 2006

BEIJING—Tiananmen subway station, 2006.

BEIJING—The Forbidden City, next to Tiananmen Square, 2008

BEIJING—Tiananmen Square, 2008.

BEIJING—Harrow School, 2006.

BEIJING—The Beijing Motor Show, 2008

BEIJING—Zhai Huaizeng and his wife, Liu Hui Xuan, were expelled from their Hutong in the center of Beijing after more than 30 years of living there and were moved to a new apartment in the Zhaogongkou district. Liu Hui Xuan died shortly after moving. Zhai Huaizeng stands in his new apartment, holding a photo of him

and his wife, taken by Patrick Zachmann, in their old home, 2006

BEIJING—Migrant worker Mingong working at night on a construction site, 2006

BEIJING—A street near the New China World Hotel, 2008

BEIJING—Security outside the site of the National Swimming Center, designed by Australian architects PTW, 2008

BEIJING—Construction work on the Central Chinese Television building, by architect Rem Koolhaas, 2008.

BEIJING—Architect Paul Andreu's new National Theater, 2008

BEIJING—Tiananmen Square, 2008.

All Photos © Magnum Photos