In 2008 the eyes of the entire world will be focused on China. More than a billion people will watch the Beijing Olympic Games, and tens of millions of tourists and business people will visit Beijing and China, many for the first time. The 2008 Olympic Games will create a historic opportunity for China to showcase its sporting prowess and spectacular economic development. The Games are reported to have cost China more than USD$50 billion – an astonishing figure for what is still regarded as a developing economy.
The transformation of China's capital has been nothing short of astonishing. Vast new expressways encircle the city and soaring new high-rise buildings and construction sites dot the horizon. New subway lines have been built and a modern light rail system built to service the latest extension of Beijing's massive Capital Airport. Some of the most exciting and innovative buildings in the world are being built in Beijing. These include the iconic Birds Nest and Watercube as well as Paul Andreu's controversial national theatre and Rem Koolhaus' astonishing design for the new CCTV headquarters in the east of the city.
Yet despite the apparently smooth lead up to the Games and the no holds barred approach to ensuring success, Beijing's preparations have been dogged by some controversy.
The most contentious issue has been the environment. China has some of the world's worst air pollution and according to the World Bank seven of the ten most polluted cities in the world are in China. Beijing's air quality is notoriously poor and for days at a time the sky is choked in blanket of smog and haze.
The city government has responded by setting a target of 245 blue sky days in 2007 and 256 blue sky days in 2008 – and launched a push to clean up the sky for the Games. In July city construction projects will be halted (at least officially) and tens of thousands of government vehicles pulled from the traffic choked roads. Over recent years the government has also closed down or relocated numerous factories and polluting industries. By the end of 2007 the Beijing city government had spent more than USD$16 billion on environmental projects.
Yet with the Games days away concerns over air quality in the capital remain. A number of international teams have chosen to locate their preparation bases away from Beijing in an attempt to avoid the ill effects of air pollution.
Less visible to outsiders has been the ongoing destruction of Beijing's historic neighbourhoods or hutongs. Derived from a Mongolian word meaning well, Beijing's hutongs, a labyrinth of lanes and courtyards, once spread across the entire city. Some of the oldest areas date back to the Yuan dynasty (1271 to 1368). Since 1997 the city's rapid construction and redevelopment has seen the wholesale demolition of many sections of old Beijing. In his recently published history of Beijing, journalist and China historian Jasper Becker says that in 1997 Beijing had more than 25 square miles of historic neighbourhoods intact – today this has been whittled back to just 5 square miles. While some neighbourhoods were badly rundown and unsanitary, many historic and viable buildings were also lost. The Beijing municipal government has responded by placing a number of important old neighbourhoods under official protection. Yet illegal demolitions of heritage listed and protected courtyards have continued right up to the Games. |
