A bird’s eye view of Zhongnanhai

It’s never been easy to gain entrance to Zhongnanhai, the traditional residential compound of China’s post-1949 leaders. Maps of the area have never offered too many details of the buildings inside the sprawling compound.

However, thanks to Google maps, you — lowly common man — can now have a bird’s eye view of Zhongnanhai, and the rest of Beijing inside the Second Ring Road.

The question is, as Danwei reader Jonas Chau asks: “Does the Nanny know about this?”