Chairman Mao might fall off his mausoleum perch, as now that Beijing is to host the 2008 Olympic Games, tons of sand might be dumped in the centre of the city hundreds of kilometres from the sea, in what used to be the largest public square in the world, and scantily-clad athletes will appear prostrate as if paying tribute to past emperors.
The Square has seen much of the drama and tragedy of modern China, from the declaration by Mao in 1949 of the birth of the People's Republic of China, to mass rallies by Mao's Red Guards in the 1960s, to more recent demonstrations by students and members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement.
Beijing is gearing up its citizens for the Games with radio English lessons. The official radio station in the Chinese capital has begun broadcasting "100 English Sentences" four times a day to help citizens brush up on basic English. In what the Xinhua News Agency has called an "English-learning wave", consultants have been hired to correct English signs at public places and transport companies have set up classes for taxi and bus drivers.
The capital spent billions of dollars in the lead up to the announcement widening and extending roads to boost its chances. It has been reported that more than 22.8 billion yuan (approx A$5 billion) was used for transportation and environmental protection infrastructure in the first 10 months of 2000, 11.1 percent more than in the same period of 1999.
To tackle environmental problems, the city is increasing sewage treatment capacity and replacing coal with natural gas for heating.
A rating system is planned for hundreds of Beijing's public toilets as it plans to clean them up and equip them with modern facilities such as "lively music" and toilet paper! Municipal authorities have settled on a two-year plan to revamp, renovate and in some cases rebuild 452 public toilets at 305 different scenic spots in the capital city, the China Daily reported. "Within two years, there will be no complaints about toilets", predicted Vice Mayor Zhang Mao.
According to the China Daily, toilets were the source of one fifth of complaints from tourists to Beijing during the October 1 National Day holiday. The most appealing toilets will be rated as four star.
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