Beach Volleyball Photos: Beijing Grand Slam, FIVB Swatch World Tour, Chaoyang Park, Beijing, China. All pictures taken with a Canon 7D.
Pictured in gallery: Jonas Reckermann of Germany, Emanuel Rego of Brazil, Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor of the USA, Kerri Walsh, Ilka Semmler and Katrin Holtwick of Germany, Phil Dalhausser of the United States, a Chinese cheerleader, Spanish cheerleaders show they have back, cheerleading practice pose, Jen Kessy of the U.S., and Walsh and May-Treanor again at the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Beijing Grand Slam.
Beach Volleyball Photos: Beijing Grand Slam, FIVB Swatch World Tour, Chaoyang Park, Beijing, China. All pictures taken with a Canon 7D.
Pictured in this gallery: Maria Clara and Carolina Salgado of Brazil, Jonas Reckermann and Julius Brink of Germany, Jennifer Kessy and April Ross of America, Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti of Italy with coach, Menegatti/Cicolari advance to the semi-finals, Todd Rogers taps a pass, Lauren Fendrick throws down a spike, Marta Menegatti and Greta Cicolari smile for the cameras, Elsa Baquerizo Macmillan and Liliana Fernández Steiner of Spain, Nicole Branagh of the United States and Cicolari and Menegatti during a timeout at the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Beijing Grand Slam in Chaoyang Park.
Beach Volleyball Photos: Beijing Grand Slam, FIVB Swatch World Tour, Chaoyang Park, Beijing, China. All pictures taken with a Canon 7D.
Sisters Carolina and Maria Clara Salgado of Brazil (above) double-cover a ball at the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Beijing Grand Slam on the Swatch World Tour.
Using the full force of his 6'8" presence, Alison Cerutti of Brazil (above) and teammate Emanuel Rego win the gold medal match against Germany at the FIVB Beach Volleyball Beijing Grand Slam on the 2011 Swatch World Tour.
Marta Menegatti of Italy (above) lays down a spike at the FIVB Beach Volleyball Beijing Grand Slam on the 2011 Swatch World Tour.
Kerri Walsh of the United States (above) prepares to receive a serve at the FIVB Beach Volleyball Beijing Grand Slam on the 2011 Swatch World Tour.
Becchara Palmer of Australia (above) cheers on teammate Louise Bawden at the FIVB Beach Volleyball Beijing Grand Slam in Beijing, China.
Bikini-wearing cheerleaders (above) at the FIVB Beach Volleyball Beijing Grand Slam in Beijing, China.
Facing off against Brooke Hanson of the United States, Carolina Salgado of Brazil (above) squeezes cool water out of her hair at the FIVB Beach Volleyball Beijing Grand Slam in Beijing, China.
With an impending European visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Ai’s release served a strategic purpose and came after weeks of intense international pressure. Both Britain and Germany had lobbied vociferously on Ai’s behalf; on the façade of the Tate Modern museum in London, huge letters spelled out “Release Ai Weiwei,” and at the recent art fair in Basel, Switzerland, visitors perused avant-garde artwork, wearing paper masks of his face. “They just had to free him,” says a European ambassador to China, requesting anonymity. Otherwise, “this would have been a trip about Ai Weiwei and nothing else.
The first tightening came when Chinese security forces began to "tidy" the city in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and its thousands of international visitors. Among those tidied away was Hu Jia, an Aids activist who concluded that the authorities' lack of respect for Aids patients and orphans was rooted in a disregard of human rights. He was imprisoned for fear he might embarrass the authorities during the Games.
It was pretty minor stuff. Among others arrested were people protesting at being forced from their homes for Games redevelopment. Two elderly women were given "re-education" sentences merely for requesting permission to demonstrate. In the months that followed there was low-level harassment of lawyers who acted for such victims.
But it was with the award of the Nobel prize to Liu Xiaobo last October that things moved up a gear. Beijing reacted angrily, blocking all foreign news broadcasts into China.
Chinese cheerleaders perform at Chaoyang Park beach volleyball venue during the Beijing Grand Slam on the FIVB Swatch World Tour in 2011. Chaoyang Park was also the site for the beach volleyball games during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Carolina Salgado, one half of Brazil's Salgado sister duo in beach volleyball. Carolina's siblings Maria Clara and Pedro are also on the professional circuit. This photo was taken at last week's FIVB Beach Volleyball Beijing Grand Slam tournament in Beijing, China. A gallery from the tournament can be viewed here. Click to see more beach volleyball photos.
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