Beijing Weathers the Weather and Pollution

by Josh Lew on

On August 8th, while the opening ceremonies were in progress, Chinese meteorologists had their eyes on the sky.

In the days before the Olympics, Beijing assembled its own Olympic-caliber weather team, choosing the cream of the crop from a pool of over 200 meteorologists. At one point on the evening of the ceremonies, the chief of these weather superstars, Guo Hu, ordered rockets to be fired to disperse rain clouds that seemed to be headed for the Bird’s Nest.

But the hot and hazy weather that came with the lack of rain was stifling. Though the air quality was better in Beijing than before the Games, the haze was still prevalent enough to cause concern. Some of the city panoramas broadcast by NBC on August 9th showed a haze that made Los Angeles look like the fresh air capital of the world.That’s probably why there were no rockets shot at rain clouds on August 10th and 11th. Not only did the rain ease the nearly 100-degree heat of the previous day, it doused the smog as well. Even as competitors in the women’s bicycle road race were skidding across pools of standing water on the roadway and crashing into water-filled ditches, commentators and athletes were commenting on how pleasant the air was. The air pollution index on the rainy days reached 38, well below the rating of 50 that the World Health Organization deems acceptable. By contrast, the pollution score was in the 70s last Saturday, well above the acceptable mark set out by WHO.

Xinhua News Agency, China’s official press outlet, says another round of rain will wash Beijing’s air over the coming weekend.

Thus far, the visiting members of the press have not made a big deal about the pollution. Most of the “glamor events” of the Games have been held indoors. When gymnastics and swimming end, the focus will be on the outdoor events of track and field. If the pollution index is high during the Olympic marathon, we may be seeing athletes don masks to keep the smog out of their lungs. Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie, once the favorite to win the 26.2 mile race, has already dropped out, citing worries about the dirty air.

China busing in government-trained “cheer squads” to fill empty seats at Olympics

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Just like the Oscars have “seat-fillers” to hide the empty seats when people go to the bathroom, the Chinese are busing in state-trained “cheer squads” to fill the surprising numbers of empty seats at the Olympics.

Dressed in identical bright yellow t-shirts, the cheer squads are meant to improve the Olympic atmosphere and avoid embarrassing television shots of all the no-shows at the Games. As the Washington Post notes, “The U.S. softball team played in a stadium only about 30 percent full on Tuesday, while the day before, 10 of 18 venues did not reach 80 percent capacity.”

Officials blame the poor crowds on everything from the weather to strict visa regulations to spectators not wanting to watch the less exciting sports.

Beijing hotel owners, who were expected to be some of the biggest beneficiaries of the 2008 Olympics, have been underwhelmed by the amount of business the Games have brought. From the Washington Post: “‘Business is worse than at this time last year,’ said a receptionist at a 22-room hotel in Beijing’s Chongwen district, where rooms cost $28 a night. ‘It’s the season for traveling and last year the hotel was full. The Olympics should have brought business to Beijing, but the reality is too far from the expectation.'”

“Ugly” Girl was Cut from Opening Ceremony

by Josh Lew on

The opening ceremony last week in Beijing was quite memorable. The sheer magnitude of the spectacle was, in fact, almost unbelievable. When former Olympic medalist and millionaire clothing designer Li Ning made his lap around the roof of the Bird’s Nest without falling or extinguishing his torch, China must have breathed a collective sigh of relief. The whole thing went off without a hitch.

But a bit of controversy has come to the surface recently. Remember that little flying singer with the pig-tails who almost stole the entire show? According to the ceremony’s music director, Chen Qigang, she was simply mouthing the words.

That’s not really a controversy. Singing in front of so many people is a lot to ask of someone so young.

But wait. The little girl, Lin Miaoke, was not even supposed to be part of the show. She was a replacement for the original singer, seven-year-old Yang Peiyi. Yang was not going to lip-sync. What happened? A sore throat? Stage fright?

Government officials and the ceremony’s producers decided to cut Yang in favor of Lin because Yang, with her crooked teeth and baby-fat cheeks, was deemed too ugly.

Chen explained: “The reason why little Yang was not chosen to appear was because we wanted to project the right image…”

Yang’s voice was still heard on the stadium’s sound system. Apparently, Lin didn’t have the singing chops to match her good looks.

Related story

Visa Wins Big at Olympics

by Josh Lew on

Visa wanted to use the Olympics to get its foot firmly in the door in Beijing. The results are good so far. The credit card giant has been almost as dominant as the US men’s basketball squad.

Visa started preparations well before The Games. They helped over 200,000 merchants become Visa-ready and installed nearly 90,000 ATMs country-wide.

So who is plopping down the plastic in China’s largely cash-based society? Americans, who else? Visa claims that nearly 20% of the revenue on the first day of the Olympics came from consumers from the US. Japanese were the second largest group of users, accounting for 13% of the day one total.

Visa is using the Olympics to get itself in good position for the future in China. But is China benefiting from the wider use of plastic? Small and medium-sized retail businesses are probably seeing immediate results with the souvenir-happy tourists who have descended on Beijing. Visa claimed that there were $10 million worth of sales on day one alone. That’s $10 million dollars into the local economy.

Talk about laughing all the way to the bank. China won’t be laughing in the future when it finds that domestic credit card debt is on the rise, but for now, unlike the Olympic events themselves, in the credit card game, everyone is a winner.

Related Story

Don’t like the look of a neighborhood? Build a wall around it.

by Grant Martin on

You have to give the Chinese credit for trying to clean up Beijing during the 2008 Olympics. Their methods, while borderline authoritarian, have resulted in a significantly cleaner and friendlier looking China — the perfect reflection of a global economic superpower that should be hosting the games.

Several weeks before the games, officials attempted to curtail pollution by shutting down or constraining many of the factories in the region. While air quality has still been poor — one out of three cyclists in a recent race had to drop out because of the conditions — rain and cooler temperatures are now helping the conditions improve.

Other measures taken have had broader, more ominous impact among the resident population. At the same time that factory pollution cuts were mandated, residential vehicle traffic was also halved to cut down on emissions. Commuters were forced to take other transportation to work and trains and buses hemorrhaged with passengers as millions of Chinese jockeyed through Beijing trying to get to work.

In another district of the capital, developers decided that a particular neighborhood reflected poorly on the image of the country. Their solution? Build a wall around it. Despite the fact that multiple businesses and storefronts faced the street, an eight foot wall was erected around the region, blocking out the questionable content and creating a cleaner, more “tourist friendly” look.

Take a look at this brief video put together by the Boston Globe. Would you be happy with a wall like this in front of your storefront? .