In the popular imagination China has often been regarded as an ethnically, socially and politically homogenous society, an idea that the government in Beijing has been keen to perpetuate.

In the backlit skies above Erhai Lake, a century’s old ballet of sky and water takes place each morning. The lake, located at the end of the Burma Road in Dali, which is situated in the Yunnan Province of southern China, is dotted daily with the bamboo rafts and the small craft of fisherman like Yang Ze En, who makes his living on the waters.

The small Han Dynasty green glazed ceramic horse was exceptionally beautiful. It seemed authentic--- the form, the glaze, the color of the clay, the patina, the way it had been molded. Only the tail, which was atypical in form, and too delicate to have survived two millennia encased in mud, gave me reason to pause. But the dealer, who had been recommended to me by a trusted friend who had been collecting antiques in China for almost two decades, swore to me that the tail too, while reattached, was still authentic.

The CCTV Towers, still under construction, were chosen by Times as one of the World's Most Ambitious Projects. In this gallery, we sneaked inside the building site and we took a closer look.

Top Ten largest companies in China in 2007.

The Most Beautiful Chinese women of 2007 for CinaOggi staff.