Yin and yang, but Beijing needs to square the circle

Jacquelin Magnay
February 10, 2007

THE near-enclosed oval roof of the Beijing Olympic Games main stadium - the "Bird's Nest" - has given organisers an architectural headache. Just where is the cauldron to light the Olympic flame going to go?

At the Beijing Municipality's Planning Commission, there is a swish video that takes visitors on a sweeping history lesson of the city that includes a futuristic impression of a finished stadium, superimposed with laser-beamed sporting images onto the seating. Curiously, the filmmakers have included an inventive solution for the lighting ceremony: flying the flame on a large, soaring kite attached to the roof of the stadium.

Less interestingly, the organisers had been toying with a more traditional cauldron in the middle of the Olympic Green precinct. Insiders say that idea was shelved a few months ago. They could, of course, have the flame spewing from a dragon, or even - given the plans to give the stadium a red glow - use the Bird's Nest itself as the cauldron. Whatever is chosen, it will be a combination of an ancient idea, modelled with a high-tech twist.

Westerners love the Bird's Nest but the Chinese are ambivalent about its extravagant look. The soaring stadium is nearing completion and is one half of the "yin and yang" elements of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

If the round stadium is the fire, or the yin, the yang is the Sydney-designed square aquatic centre, dubbed "the Water Cube" and located directly south of the stadium. Westerners think the Water Cube is pretty special, but the Chinese have universally fallen in love with it. Certainly, they believe the Water Cube is more "Chinese" than the stadium, which is sometimes compared to a very expensive toilet seat.

Symbols and their meanings are very important to the Chinese. For instance, this Chinese New Year is the year of the golden pig (as it is both the year of the pig coinciding with the metal element) and as such will bring great prosperity and good fortune to any child born in 2007. Which is why Chinese hospitals are gearing up for an escalation of the birth rate.

There is nothing resembling a pig or gold in the water cube, but it does have a moat surrounding it, which reflects the water surrounding the Forbidden City, and it is based on a square of 177m in length and width and located on the significant north-south axis line, which runs through Tiananmen Square.

The local support is a big tick of approval for Sydney's PTW architects. Practice director John Pauline said the idea of having translucent bubbles inside and outside the aquatic centre will bring a new dimension to Olympic venue planning in the future. He said the idea was to develop the aquatic centre for the Chinese to use over the next 20 years and adapt that to the Olympics. As such, the Water Cube will become a leisure centre after the Games.

As to the dramatically different look of the venue, Pauline said it came about collaboratively with the Sydney designers and three invited Chinese architects: "The idea was always going to be about water, and the idea of bubbles and foam was always there, although originally we were looking at a curvy shape … It was the Chinese who said, 'Change the shape because the square has strong roots in Chinese culture'." So the Water Cube was born, its baby blue hue contrasting with the stadium red.

The Water Cube was originally supposed to be built 100m further south but archaeologists found Han Dynasty tombs on the site dating back 2000 years. Planners thought they wouldn't find much during excavation because the Olympic Green was situated outside the traditional Beijing boundaries during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties (from 1279 to 1644).

Above ground there will be references to these tombs for Olympic visitors to view. There is also a wooden temple dedicated to a Taoist goddess and another Ming dynasty temple for the "dragon god of rivers" opposite the athletes' village.

So there is the old (the earth and the wood) and the new (the fire and water) alongside each other within the Olympic Green, with just one element in Chinese philosophy - the metal, or the cauldron - still to find a home.
www.smh.com.au

Beijing to close 111 roads for firecrackers on eve of Spring Festival

Beijing citizens in the 122 residential quarters will have half an hour to set off firecrackers on the roads and squares outside their quarters on the eve of this year's Spring Festival which falls on February 18, said an official with the Beijing municipal government today.
Beijing vice mayor Lu Hao, made the above remarks at a meeting on firecrackers management, adding that the 111 roads and five squares around the residential quarters will be closed for 30 minutes at midnight.
More than 200,000 police and security workers will be mobilized to patrol the streets of the capital around-the-clock during the Spring Festival period to watch out for firecracker accidents.
Beijing lifted a 12-year ban on firecrackers in 2005. With the fifth ring road as the dividing line, the whole city is divided into firecracker areas and forbidden areas.
However, the ban remains strict in areas around culture heritages, stations, airports and hospitals. There are about 30,000 firecracker forbidden areas and spots during the Spring Festival
Chinese usually ignite firecrackers and burn incense during
traditional Chinese festivals, especially the Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, to expect good luck for the coming year.
Firecrackers were banned in 1993 in Beijing because they were believed to cause environmental and safety problems.

Guggenheim mulls museum project in Beijing

Reuters
Friday, February 9, 2007; 12:58 AM

BEIJING, Feb 9 (Reuters Life!) - The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is considering developing a museum project in Beijing, its director said on Friday during a visit to China.

The foundation is looking at several possibilities, including a five-year museum collaboration that could be located at a converted factory adjacent to Beijing's 798 art district, said Thomas Krens, director of the New York based foundation.

Other possibilities could include cooperation with Chinese government bodies along the lines of an existing partnership with the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

On Saturday, the Guggenheim premiers in Beijing an exhibition of 130 works of American art, from the Colonial era through contemporary art. The exhibition will travel to Shanghai in May and June.

The foundation said in July that it would build a museum in the Arab Gulf city of Abu Dhabi, to be designed by Frank Gehry. It already has museums in New York, Bilbao, Spain, Venice, Berlin, and Las Vegas.

The Parisian modern art museum, the Pompidou Centre, plans to open an annex in Shanghai by 2010, its president said in a January interview with French newspaper Le Monde.
 

washingtonpost.com

End of era as Beijing polluter leaves town

By Lucy Hornby
BEIJING, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Beijing's worst polluter, the Shougang Iron and Steel Group, is packing up and leaving Beijing to help clear the air for the Olympic Games in 2008.
The city has pledged to clean up its polluted air and restore its once-legendary blue skies in time for the games, China's coming-out party to the world. It is spending billions to clear plants like Shougang's from the capital.
But the departure of Beijing's greatest industrial icon is also the end of an era, and the human toll may rival the financial cost.
Only about 10,000 of Shougang's 82,500 workers will be employed at new plants. Many of the others face early retirement, and most haven't been told where they will be placed.
China's state-owned heavy industries provided housing and clinics for workers, schools for their children, and pensions for retirees. Most even had a company newspaper.
Now, the cradle-to-grave system known as the iron rice bowl is being dismantled.
"At first it was hard to accept, but now people have gotten used to the idea," said Yue Wenhui, plant manager at a furnace that will shut later this year. He does not yet know if he will have work at one the new facilities.
"It's up to the leaders to decide how we are arranged. Of course, I am pretty eager to be sent to Caofeidian because it will give me a chance to work with the newest stuff."
Shougang is building a new, state of the art plant at Caofeidian on the nearby coast, and has already begun operations at another campus in neighbouring Hebei Province.
White collar workers will mostly stay in Beijing, while blue collar workers will shuttle out to work for several days at a time at the new plants.
Their families will stay in Beijing, where schools and jobs are better and where retirees can chat in the sun with coworkers they've known for a lifetime.
CLEANING UP
Shougang is China's sixth-largest steelmaker, and its vast campus to the west of China's capital belch thick smoke and a evil smell.
China's cities are cloaked in pollution so heavy it whites out the sky and dims the sun. Its rivers have long stretches of dead water, and millions of Chinese suffer from lung diseases, birth defects and other effects of a poisonous environment.
Planners are toying with the idea of shutting all factories near Beijing for two months before and during the Olympics, to ensure the city shines. Shougang will have shuttered most, but not all, of its Beijing facilities by 2008.
Shougang has already closed some of its worst-polluting plants -- including the hulking blast furnace No. 5, which was built in 1959 at the height of China's Great Leap Forward, when Chairman Mao mobilized his country to industrialize as fast as possible. It roared continuously until mid 2005 .
"Yearn for Blast Furnace No. 5, Wave to the Future," says a sign commemorating its final day of operation.
In moving to new locations, Shougang will also upgrade its plants to be more energy efficient, use less water and emit less pollution. At the same time, it will produce more higher grade steel and less of the cheap construction steel that has glutted China's market.
Shougang will spend 60 billion yuan on the Caofeidian portion of its move alone. It will get a tax holiday during the transfer.
It will develop its old campus into a massive real estate project. The steel mill's small lake and nearby mountains will make the site well sought-after, said Tang Danping of Shougang's environmental department.
"I believe that in a short while, this place will become one of Beijing's top leisure and recreation spots," Tang said. He laughed uncomfortably and shook his head when asked if he has ever eaten the fish in the lake.
Mechanic Song Baoshen said he didn't know where he could get a job if Shougang doesn't keep him on. But he brightened at the hope of moving to the new plant at Caofeidian.
"I hear it's by the ocean. The air will be fresh there."

guardian.co.uk

[Feature] Beijing Olympics herald a return to China’s powerful past

Beijing radiates outward from the Forbidden City. To the south of the ancient palace spreads Tiananmen Square, whose courtyard the Emperor would gaze across. Atop the hillock to the North is Beihai Park. Though the city's area is ten times larger than that of Seoul and 17 million people reside within its tenuous boundaries, the cityscape is visible in its entirety from Beihai Park, due to the flatness of the metropolis.

To the east of the Forbidden City is a line of skyscrapers, reminiscent of New York's. Beijing's other monuments - its huge tower cranes - are also a sight to behold. High-rise buildings, including some 110 hotels, are under construction in every direction. The work continues 24 hours a day and, as a result, buildings spring up overnight. Beijing has devoted some $US30 billion to the building of structures for the 2008 Olympics and the general improvement of the environment. There are many roads making concentric circles around the Forbidden City. Construction is in full swing between the two outermost roads. Such will be the scene of the "Olympic Town" to be used for the opening ceremonies on August 29, 2008.

Chinese authorities will use the Beijing Olympics to promote Chinese culture and technology abroad as well as to celebrate national character within the country. Last year, China conducted a "practice drill" of sorts for the Olympics at the China-Africa Forum, at which the presidents of 35 developing African nations were present. Chinese authorities mobilized 810,000 police, public officials, and retired party members to maintain peace and order as well as to control traffic. In order to quell congestion problems in the city center, government workers handed over their car keys for the duration of the forum and got around on foot. Thanks to such efforts, the city streets were as quiet as they would be on a holiday. After the festivities ended, the government thanked the people for their "voluntary cooperation" via mobile phone text message.

However, the goals of winning the most medals and smoothly running the Olympics are but minor aims in China's grand scheme. Indeed, China's true hope is to prove to all that it is, indeed, the center of the world, as its traditional name of "Middle Country" suggests. This is seen in the ambitious plans to send the Olympic Torch to Beijing only after bringing it to the top of the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest in the Himalayas. They are preparing special equipment for the torchbearer to endure the oxygen deprivation and fierce cold of the summit.

Since the reforms of 1978, China has achieved an average annual growth of nearly 10 percent. It has the fourth largest GDP, and holds over $US1 trillion in foreign reserves. That said, China's GDP last year of $2.7 billion was one-fifth that of the United States, and though China produces 70 percent of the world's watches, they only earn 10 percent of the total profits that the timepieces bring in. Internally, they must face such problems as excessive investments, the impoverishment of the rural sector, and wealth polarization.

Even so, self-confidence accrued from unprecedented economic growth has combined with a sense of traditional pride. Yan Xeutong, director of Tsinghua University's Institute fo International Studies said, "There is definitely a goal of attaining economic superiority, and thanks to China's management abilities, growth in quantity and quality will continue."

A Beijing taxi driver said, "China is big, so the results of this Olympics will be greater than those achieved through the Seoul Olympics."

Park Seung-ho, the chief of the Samsung Economic Research Institute in Beijing said that "the potential of the domestic market, the improvement in policies, and economic utilitarianism all present reasons for optimism. Recently, pessimistic voices have become as loud as the optimistic ones, but we think that the authorities will be able to effectively manage things."

Last year, the government-run CCTV broadcast and released on DVD a popular television show titled, "The Rise of Great Nations," which reawakened the Chinese people's belief in their nation's centrality among the countries of the world. In analyzing the rise and fall of nine great historical powers, including the Netherlands, England, and the U.S., the television show was seen as a declaration to the Chinese people that their nation would also travel down the path of greatness. Furthermore, it conveyed the message that a national strategy for achieving elite status had already been determined. Many viewers spoke of a common perception that, although not explicitly indicated by the drama, China would be the tenth nation to ascend to greatness. Tsinghua University's Yan Xeutong said, "Chinese people saw the message of that TV show as an all-too natural conclusion. This type of thought began long ago, as witnessed in the Han, Tang, Ming, and Qing empires. If they do not become the strongest nation, they will hold their leaders to blame." Professor Kenneth Lieberthal of the University of Michigan spoke in an interview with TIME of a new sense of Chinese self-confidence, of a belief that the 21st century belongs to China.

CCTV frequently broadcasts stories regarding Iraq and Iran. There are few people as interested in global events and trends as are the Chinese. While China on the one hand promotes economic integration through ASEAN, it also invests in Central Asia and Africa, as well as Latin and South America, thus spreading its economic influence. The tenet of Sinocentrism underlies all of these endeavors. Many Chinese believe that their race and culture are superior, and that China belongs at the center of world affairs. Such a belief was present 200 years ago, as well, when Chinese bragged of being at the heart of the world, and that the world's center could be found within the walls of the Forbidden City. Thus, many feel now that their current prosperity is a resumption of their traditional power, which was "briefly interrupted." As Yan Xeutong said, "the Chinese do not think that they are pursuing something new and unfounded, but are rather recovering something that belongs to them."

The current Chinese leadership is fulfilling the late Deng Xiaoping's words, to "exclusively focus on economic development for 100 years." Though economic development may plant dreams of democratization and threaten the Communist Party, if the Communist Party is to stay in power, it has no choice but to carry out development plans. The Communist Party has drafted detailed plans to carry out their country's development, and is currently implementing reforms to provide the locomotion to propel such growth. After all, economic growth is the common goal of all.

Immanuel Wallerstein of Yale University asserted that the decline of U.S. hegemony, which began after the Vietnam War, has accelerated in the wake of 9/11. He argues that ruling powers are focusing on military might, while the nations that will succeed them in power are instead focusing on economic matters. Wang Jisi, Dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University said, "America's soft power is declining rapidly, and international political multi-polarity is inevitable." It would seem that Wallerstein's assertions are indeed proving true.

Though the Chinese speak of peace and harmony, China has always treated as friends those who cooperate with its will, and those who rebel as enemies. Sinocentrism will one day play a greater role in Chinese foreign relations. The Beijing Olympics will not be remembered as a signal of China's new rise so much as festivities marking the restoration of the Chinese empire. In effect, in relation to developing domestic conditions, the flame of Chinese nationalism will begin to burn brighter.

source: english.hani.co.kr

PIA set to add an additional flight on Islamabad-Beijing sector

BEIJING, FEB 8 (APP) - All is set to start an additional direct flight from Islamabad to Beijing at the end of the current month.
The Country Manager, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Syed Ashaq Hussain  while talking to APP said that the additional flight will help cope the ever increasing passenger load on this sector.
He said that all formalities to launch the third flights have been completed and at present arrangements for the accommodation of  flight crews and flight schedule is being finalised.
"By all means, the third flight between Islamabad and Beijing will be operational by the end of February," he said.
He said,  "there is a great potential here for the PIA and we want to tape the ever increasing air travel market."
The national flag carrier is at present operating twice-a-week flights on Karachi-Islamabad-Beijing-Tokyo sector.
The new flight will originate from Islamabad for Beijing and will return to federal capital the same day, he said.
The additional flight will also help in big way to promote tourism in Pakistan, as well as provide opportunities to the Chinese tourists to take part in "2007 Visit Pakistan" year in a large number. 

www.app.com.pk

Beijing temps hit 30-year high

BEIJING, China (AP) -- The weather in China's capital has been unseasonably warm with temperatures hitting a 30-year high, state media said Tuesday amid concern over the country's soaring greenhouse-gas emissions.

The ice on Beijing's frozen Shichahai Lake is nearly half as thick as last year, averaging 5-12 cm due to a warmer winter.

 

China, already the world's largest producer and consumer of coal, is expected to surpass the United States as the world's largest greenhouse-gas emitter in the next decade.

The China Daily newspaper said Beijing's temperature hit 12.8 degrees Celsius on Saturday -- a 30-year high for the date -- prompting an early spring, with frozen lakes melting and trees blooming.

Beijing is trying to promote conservation, but the government is reluctant to adopt binding emissions limits, arguing that its people are too poor and its companies lack technology to set stringent goals.

China was expected to release a progress report later Tuesday on its efforts to deal with climate change.

A separate report released last month said climate change will harm China's ecology and economy in the coming decades, possibly causing large drops in agricultural output.

The report said Chinese experts have projected that in the latter half of this century production of wheat, corn and rice in China will drop by as much as 37 percent, and that the country's average temperatures would rise by 2 or 3 degrees Celsius in the next 50 to 80 years.

It also said evaporation rates for some inland rivers would increase by 15 percent. China already faces a severe water shortage, especially in the northern part of the country.

Beijing to build Olympic boulevard

(CRI) Updated: 2007-02-05 09:46
The 2008 Olympic Games winners will be asked to leave their handprint or footprint on the 1.3 kilometer long Olympic Boulevard, Beijing plans to build in 2007.

The blueprint of Beijing Olympic Boulevard.

Vice Director of Beijing Municipal Develop and Reform Commission, Wang Haiping, said the 200-meter wide boulevard will stretch from Huandao Road on the North Fourth Ring Road to the south gate of the Olympic Park.

The construction will cost around 120 million yuan (15 million U.S. dollars).

The design of the boulevard will conform with the environment-friendly, humanistic ideals of the Beijing Games.

The road and footpath will be constructed from absorbent and skid-resistant material, while energy-saving lights will line both sides of the street. Two fountain squares at the beginning and end of the boulevard will provide the public will an ideal place to rest and relax. In addition, ten sports sculptures will continue the Olympic theme throughout the boulevard.

Like the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Olympic boulevard will contain handprints and footprints from the 2008 Olympic champions.

Spain : Zara opens first store in Beijing

February 5, 2007

The Inditex Group opens its first Zara store in Beijing, located at The Place shopping mall. The store has more than 1,500 sqm of retail space spread over two floors. Direct street access to the store opens in an impressive façade, designed to give an original character in accordance with the prominent location in one of the most relevant Asian cities.

The main access leads to the store ground floor, entirely dedicated to women wear. First floor, with independent access from the shopping mall interior, is occupied by men and kids wear sections. The Zara's architectural team has applied to this store the latest Zara's image and layout conceived for the most recent openings worldwide.

With this launching in Beijing, Inditex takes a step forward in its expansion in China. Zara opened its first store in this country in May 2004 at the IFC mall, Hong Kong, where it now has five stores. In February 2006 the first store was launched in Shanghai, in Nanjing Xi Lu, followed by a second one in this city located at Times Square mall.

The Inditex Group is present in 64 markets in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, with upwards of 3,100 stores. In the Asia-Pacific area, Inditex is present with 59 stores in China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
fibre2fashion.com

country loving - Sexy Beijing