Inside the Olympics stadium in Beijing

by Iva Skoch on

It is no secret that the Olympics in China this year are designed to make a splash and let the world know that China is “back in the game.”

The Guardian writer, Jonathan Clancey, has been inside the main building and declares it “quite simply stunning.” The Chinese have named it Bird’s Nest when its creators–Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, working with Arup and the China Architectural Design and Research Group–unveiled their design five years ago. “Its mesmeric steel frame, 41,875 tonnes in all, loops, swoops and swirls over and around the great, red, concrete 91,000-seat arena. What had seemed to be a solid structure from a distance proves to be a filigree Chinese puzzle close up.”

The structure is almost complete, while the fit-out, with its shops, restaurants, cafes, bars and meeting places, is racing ahead. At times, there have been as many as 7,000 construction workers on site.

Say what you will about the Olympic-size megalomania, but there is no denying this is a gorgeous building..

How to tell the Chinese and Japanese apart

by Jerry Guo on

Sometime all you need is a picture (or two in this case). James Fallows, a correspondent for The Atlantic based out of China right now, has posted a great observation about the difference between the Chinese and Japanese. He looked at a simple case of how workers refuel a jet. When it comes to the Japanese, they’re fastidious, orthodox, and dressed to match. With the Chinese, well … anything goes.

I’ll leave it to him to fully explain; don’t want to ruin the delightful juxtaposition of the two photos. I think he really hit something here with the observation that China is all about “finding a way to do things” while Japan is all about “the way of doing things.” It’s a succinct but thoughtful way of looking at things. Though I would caution, as someone very familiar with Chinese culture, that the country’s moving away from this wild wild west image. Or at least they want to. I feel they’ll be more like Japan in 5, 10, 20 years. Or maybe even by next summer’s Beijing Olympics. They’ll be on their best behavior I suspect.

By the way, Fallows has a wonderful blog about China on which he files pretty in-depth posts. He also had a short piece in this month’s Atlantic on tourism to Wolong Panda Reserve that’s worth checking out.

From The Country That Brought Us The Great Leap Forward

by Brett Atkinson on

This has to be a joke right? Beijing has just been annointed as China’s most beautiful city. Mmmm, maybe Shanghai’s Bund and a moonlight journey on Hong Kong’s Star Ferry aren’t as flash as I thought.

Sadly it’s not an early April Fool’s prank. The grandly titled China Insitute of City Competitiveness Survey has nominated the Chinese capital as the most stunning city in all of China. Thankfully, Hong Kong came in second, but the craziness returned with the southern boomtown of Shenzen registering third. That’s about as legitimate as the bogus iPhones that are currently on sale in a thousand Chinese streetmarkets.

I know the Olympics kick off in a year or so, but I really thought China’s PR practitioners were a little more savvy.

Via Reuters and thanks to dbaron on Flickr for the gorgeous Beijing cityscape.

It’s Monday. What Are You Doing Driving Your Car?

by Brett Atkinson on

The 2008 Olympics in Beijing might still be blighted by bad air pollution, but at least the organisers are doing their best to ease the lungs of marathon runners, long distance walkers and overseas visitors. Already China has restricted the number of planes in the air, and a new grassroots solution involving two wheels has just been announced.

Beijing is already a city of bicycles, but during the Olympics an additional 50,000 brand new two-wheelers will be available for rent at more than two hundred outlets handily placed near subway stations and Olympic venues. It’s the latest initiative sponsored by the Beijing Environment Protection Bureau. The Chinese capital has just finished a four day trial where private vehicles with even numbered license plates were banned from roads on Friday and Sunday. On Monday and Saturday odd-numbered cars had to stay in the garage.

Like anything to do with China, the numbers were impressive. An estimated 1.3 million cars were taken out of circulation each day, and subway traffic increased by 200,000 passengers each day. Beijing 2008 should be quite a show.

Thanks to TravelMole for the lead.

One for the Road – China: Unofficial Guide to the Beijing Games

by Kelly Amabile on

As a sidebar to this month’s Chinese Buffet series, throughout August, One for the Road will highlight travel guides, reference books and other recommended reads related to life or travel in China.

This week we are highlighting several titles by the True Run Media team, a guidebook and magazine publisher based out of Beijing. In addition to a special 2008 version of their Insider’s Guide that they will update and publish shortly before the Olympics begin, the Immersion Guides team will also produce a separate book all about the Games:

The Unofficial Guide to the Beijing Games is a forthcoming title that will cover the Olympics from an insider’s perspective. In addition to schedules, maps and ticket info, the guide will list the best venues for enjoying the city during the Games. And since these guys will be on the ground in Beijing monitoring the very latest restaurant, club and bar openings up to the last possible minute, this guide will most definitely have the most updated information. It will be a must-have for anyone visiting Beijing during the Olympics. Check the Immersion Guides website to find out when this handy reference will be available — I’m sure they are hard at work on it as we speak!

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