NOV. 27, 2009: Haze clouds the skyline over the forbidden city in Beijing, China. For China, this decade was a time when the massive nation began to reshape the world in both basic and big ways. After spending much of the '80s and '90s with their heads down, retooling their shattered economy, the Chinese started peering beyond the horizon and striding out far beyond their borders. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel, File)
Read the article: DECADE'S END: China rising
