On Google, aerial views of Zhongnanhai, compound for Chinese leadership

For years, this was the typical view that ordinary people saw of Zhongnanhai, the government compound in Beijing used by senior Chinese leaders. Google maps, especially the Earth view option, has changed that. Photo source: beijing2007.wordpress.com
So, do you remember the recent Google in China row?
The one earlier this year in which the Silicon Valley-based search and technology giant made global news with reports of hacked email accounts and possibly stolen code? The company – which questioned operating a filtered site in the rapidly-growing country – later decamped its mainland China search engine operations to Hong Kong.
Well, in an interesting twist, it looks like the California technology wizards have scored a point (or two) for transparency regarding Zhongnanhai, the compound near the Forbidden City that many in the senior Chinese leadership call home.