Mark Ralston / AFP - Getty Images, file

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan attend the joint statment reading for the closing of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing on May 4.

BEIJING – It may be Hillary Clinton’s final trip to China in her current role as Secretary of State, but China’s state media has not held back in saying what they really feel about the former first lady and, by extension, the United States.

In an editorial entitled, “Secretary Clinton: the person who deeply reinforces US-China mutual suspicion,” in Tuesday's edition of noted nationalist newspaper, Global Times, the paper took Clinton to task for her “meddling” in the South China Seas and Diaoyu/Senakku disputes.

“Many Chinese people do not like Hillary Clinton,” the editorial stated. "She makes the Chinese public dislike and be wary of the United States, which does not necessarily serve U.S. foreign policy interests.”

Other Chinese state media avoided blaming Clinton for the current heightened tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, but nevertheless took issue with America’s recent “pivot” in the region.

Clinton has pledged to take a strong message to Beijing on the need to calm regional tensions over maritime disputes that have raised broader fears of military friction between the two major Pacific powers.

The last time Clinton visited Beijing, plans to highlight improving U.S.-China ties were derailed by a blind Chinese dissident whose dramatic flight to the U.S. embassy exposed the deeply uneasy relationship between Beijing and Washington.

This time, the irritants are disputes over tiny islets and craggy outcrops in oil- and gas-rich areas of the South and East China Seas that have set China against U.S. regional allies.

As Clinton preps for Asia-Pacific tour, is North Korea capable of reform?

As Clinton prepares to travel back to Beijing on Tuesday, U.S. officials say the message is once again one of cooperation and partnership -- and an important chance to compare notes during a tricky year of political transition.

But the unease remains, sharpened by disputes in the South and East China Seas that have rattled nerves across the region and led to testy exchanges with Washington just as the Obama administration "pivots" to the Asia-Pacific region following years of military engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Pacific micro-nations cash in on US-China aid rivalry

Both governments, too, are preoccupied with politics at home, with the Obama administration fighting for re-election in November and China's ruling Communist Party preparing for a once-in-a-decade leadership change. 

Mistrust
The general sense of mistrust over American involvement in these issues which China adamantly claims are regional territorial disputes was apparent in many users, perhaps most succinctly put by one user who wrote, “The Diaoyu Islands belong to Asian people, we don’t need American help on this issue.”

Much at stake for US as tensions rise in troubled China Seas

That position has dominated state media coverage of Clinton's visit to the region this week, manifesting itself in a consensus that the United States was behind much of the recent emboldened confrontations between other Asian powers – most notably the Philippines and Japan -- and China.

In yesterday’s edition of China Business News, an article noted that “The U.S. is the origin of all issues,” in the region and that Clinton’s visit to the region “delivers a message that Japan and the Philippines are just two sidekicks on the stage while the U.S. is the “boss” at the backstage.”

Whether state media's depiction of the U.S. Secretary of State accurately reflected the opinions of China's population was unclear, however.

Activist: I want to leave China 'on Clinton’s plane'

On China’s popular twitter-like service, Weibo, reaction to the editorial was mixed.

“The Global Times shouldn’t use their attitude towards Hilary to represent our collective opinion,” wrote one irate user. “I think she’s good, please don’t make fools of us.”

“History will prove that she [Clinton] is the real peacemaker," another user wrote. 

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KCNA-KNS via AFP - Getty Images

This undated photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 27, 2012 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and his wife Ri Sol-Ju reacting after watching a performance by members of the Korean People's Internal Security Forces (KPISF) at Ponghwa Art Theatre in Pyongyang.

BEIJING -- Change in North Korea, and its potential impact on American interests in the Asia-Pacific, is likely to be on the agenda when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets Chinese leaders next month on her region-wide tour.

Is the hermit kingdom, with its nuclear weapons program and a “military-first policy” that prioritizes its 1.2 million-strong army, capable of social reform?

Or is the latest staged-managed imagery from Pyongyang—of a Swiss-educated young leader displaying a stylish wife, giving thumbs up to pop music and promising that the belt-tightening days are over—a sign of a new beginning for the impoverished and isolated nation?

The buzz about North Korea’s tantalizing hints of change has gained currency with the recent visit to China of Jang Song Thaek, the powerful uncle of the new North Korean leader Kim Jung Un, followed by reports that Kim himself is seeking to visit China next month.

China vowed greater support and investment in North Korea’s languishing China-style special economic zones, and urged Pyongyang to let “market” principles guide its moribund economy.

But while signs are pointing to change in Pyongyang, North Korean propaganda was denouncing as “hallucination” any talk of reform, denying that the new leadership is breaking with the past.

Authoritarian dictatorship
As a neighbor and ally, China is sensitive to any shift in Pyongyang’s policy directions that could impact China’s interests.  While Beijing provides Pyongyang with massive aid to prevent regime collapse that could cause regional instability, China is opposed to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

“I think it’s not possible for Pyongyang to sacrifice its military-first and nuclear arms policies, and that in turn will limit all possibilities for reform,” observed Zhang Liangui, China’s top scholar on North Korea who graduated from Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang.

“I am not optimistic about reform because Kim Jun Un alone cannot decide, it will be decided by North Korea’s political system which prioritizes the army,” said Zhang, a professor of international strategic research at China’s central school for training communist party officials.

“There is low probability of significant change,” said Daniel Pinkston, Seoul-based senior analyst of the International Crisis Group.

KCNA via AFP - Getty Images

A file picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on December 28, 2011 shows Kim Jong-Un and his powerful uncle, Jang Song-Thaek, at the funeral of late leader Kim Jong-Il.

North Korea’s system is “structurally set up as an authoritarian dictatorship…as long as the Kim family is in power it will be extraordinarily difficult to renounce the legacy of his father and grandfather,” Pinkston told NBC News, explaining his group’s latest report analyzing the barriers to reform in North Korea’s militarized society.

Preventing a Gadhafi-like fate
“As long as the Kim family regime is in power, they will not surrender nuclear weapons.  But I do not see why this is an obstacle for reforms,” argued Andrei Lankov, a Seoul-based Russian scholar on North Korea who also attended Kim Il Sung University.

“They will keep their nuclear devices, five or ten of them, for the deterrence purposes, just to make sure that they will not suffer the sorry state of Colonel [Moammar] Gadhaf i—while reforming the country if they consider that reform suit their interest,” he told NBC News.

Lankov noted, however, the “destabilizing” effects of reform. ”Sadly, the conservatives might be correct and I will not be surprised if the reforms will bring about a sudden collapse of the North Korean state,” he said, alluding to the examples of East Germany and Tunisia.

“It is still possible to take steps toward the market without giving up the nuclear program, though you would have to limit military spending,” according to Daniel Sneider, associate director for research at the Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University.

But for Sneider, one issue is the challenge posed to Pyongyang’s legitimacy by South Korea. North Korea used to be more prosperous than the South due to pampering by China and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War.  But now, the North’s economy is barely three percent of the South’s, with half the population. The majority of North Koreans suffer from food shortages, according to UN reports.

“In the South, there is a wonderful example of a highly successful Korean market economy—the North claims to be morally superior and a purer Korean state, unpolluted by Western capitalism.  If they go down the road of market reform, that undermines a central plank of North Korean ideology,” Sneider said.

“The path of reform will be chosen by North Korea but China will certainly provide help,” said Lu Chao, director of North Korea Studies at the Academy of Social Sciences in Liaoning province, which shares a long border with North Korea.

Limited risk
Lu, who frequently meets with North Korean officials and businessmen from across the border, detects Pyongyang’s new focus on the economy.

“Kim Jung Un is focused on improving the quality of life, this can be seen in his visits to parks and artistic performances, in contrast with his father who prioritized the military,” Lu told NBC News.

“Some reforms are going on in the country, especially in agriculture,” he added, noting that farming reforms will pose “limited risks” to the regime.

For the International Crisis Group’s Pinkston, US policy should remain “deterrence and containment while being observant”.  

“The US should monitor, bilaterally and multilaterally, the situation in North Korea, maintain a strong deterrence and containment posture, but be willing, when the opportunity presents itself,  to engage North Korea if it changes its policy directions,” Pinkston said.

Clinton is scheduled to visit China Sept 4-5, before becoming the highest-ranking US official to visit East Timor, which gained independence from Indonesia in 2002.

She will later visit the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Vladivostok, eastern Russia.

NBC researchers Tianzhou Ye and Lorraine Liu contributed to this report. 

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AFP - Getty Images

Chinese beachgoers wear body suits and protective head masks, dubbed "facekinis," on a crowded public beach in Qingdao, on Aug. 16.

BEIJING – In the West, getting a tan is one of the main reasons for going to the beach.

But in China, some are going to extraordinary lengths to avoid getting a bit of sun with a new item of beachwear – dubbed the Facekini – causing something of a stir in the coastal tourist city of Qingdao, Shandong Province.

The masks completely cover the swimmers' heads, revealing only their eyes, noses, and mouths.

The styles and colors of the masks suggest a huge happy beach party attended by some lesser superheroes, Mexican wrestlers and perhaps a few bank robbers is underway. In fact, government officials have become concerned that the masks could be used to rob banks, according to a report in The New York Times.

"These have been extremely popular," Zaizaibao (仔仔寶), an online seller from Henan on shopping Internet site taobao.com, said.

Another online store sold 542 masks, which come in different colors and patterns, in just 30 days. "We are already out of the pink ones.... All of them sell well. Orange is the most effective in protecting people from sea creatures."

AFP - Getty Images

Users say the face masks are useful in protecting against insects and jellyfish.

The masks are an outward expression of a Chinese understanding of beauty in terms of skin color.

"I myself don't mind getting tanned, but I can see why pale skin is attractive," Alina Zhao, a college student in the U.S. who grew up in Zhejiang, China, said.

"It definitely has to do with the history of China, which is largely an agricultural society,” she added. “Getting tanned means you work outside in the fields a lot, so skin color is like an indicator of your social status. The fairer you are, the wealthier or more respected you seem."

Umbrellas on a sunny day
In fact, Facekini is only one out of many attempts by Chinese people to stay fair. The number of umbrellas to be seen in Chinese cities on a hot, sunny day might appear bizarre to many non-Chinese people.

"I first became aware of the phenomenon when I lived in Taiwan for the summer," Simone Cote, from Vermont and currently working in Beijing, said. "I constantly saw that women covered themselves when they went out. They wore pants often, and yes, umbrellas everywhere."

Cote was asked "Why is your skin so dark?" by her host mother in Taiwan.

Within this underlying concept of what is beautiful, the Facekini was perhaps a logical development.

A user of the mask commented in Chinese on taobao.com that "this item is very effective in keeping the UV [ultra-violet light] out, and it's very comfortable. With this, you can do whatever you want on a beach, with no worries of getting burned or tanned. It's really recommended."

Another user, Tongchao, seems to have debated between the benefit of not getting tanned and the possibility of getting laughed at in this mask. "Okay. I've become the focused again, but this item is really useful. It's actually not stuffy at all. I really like it!" Looks like he or she has made a choice – but not an easy one.

When asked if she would ever wear one, Alina gave her answer without a second thought.

"Of course no! I was never into sunscreen – I'll never get this fair anyway, so why bother? I would rather enjoy the sun."

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Jason Lee / Reuters

Chongqing Municipality Communist Party Secretary Bo Xilai waves as he attends the opening ceremony of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in March 2012.

BEIJING -- Monday's murder conviction for the wife of Bo Xilai, once one of China's most powerful men, may have brought to an end the investigation into the death of British businessman Neil Heywood but it left in question the fate of her husband, who is being pursued for party "disciplinary violations."

Is Bo the next target of a deepening struggle? Or will he be spared from harsher punishments? Leading China analysts have varied responses but there is unanimity that Gu Kailai's conviction was also a nail in the coffin of her politician husband's career.

Wife of disgraced Chinese leader gets death sentence with reprieve

'Politically carbonized'
To counter Bo's "continuing popularity" among some segments of the population, China's Communist Party attempted to depict the case in terms of the most heinous of crimes -- murder, said Joseph Fewsmith, a leading expert on Chinese politics at Boston University and author of several books on China.

"It certainly is a case of murder, but in a sense, the killing of Heywood allows the party to sidestep all the other issues -- the way Bo conducted his 'strike black' campaign, the so-called Chongqing model and his political ambitions -- by focusing on the murder," Fewsmith said.

Strike black refers to Bo's anti-corruption and anti-crime campaign that implicated millionaires, local officials, police officers and gangsters. Under the Chongqing model that Bo advocated, the state increased its role in society and led huge public projects.

"Despite the strong evidence of criminal activity (murder), it seems likely that many will continue to read this case as part of a political struggle," Fewsmith said.

And in this political struggle, China's leftist elite -- known as neo-cons -- are the likely losers, said Professor Jean-Pierre Cabestan, head of government and international studies at Hong Kong Baptist University and a prominent scholar on China.

Closed-door murder trial: Wife of ousted politician Bo Xilai faces China court

"Some neo-cons may have tried or be willing to save Bo Xilai, in order to serve their own interests. I am inclined to think they will fail, because both the outside world and the Chinese blogosphere know too much about this terrible couple, their family and their wealth," Cabestan told NBC News.

"In other words, Bo is a liability, he is worn out, he is politically carbonized," he added.

'Chongqing model' dead or alive?
"But we should not jump to the conclusion that the reformists will enjoy an upper hand in the coming months," Cabestan said, adding that the Chongqing model that Bo championed was not sustainable.

Stringer / China / Reuters

China's former Chongqing Municipality Communist Party Secretary Bo Xilai (R) and his wife Gu Kailai (L), who was found guilty of murdering a British businessman.

"It's too expensive for the state, too hostile to private businesses and too distant from the rule of law," Cabestan said.

"But the pro-state, pro-state-owned enterprises leaders have not been totally defeated and there are so many vested interests around the perpetuation of a strong and entrepreneurial party-state," Cabestan said.

Professor Bo Zhiyue, expert on Chinese politics at the National University of Singapore, agreed that Bo was finished politically, but argued that his governing style was not necessarily dead.

"With Bo as a major competitor out of the way, the new leadership could be more stable," Bo Zhiyue told NBC News.

"However, they can't avoid using some of Bo's programs in its new policies because Bo's Chongqing model has really provided a lot of good experiments for China's future development, in particular with regards to income inequality, public housing, and new growth model."

Scandal sends China's netizens into feeding frenzy

China's leadership is acutely aware of the growing income inequality that the country's economic prosperity has produced, with newly wealthy political and business elites prompting resentment among the majority.

Indeed, official and online media have given coverage to a growing number of grassroots protests driven by the discontent felt by those left behind in the economic race, or those alienated by the corrupt collusion of wealth and power.

"There is consensus that the government needs to allocate more resources to address social injustice and income inequality," according to Li Mingjiang, China politics professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, noting the efforts of China's leadership in this regard.

"In that sense, the Chongqing model is not dead at all," he told NBC News.

Appeasing the poor
The government has been trying appease many people in undeveloped and poor regions of Western China, for example, by increasing state investments in these regions. Nevertheless, the consensus among China watchers is that Bo went too far in his politics and governing style. 

More China coverage from NBCNews.com's Behind The Wall

"Bo Xilai (was) too extreme in his policy in Chongqing, particularly his Cultural Revolution style political campaign," Li said. "These extreme policies are dead, at least for the coming years."

However, China's ruling elite had to deal with the fact that technology made it impossible to keep the case under wraps.  

"The amount of information and the intensity of discussion that were revealed in the social media exerted a lot of pressure on the party to release more information about the Bo Xilai case partly in order to forestall and clear rumors," Li added.

"The party has to be very careful not to unnecessarily antagonize Bo's supporters and sympathizers because these people are vocal and scrutinizing ... various forms of social media," he said.

To Cabestan, Bo's "political death or carbonization have been in part caused by the Internet and the speed with which outside information and rumors have circulated in China."

In sum, the experts with whom NBC News spoke agreed that while Bo may be neutralized through the case against his wife and the diciplinary measure he faces, the country's leadership will likely tread carefully given Bo's enduring popularity.

So the suspended death sentence handed down to Bo Xilai's wife signifies a "decision made by the highest leadership," said Professor Jerome Cohen, a veteran authority on Chinese law at New York University.

"The state leaders know that Bo Xilai is still very popular and has lot of support, and to that extent, the court's decision is the most popular option and the best compromise they could have come out with," he added.

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Updated at 8:40 a.m. ET: HEFEI, China -- The woman at the center of China's most politically explosive trial in three decades did not contest charges of murder on Thursday in a hearing that lasted just seven hours and could determine the fate of former politician Bo Xilai.

Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, chose not to contest the charge of murdering British businessman Neil Heywood, whose alleged secretive dealings with the couple fuelled a scandal exposing the intimate nexus between money and power in China's elite.

A formal verdict will be delivered at a later date, a court official said, recounting details of the closed-door hearing.

CCTV via Reuters TV

Gu Kailai, center, appears at the Hefei Intermediate People's Court on Thursday.

The dramatic account of Heywood's death by poisoning is also likely to sound the final death knell to Bo's political career, even as sympathizers cast him as the victim of a push to oust him and discredit his left-leaning agenda.

"The accused Bogu (Gu) Kailai and Zhang Xiaojun did not raise objections to the accusations of intentional homicide," the official, Tang Yigan, said after the hearing, referring also to Gu's co-accused, an aide to the family. 

State television showed Gu, wearing a dark pant suit and white shirt, being led into the courtroom and being seated in the dock. She appeared to have put on weight since she was detained earlier this year. 

Wife of ousted China politician charged with Briton's murder

Reuters

This photo shows Bo Xilai, British businessman Neil Heywood and Bo's wife Gu Kailai.

The court official quoted prosecutors as saying Gu and Zhang had killed Heywood with a poisoned drink in far southwestern Chongqing last November, after a business dispute between Gu and Heywood. Bo ruled the vast municipality until he was sacked in March just before the murder scandal burst into the open. 

As a result of the dispute with Heywood, Gu had become convinced Heywood was a threat to her son, Bo Guagua, the official said without elaborating. 

"Gu Kailai believed that Neil Heywood had threatened the personal safety of her son Bo (Guagua) and decided to kill him," the official added, reading from a statement to a packed news conference of dozens of reporters who had been barred entry to the courtroom in the eastern city of Hefei. 

The aide, Zhang, had driven Heywood to Chongqing last November from Beijing and prepared a poison which was to be put later into a drink of water. Later that day, Heywood met Gu at a hotel, where he became drunk and then asked for water. 

"She poured a poison into his mouth," the official said. 

Gu was represented by government-appointed lawyers. Her trial is seen by many Chinese as part of a push against her husband Bo, who made powerful enemies as he campaigned to join the next generation of top central leaders.

Bo was formerly considered a contender for the inner sanctum of power -- the party's Politburo Standing Committee -- in a once-in-a-decade leadership transition that is currently under way. The new leadership is expected to be unveiled in October.

Earlier, a British diplomat was seen entering the court, but did not comment. International media were not allowed into the court.

Censorship
State censorship of Internet chatter on the trial was swifter than normal on Thursday. Users of China's popular Twitter-like service Sina Weibo played cat and mouse with authorities to discuss the case and used word play to try to get around the controls.

NYT: Increasingly outspoken military alarms China's leaders 

Police dragged two protesters away from outside the Hefei Intermediate People's Court in eastern China. The two Bo supporters kicked and yelled as they were put into an unmarked car after they had appeared outside the building, condemning the trial as a sham and singing patriotic songs that were the trademark of Bo's populist leadership style.

"I don't believe it. This case was decided well in advance," Hu Jiye, a middle-aged man wearing a T-shirt and baseball cap, told foreign reporters at the rear of the court building, which was cordoned off by dozens of police standing in heavy rain.

Eugene Hoshiko / AP

Police officers stand guard outside a court where the murder trial of Gu Kailai was held on Thursday in Hefei, China.

Hu and his friend were then shoved by police officers into a car. His companion, also a middle-aged man, struggled and yelled, "Why are you taking me? Why are you taking me?"

But many ordinary Chinese citizens were unaware of the trial, or felt that it had little impact on their lives. 

"We are not really interested in the Bo Xilai and Gu Kailai cases because they are far removed from us, we are very busy with our daily lives," Beijing construction manager Ji Jiaminghe told NBC News. 

"The lesson of the Bo Xilai case is that it was wrong to go against the political mainstream," Ji said, even as he acknowledged that he loved to sing and listen to the "Red Songs" that Bo promoted. 

Communist Party aristocracy
The trial of Gu, the glamorous daughter of ruling Communist Party aristocracy, is the most sensational since the conviction of the Gang of Four more than 30 years ago for crimes during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution.

Gu and family aide Zhang Xiaojun face the death penalty if convicted of poisoning the former family friend.

Police sources initially claimed Gu had poisoned Heywood in a disagreement over an illicit financial transaction she had wanted him to help her complete, and they portrayed Gu as a greedy wife who was translating her husband's connections into dollars.

Sources: Briton killed after threat to expose Chinese leader's wife

But Gu's alleged personal motive for the killing --  that Gu believed Heywood was a threat to her son -- may count as a mitigating circumstance and help Gu avoid execution.

Any hesitance to put Gu to death would make sense, according to Hu Xingdou, an outspoken blogger and frequent government critic, told NBC News. 

Scandal sends China's netizens into feeding frenzy

"The death penalty is not likely precisely because a political struggle is involved and people don't like political rivals being executed," he said.

In announcing the indictment about two weeks ago, the official Xinhua News Agency made clear the government considers the verdict a foregone conclusion.

"The facts of the two defendants' crime are clear, and the evidence is irrefutable and substantial," it said.

The trial and sentencing of both Gu and Zhang are widely seen as a prelude to a possible criminal prosecution of Bo, who is being detained for violating party discipline -- an accusation that covers corruption, abuse of power and other misdeeds.

Bo, who was a favorite of party leftists and promoted himself as a friend of the poor and an enemy of corruption, was sacked as Chongqing party chief in March after his police chief, Wang Lijun, identified Gu as a suspect in Heywood's death.

Press behaved 'appallingly'?
On Thursday morning, there was no sign of Gu's elderly mother, nor of any members of Heywood's family in or around the courtroom.

In London, Heywood's mother accused the press of spreading lies about her son. "You've all behaved so appallingly," Ann Heywood said Wednesday outside her home.

British media have suggested Neil Heywood was involved in money laundering, worked for British intelligence or that he was Gu's lover. Ann Heywood claimed to know more about the case than was in the public domain, but she wasn't specific and said the truth would come out eventually.

 More China coverage from NBCNews.com's Behind the Wall blog

Before his ouster in the spring, Bo, also the son of a revolutionary veteran, was one of China's most powerful and charismatic politicians. But his overt maneuvering for a top political job, as well as high-profile campaigns to bust organized crime and promote communist culture -- while trampling over civil liberties and reviving memories of the chaotic Cultural Revolution in the process -- angered some leaders.

Bo is the first Politburo member to be removed from office in five years and the scandal kicked up talk of a political struggle involving Bo supporters intent on derailing succession plans calling for Vice President Xi Jinping to lead the party for the next decade.

Bo is in the hands of the party's internal discipline and inspection commission, which is expected to issue a statement about his infractions. That would open the way for a court trial with charges possibly including obstructing police work and abuse of power. Thus far, Bo has been accused only of grievous but unspecified rules violations.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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© David Gray / Reuters / Reuters, file

A boat sails past an unmaintained jetty at the deserted former venue for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games rowing competition, located on the outskirts of Beijing, on March 27, 2012.

Four years on from the Beijing Olympics, some of the Games venues are certainly white elephants.

But no one should underestimate the prestige factor for China's Communist Party government in terms of justifying the construction.

The construction of these structures allowed China to show that it could mobilize its resources and pull off -- as they often point out -- a flawless Games. Just before London 2012 began, the People's Daily newspaper said the Beijing Games were generally regarded as the best ever. 

In that sense, the Games and the stadiums represent the best and worst of the Communist Party's relationship with the people and the direction it's taking for the future. 

The famous Bird's Nest stadium, built at a cost of about $500 million, usually has very healthy crowds of people around it and is in pretty good shape.

London 2012's legacy: No more UK couch potatoes or another Olympic 'white elephant'?

However, it has failed to attract a major sports team and has only hosted a few music concerts, a snowboard competition and a couple of friendly soccer competitions, involving top sides like Arsenal and Manchester City from England and Italy's Juventus and Napoli, who play this Saturday.

Water-slide popular
Many of the sites get a lot of visitors, though the numbers are said to be dipping.

The Water Cube has been one of the more successful venues since 2008. The popularity of a water-slide park built inside the Cube is reflected in its high prices. It also host concerts and other events periodically inside.

As I understand it, the Water Cube isn't making money, but it isn't losing too much compared to other sites.

More coverage of London 2012 on NBCNews.com

I visited the Olympic rowing site two months ago. While the park was quiet, Olympic athletes were training there and there were also a couple of corporate and high school student groups who had rented the place out to learn how to dragonboat race for team-building purposes.

Much of the site is blocked off, but they have adapted it since the Olympics ended, adding a water park for kids and tricycles for people to ride around the park.

The Olympic basketball venue was one of the few that actually successfully found a sponsor, Mastercard, and it has held a fair amount of events like NBA exhibition games every year.

Also many of the major Chinese pop bands and Western acts tend to hold their shows there.

So some of the venues are still performing a useful purpose and, even if others have become white elephants, for China's rulers, it was worth it.

Carlos Barria / Reuters

A demonstrator smashes a car window during a protest against an industrial waste pipeline under construction in front of the local government building in Qidong, Jiangsu Province on Saturday.

QIDONG, China -- Angry demonstrators occupied a government office in eastern China on Saturday, destroying computers and overturning cars in a violent protest against an industrial waste pipeline they said would poison their coastal waters.

Hours later, the mayor of the city where the pipeline was to have originated said the project was being cancelled, Reuters reported.

The demonstration was the latest in a string of protests sparked by fears of environmental degradation and highlights the social tensions the government in Beijing faces as it approaches a leadership transition this year.

Thousands of protesters marched through the coastal city of Qidong, roughly one hour north of Shanghai by car, shouting slogans against the planned pipeline that would empty waste from a paper factory in nearby Nantong into the sea.

Wife of ousted China politician charged with Briton's murder

Demonstrators rejected the government's stand that waste from the factory would not pollute the coastal waters.

"The government says the waste will not pollute the sea, but if that's true, then why don't they dump it into Yangtze River?" said Lu Shuai, a 25-year-old protester who works in logistics.

"It is because if they dump it into the river, it will have an impact on people in Shanghai and people in Shanghai will oppose it."

The state-run Global Times newspaper quoted local residents who said the sewage discharge from the pipeline was expected to be as much as 150,000 tons per day, according to the AFP news agency.

Cars overturned, cops beaten
Several protesters entered the city government's main building and were seen smashing computers, overturning desks and throwing documents out the windows to loud cheers from the crowd.

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An AFP photographer described the scene, saying demonstrators seized bottles of liquor and wine from the offices, along with cartons of cigarettes -- all of which Chinese officials frequently receive as bribes.

Reuters witnessed five cars and one minibus being overturned. Over 1,000 police -- some paramilitary -- guarded the city government office compound in lines.

At least two police officers were dragged into the crowd at the government office and punched and beaten enough to make them bleed.

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According to the AFP, searches including "Qidong" on China's popular microblogging site Sina Weibo were blocked Saturday. Sina Weibo has over 250 million subscribers.

Earlier posts on Weibo and on Twitter indicated that the protesters had stripped the clothes off the local party secretary, but these reports could not be immediately verified.

On Friday, in an effort to stave off the protest, the Qidong city government announced it would suspend the project for further research.

But many protesters said on Saturday that postponement was not enough.

Carlos Barria / Reuters

A police car lies overturned as protesters occupy a government building during a protest against an industrial waste pipeline under construction in Qidong, Jiangsu Province on Saturday.

"If the government really wanted to stop this project, they should have done it right from the beginning. At this point they are too late," said Xi Feng, a 17-year-old protester.

Local officials took steps to ward off the demonstration and residents received text messages and letters warning that any public demonstration would be illegal.

The reversal came Saturday afternoon, when Nantong Mayor Zhang Guohua announced in a statement that the city would terminate the project proposed by a Japanese-owned paper factory in its jurisdiction. 

Rising discontent
Environmental worries have stoked calls for expanded rights for citizens and greater consultation in the tightly controlled one-party state.

The outpouring of public anger is emblematic of the rising discontent facing Chinese leaders, who are obsessed with maintaining stability and struggling to balance growth with rising public anger over environmental threats.

The protest followed similar demonstrations against projects the Sichuan town of Shifang earlier this month and in the cities of Dalian in the northeast and Haimen in southern Guangdong province in the past year.

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In Shifang, the government halted construction of a copper refinery following protests by residents that it would poison them. It also freed most of the people who were detained after a clash with police.

The leadership has vowed to clean up China's skies and waterways and increasingly tried to appear responsive to complaints about pollution. But environmental disputes pit citizens against local officials whose aim is to lure fresh investment and revenue into their areas.

Behind The Wall: Full NBC News coverage from China
Pictures from China on NBCNews.com's PhotoBlog

NBC News researcher Tianzhou Ye, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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