Beijng's beautifiers complete work on city transformation

LONDON - The Guardian

On the other side of the world from Birmingham - where Britain's athletes are striving to book their places for the Olympics - Liu Xiaohua is making her own last-minute preparations for the showpiece event. Exactly four weeks before the first full day of competiton, the migrant worker from Henan province is sweeping a newly built underpass outside the Bird's Nest Olympic stadium free of construction-site grit, rubbish and the sand that blows in from the Gobi desert.

It may be one of the least glamorous and lowest paid roles in the Olympics (Liu's monthly salary is just over £100) but she is on the front-line of a massive beautification campaign, which will complete a seven-year facelift of the Chinese capital.

As sportsmen and women around the world make their final preparations, Beijing is in the throes of a final clean-up not just of streets and buildings, but "undesirable" social elements and potential troublemakers.

Liu is part of arguably the greatest transformation of a host city in the history of the Olympics. In the past five years, a construction boom has flattened swathes of the old city and surrounding countryside, replacing alleyways and farmland with the world's biggest airport terminal, a subway line, a light railway, hundreds of miles of roads as well as the spectacular stadium, gymnasium and swimming pool and other venues. Over the past few months, the focus has been on brightening up the new concrete and steel with flowers and paint. Formerly drab grey roadsides are now decked with begonias and shrubs. Since the start of the year, 40 million flowers have been planted, tens of thousands of trees re-rooted and countless acres of lawn laid on the naturally arid red earth.

In some areas, even old Cultural Revolution wall slogans, such as "Long Live Mao Zedong thought!" - which were previously out of favour - have been given a fresh lick of red paint. Olympic signposts have been erected around the city, Olympic rings have been painted on motorways lanes reserved for Olympic traffic and Fuwa Olympic Mascots are an increasingly uqibuitous sight on hoardings, in shops and on television.

Ahead of an expected arrival of 21,500 journalists, 10,500 athletes and half a million tourists, the city has replaced its notoriously smelly public toilets with modern, cleaner conveniences. To tidy the streets, it has increased the penalty on spitting, launched anti-litter campaigns and hired tens of thousands of migrant workers like Liu. But the clean-up will soon be extended to many of those doing the cleaning. On July 20, many of the city's migrant workers - who have done more than anyone to build and beautify the Olympic city - have been ordered to return to their home towns.

"We don't want to leave because we won't be able to earn money for two months, but we have no choice," complained Fang Jingshan, a construction worker from Hebei Province.

The closure of building sites and factories is aimed primarily at clearing the air of pollution. For much of the last two weeks, the city has been enveloped in a grey haze. Earlier this week the chairman of the International Olympic Committee's coordindation commission Hein Verbruggen described air quality as an "open issue".

To reduce emissions, cars with odd and even number plates will only be able to drive on alternative days starting from July 20. But the problem of pollution is so widespread in China that many Olympic teams are taking no risks by staging their final training camps in Japan.

For human rights groups, social cleansing is the main concern. While previous Olympic hosts have driven vagrants and other itinerants out before the Games, China has gone further by locking up several dissidents, putting others under house arrest, and forcing petitioners to return to their home towns.

According to the Legal Daily, 100,000 anti-terrorism personnel will be mobilised during the Games and 300,000 surveillance cameras installed. Some Beijing residents complain that the paranoia and emphasis on cosmetic appearances is stifling the gritty, chaotic, down-to-earth humour that is the city's greatest charm.

"It's all so fake," said Lily Chen, a restaurant manageress. "I just want the Olympics to be over with as quickly as possible so that life can go back to normal."

It is hard to argue that this face-obsessed nation has not employed excessive artifice in making a propaganda success of the Games. Many of the flowers, trees and lawns are a terrible waste of water in this dry city. And there is a real risk that the emphasis on security, visa checks for foreigners and controls on journalists could squeeze the fun out of the Games.

But it is not just a "Smile-or-else Olympics," there is a real sense of hope among ordinary people that the Games will mark a change in China and how it is viewed in the outside world. By the fence around the Bird's Nest stadium, throngs of tourists pose for photographs in front of the spectacular steel-lattice sports arena - now closed off until the opening on August 8.

On the other side of the road, an elderly couple watch from afar. The 84-year-old Hao Fukun says he cycled 40 minutes to get here, pulling his wife behind him on a cart. It is the first time they have travelled so far for many year, but they wanted to see the Olympic stadium.

"You simply cannot compare Beijing now with what it was," said the old man, who has lived through war, revolution, famine, political upheaval and modern development. "Life is so much better. I hope the world can see how our lives have changed. When the Olympics starts, I will be so happy, so happy."

The numbers Games:
10,500
The estimated number of athletes competing in Beijing between August 8 and 24

302
Different events featured in the summer Games - from the 28 designated sports

906
The gold, silver and bronze medals up for grabs

37
Separate Olympic venues

21,500
Journalists descending on China's capital from around the world

1.6m
Cars off the road on any given day during the Games as part of new anti-pollution measures

5,000
Different items of official Beijing merchandise available to buy

85,000
Miles the Olympic torch has travelled on its relay, the longest since the 1936 Berlin Games

7,000
Extra buses provided for transport during the two-week period

40m
Flowers planted in the city in the build-up to the Games

Beijing Olympic Games: Facts & Figures

BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Key facts and figures about the 2008 Olympic Games, which will start on Aug. 8:

THE GAMES

-- The Games of the XXIX Olympiad will take place from Aug. 8 to 24, 2008 under the slogan "One World, One Dream".

-- The Games will feature the 28 summer sports on the Olympic program; 10,708 athletes are expected to compete in 302 events (165 male events, 127 female, and 10 mixed) at 31 venues in Beijing and six venues in Qingdao, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao.

-- 21,600 accredited journalists from more than 200 countries and regions will come to China to cover the Games.

-- The opening and closing ceremonies of the Games will be held at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium. The woven girder stadium, covering 20.4 hectares, can accommodate an audience of up to 91,000.

-- More than 80 heads of state or government have confirmed they will attend the opening ceremony, including U.S. President George W. Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

-- More than 400,000 Beijing volunteers will provide visitors with services, including information, translation and first aid at550 sites around the city from July 1 to Oct. 8.

-- A total of 74,615 volunteers will provide services at Games venues and media centers and at the Olympic Village, with the oldest aged 87. Another 7,600 venue volunteers were recruited in the venues outside Beijing. More than 1.12 million applied for theposts, of whom 22,000 were foreigners. In addition, 1 million "social volunteers" will help to keep traffic moving and maintain order in communities and townships.

-- Six million tickets for the Olympic Games had been sold by mid June, and organizers planned to put on sale the remaining 1 million tickets in late July at the Olympic venues.

-- The most expensive tickets are the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games at 5,000 yuan and 3,000 yuan respectively.

-- The Olympic torch relay, now progressing on Chinese soil, is the longest ever, lasting 130 days and covering 137,000 kilometers worldwide. The flame was carried to the top of the Qomolangma (Mount Everest) for the first time and will arrive in Beijing on Aug. 6, according to the BOCOG.

THE CITY

-- Beijing is expecting more than 500,000 overseas visitors for the Games. The city has 660,000 visitor beds, and has chosen 598 homeowners as Olympic hosts. These homes can offer 726 rooms for more than 1,000 guests.

-- Beijing had 115 "blue sky" days, or days with fairly good air quality, for the year to June 18. With government investment of 140 billion yuan in environment improvement, total "blue sky" days rose to 246 last year from 100 in 1998, when the city launched the "blue sky" campaign.

-- Beijing took 300,000 high-emission cars off its roads in early July.From July 20 private cars will be banned on alternate days according to odd/even number plates, as part of measures to improve air quality and ease traffic on the clogged highways.

-- Statistical analysis of Beijing weather records from 1951 to2007 indicates a high possibility of warm and humid weather in midAugust, with about one rainfall every three days.

THE VENUES

- New Venues in Beijing:

-- National Aquatics Center (Water Cube):

Location: Olympic Green (Chaoyang District)

Events: Swimming, diving, synchronized swimming

-- National Stadium:

Location: Olympic Green

Events: Opening and closing ceremonies, track and field, football

-- National Indoor Stadium

Location: Olympic Green

Events: Artistic gymnastics, trampoline, handball

-- Beijing Shooting Range Hall

Location: Shijingshan District

Events: shooting

-- Beijing Olympic Basketball Stadium

Location: Wanshou Rd., Haidian District

Events: basketball

-- Laoshan Velodrome

Location: Laoshan, Shijingshan District

Events: cycling

-- Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park

Location: Shunyi District

Events: rowing, canoe/kayak -- flat-water

-- China Agriculture University Gymnasium

Location: Yuanmingyuanxilu Rd., Haidian District

Events: wrestling

-- Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium

Location: Shuanglong Rd., Chaoyang District

Events: badminton, rhythmic gymnastics

-- Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium

Location: Beisihuanlu Rd., Haidian District

Events: judo, taekwondo

-- Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Court

Location: Olympic Green

Events: tennis

-- Peking University Gymnasium

Location: Yiheyuanlu Rd., Haidian District

Events: table tennis

-Temporary Venues in Beijing

-- Beijing Olympic Green Hockey Stadium

Location: Olympic Green

Events: hockey

-- Fencing Hall of National Convention Center

Location: Olympic Green

Events: fencing preliminaries and finals, modern pentathlon (fencing and shooting)

-- Beijing Olympic Green Archery Field

Location: Olympic Green

Events: archery

-- Beijing Wukesong Sports Center Baseball Field

Location: Wanshou Rd., Haidian District

Events: baseball

-- Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground

Location: Chaoyang District

Events: beach volleyball

-- Triathlon Venue

Location: Changping District

Events: Triathlon

-- Laoshan Bicycle Moto Cross (BMX) Venue

Location: Laoshan, Shijingshan District

Events: cycling (BMX)

-- Road Cycling Course

Location: To be determined

Events: cycling (road race)

Existing Venues in Beijing

-- Olympic Sports Center Stadium

Location: Anding Road, Chaoyang District

Events: modern pentathlon

-- Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium

Location: Asia Games Village, Chaoyang District

Events: handball

-- Beijing's Workers' Stadium

Location: Gongti Road., Chaoyang District

Events: football

-- Beijing's Workers' Gymnasium

Location: Gongti Road., Chaoyang District

Events: boxing

-- Yingdong Natatorium of National Olympics Sport Center

Location: Asia Games Village, Chaoyang District

Events: water polo, modern pentathlon

-- Capital Indoor Stadium

Location: Baishi Bridge, Haidian District

Events: volleyball

-- Laoshan Mountain Bike Course

Location: Laoshan, Shijingshan District

Events: mountain bike

-- Beijing Shooting Range CTF

Location: Xiangshannanlu Road, Shijingshan District

Events: shooting

-- Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium

Location: Zizhuyuan, Haidian District

Events: volleyball

-- Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Gymnasium

Location: Xueyuan Rd., Haidian District

Events: weightlifting

-- Fengtai Sports Center Softball Field

Location: Xisihuannanlu Rd., Fengtai District

Events: softball

Venues outside Beijing

-- Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Venue

Location: 25 Yuen Wo Road, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong

Events: equestrian

-- Shanghai Stadium

Location: Tianyaoqiao Rd., Shanghai

Events: soccer

-- Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center

Location: Fushan Bay, Qingdao, Shandong Province

Events: sailing

-- Qinghuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium

Location: Hebai St., Haigang District, Qinghuangdao, Hebei Province

Events: football

-- Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium

Location: Linshuidao Rd., Tianjin

Events: football

-- Shenyang Olympic Stadium

Location: Hunnanzhonglu Rd., Shenyang, Liaoning Province

Events: football preliminary