Chinese President Jiang Zemin sings a selection from "Beijing Opera" on the last day of an eight-day visit to the U.S. on Nov. 2, 1997, in Los Angeles. Hector Mata/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Daryl James was just 15-years-old when he arrived at the Army Apprentice School in the 1970s. He says he was repeatedly abused, as were many others. Now he returns every year just to confirm that the school is still gone. "The ghosts have gone now, " he told NPR. Louisa Lim for NPR hide caption

Civilians hold rocks as they stand on a government armored vehicle near Chang'an Boulevard in Beijing, early June 4, 1989, before the army began a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in and around Tiananmen Square. Jeff Widener/AP hide caption

Artist and former soldier Chen Guang stands with one of his paintings last year that depicts the scene when he helped clear Tiananmen Square as a soldier. Louisa Lim/NPR hide caption

A Chinese man who became known as "Tank Man" stands alone to block a line of tanks heading east on Beijing's Changan Avenue just outside Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. It's an iconic image known around the world --€” except in China. Jeff Widener/AP hide caption

After People's Armed Police were deployed to clear the square on June 4, pitched battles broke out between police and angry crowds throwing stones. Courtesy photo hide caption

Dingding Mao is a professional mourner, who is paid for her talents at singing the funeral dirge. This is a tradition that began in the Han dynasty 2,000 years ago. Courtesy of Wu Peng hide caption

A small, child-like creature in a cone hat peers into a toy shop, happy at the sight of a snow globe, in a vignette called "Tininess" in Darkness Outside the Night, a graphic novel illustrated by Xie Peng. Find out what happens in the excerpt below. Xie Peng and Duncan Jepson, with permission to reproduce the panels from Tabella Publishing LLP hide caption

Chinese police lead a group of defendants, including millionaire and politician Li Qiang, to court on organized crime charges in 2009. Many of those arrested in now-imprisoned politician Bo Xilai's campaign against the mafia still remain in jail, despite serious legal questions about the process. STR/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

The video for Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's newly released song starts by re-creating the conditions of his captivity during the 81 days he was held in police detention in 2011, and later dissolves into a dystopian nightmare. Courtesy Ai Weiwei hide caption

The children of wealthy Chinese attend classes designed to teach them how to do things like raise money for charity. The parents pay up to $10,000 a year to send their kids to weekend classes. Angie Quan/NPR hide caption

The wife of Li Yiqian, Yang Liming, sits in their house, which is plastered with pictures of China's leaders, an attempt to help prevent local authorities from demolishing it. Her husband has been sentenced to three years in prison for organizing a crowd to create a disturbance; she believes it's for his work in helping dispossessed villagers petition. Louisa Lim/NPR hide caption

A woman in downtown Beijing walks past a building adorned with a patriotic mural by Chinese graffiti artists on April 22. Stephen Shaver/UPI/Landov hide caption

Lucy Wang and Derek Wei represent the new modern Chinese bride and groom. With a lack of women in China, Wei had to pay more than $10,000 in a "bride price" to attract Wang to marry him. Sim Chi Yin for NPR hide caption

Far from seeing military rallies, recent visitors to Pyongyang saw North Korean children in-line skating around Kim Il Sung square. Courtesy of Patrick Thornquist hide caption