China architecture: building big

A collection of images from around the Web of government office buildings in China offers a great glimpse into how local governments in China view themselves.

Ranging from large and foreboding Communist-style architecture to straight-up replicas of the U.S. Congress and White House, the slideshow is a journey through architecture that has been known to raise hackles in some areas as wasteful spending. The website Chinasmack (a great English-language bridge to what is happening on the Chinese Internet) also collected comments on the buildings, ranging from sarcastic and cynical to praiseful of the shows of wealth.

"Good buildings! China is truly strong and powerful," wrote one commenter.