Beijing insiders

CHina FOCUS asked Fiducia staff members from our Beijing office about Their OPINION ON THE olympics AND HOW liFE IN bEIJING HAS CHANGED.

 

China Focus (CF): Are you excited about the Olympics coming to Beijing?
Helen Gui (HG): Yes, very much! It will be a big party for people from different countries all over the world.
Arista Yang (ARY): I am very excited because I think it is a very good thing to let everyone know about our city. I am very proud of Beijing.
Lisa Shang (LS): I'm actually not that excited about it. Since 1997, we have had a life full of Olympic Games. Everyday, there have been news about the Olympic Games on TV, in the papers, everywhere. Maybe I'm not excited anymore because it has become a part of my life and that of all people in Beijing.
Howlet Sun (HS): Of course I'm excited. I'm Chinese!

 

Lisa Shang, Helen Gui, Arista Yang (from left to right)

 

CF: What are you mostly looking forward to about the Games?
ARY: Since it is my home team, I hope that the Chinese will win the most gold medals. China got good results before these Olympic Games but we should really be Number One this time.
HG: My favourite competition is the Basketball tournament. I am looking forward to watching Yao Ming and the whole team play. I think the Chinese have best chances to win gold medals in disciplines such as badminton, table tennis, weight lifting or diving. And of course, Liu Xiang is our hope for the hurdle sprint. In terms of organisation, I hope for a safe and smooth running of the Games.
Jean-Marie Schloemer (JS): Just having all these different people coming to Beijing is what I look forward to. I think it will be quite exciting to be able to witness that.

 

CF: Have the Olympics made Beijing a better place to live?
LS: Yes. I think because of the Olympics, the local government made a lot of improvements, for example, trying to tackle the pollution issue. They added lots of greenery and made the city cleaner than before which I think brings a lot of pride to Beijing. On a personal level, the changes in transportation have improved my life, particularly the new subway lines. Since last week, there is a subway station near Fiducia's Beijing office in the Landmark Tower, so now it is much more convenient for me to travel to and from work every day.
HG: Due to government's initiatives and the efforts to manage traffic, there are fewer cars on the streets now. For example, from July 20 onwards, cars can only be used every other day, depending on whether the figure on their number plate is even or odd. Also, public transport is very affordable. You can travel around the whole of Beijing by subway for RMB 2 or by bus for RMB 0.4. The cleanliness and management of taxis has definitely improved, too. And another good development is that Beijing is getting more international now. Two years ago you couldn't see many signs in English, now there is a lot of bi-lingual signage. Also, the taxi drivers or shop assistants are trying to improve their English to be able to welcome the foreign visitors to China. In general, people are very co-operative and try to follow the government's initiatives.

 

CF: What changes have you noticed in Beijing over the last couple of years during the lead-up to the Olympics?
JS: I think people are going to be positively surprised of Beijing. The city is really quite beautiful now. When I went out on the weekend, there was shining blue sky and flowers everywhere. And you can see volunteers at every corner. Some are walking around, some are standing in booths and there are also these old ladies from the neighbourhood committee. Everybody seems to look forward to the Games.
HG: There has been a lot of change in the cityscape as well as all the new sports facilities. But the biggest change is what I would call self-awareness amongst the Chinese people. People in Beijing are very proud that the Olympics will be hosted here and care a lot about our image and how the Games, the city and the whole country will be perceived over the next few weeks.
HS: The traffic here has changed a lot ¨C I love it. There are more subway lines and some air-conditioned buses now. There are still too many people for my liking so I bought a bike and I ride it everyday to the office. But in general, I think the traffic situation has improved.
ARY: People's civil behaviour has improved, too. Before there was no order and no control, everything was unorganized. For example, if you took the bus, everyone would jump the queue to get on. Now people stand in line and get on the bus one by one. I have also noticed some changes in regard to the environment. The government is now checking the emission levels on cars every six or twelve months. Every day on the weather report on Beijing TV, we also get informed about the air quality. On some days, the air quality is excellent and on other days it's not so great, but now we always have a figure for that. I think the government is trying hard to fix the problem of pollution.

 

CF: Do you think Beijing is ready for the Olympics?
HG: Yes and no. All the sports facilities and stadiums have be finished. In terms of accommodation, we might be even too ready. Everybody was talking about this huge run for hotels and that room prices would soar due to undersupply. As far as I can tell right now, there is still plenty of accommodation available.
LS: I think so. They've prepared for about 10 years. As a local person, you can feel the changes everyday. In the last several years before the Olympics, Beijing was a bit of a mess. Lots of buildings were going up everywhere ¨C the city was like a big factory and the air was not clean. When you went out on the street, you didn't feel clean. But now that all the projects are finished everything has improved a lot. People can easily learn a lot about the special local culture of Beijing.

 

CF: Have you found the new security measures a disruption in your daily life?
HG: Not really. There are scanners at every subway station where people are getting checked and also there are no more bins in the stations in order to prevent terrorist attacks. But apart from these little inconveniences, people see the bigger picture; they want to have a smooth running of the Olympic Games in Beijing.
ARY: I think the new security measures are a must because the Olympics are a very important time for Beijing. We will relax and support them with what needs to be done because it is really important that the Games go well.
LS: We should have security measures since they are only installed to guarantee our safety during the Olympics.

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