Olympics Day 8

Its my last day in Beijing, and probably time for some reflection. But first, some observations.

Last night I managed, after some jockeying in line and some encouragement from my buddy Andrew, to get into "Club Bud" which was set up in a section of the National Agricultural Exhibition Center. It was, as expected, packed with athletes, coaches, officials, friends, and moochers like myself from all nations. Drinks, seemingly limited to beer (Harbin which is owned by Budweiser, and imported Budweiser) and water, were free. In other words, it was a giant international frat party minus the keg stands (to my knowledge). The dance floor was packed and throbbing, the lounge area couches taken, the floors sticky and full of people getting their grove on. After the place closed at 4, Andrew and I went to the Sanlitun bar area where the party continued. Pooped from the night before, I left at around 5.

What I have not really discussed has been the sheer promotion of the Olympics in Beijing along with the hurried construction of buildings in order to make the city look presentable . Below is a shot of the new CCTV Tower (My apologies for the poor picture quality, it was taken from inside a taxi). Note how it looks pretty much finished, though a number of cabbies (notice a trend that all of my Beijing know-how seems to be sourced from taxi drivers?) asserted it would take at least 6 months to one year to finish work on it, outside and inside.


"Yeah they rushed to make the outside look nice. You know, for the Olympics; it'll take like a year to get everything done though." If you look closely you can still see a crane at the top of the building. Other buildings that were not completed or had abandoned apparently, according to my friends were quickly covered by scaffolding or huge Olympics advertisements.

The banners and ads promoting the Olympics are also everywhere. Bridges, roads, buildings, inside the airport, etc.




Reflections: I have to admit, despite the fantastic experience I had going to events, seeing different parts of the city, old and new and partying late into the night, I felt a sense of emptiness. This just wasn't the Beijing I knew, the real Beijing. Yes I appreciate clean air and relatively efficient traffic as much as the next person, but to me its such critical issues that define China's economic development. Additionally, a number of areas I visited were stunningly quiet and devoid of action. While the example of my old neighborhood is probably a poor one (given that the Team USA was staying nearby). However, ordering food in a restaurant and being told it was not available along with a number of other dishes "due to the Olympics" and not seeing the usual action of construction, fruit sales and other activities on the sprawling Chinese capital's streets, both big and small, that I feel give it a certain character that I have grown accustomed to love were missing. Or I'm just sad that I couldn't buy DVDs.

That being said, the air hasn't been incredibly clean (it has by Beijing's standards); smog was still visible on some days, and traffic has been slow at times, despite the odd and even numbers rule, though far less congested than normal. While the Olympics were a success on most fronts and provided the moments of glorious victory, crushing defeat, controversy along with the spectacular (this is putting it mildly) shows and facilities, I'll be glad that the next time I travel to Beijing, it'll be back to normal, whatever that may be.