Beijing 2008 Update

[Hong Kongese]

Originally Posted by jlousa

Nah if I make it to the end of this century I'm sure that'll be enough to see current day North Korea hold the games.
I look forward to staying at the Ryugyong Hotel once it's completed.

I also wouldn't be suprised to see Cuba hold the games in my lifetime.

I can see Cuba hold the game, but N Korea? not a chance! At least not until the unification of the two Koreas!

[twoNeurons]

I can't help but wonder... if North Korea had oil... would it be like many middle eastern countries with despotic governments?

[mr.x]

A lot of athletes from quite a few nations will be apparently skipping out on Beijing's opening ceremonies because of air quality fears. Apparently, anything more than five or six days and athletes inevitably end up with some sort of respiratory problem. There are many sports who don't have to be there early, and the athletes that are in those sports are choosing not to go in that soon.

With Australia, most of its track and field athletes and triathletes will be skipping out.

From what I have heard, it'll be very much the same for Canadian athletes. This is going to be a very, very small march of athletes considering there is probably gonna be at least a 100 athletes missing from each of the big teams from Canada, Japan, Australia, Brazil, USA, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Russia.

[Hourglass]

not surprised at all. I'm in Beijing quite regularly, and the air quality leaves a lot to be desired. I was there for a couple of days last week, and the air quality on the first day was appalling. But it had mainly cleared away the next day. Guess it depends on the wind and atmospheric conditions. Major PR disaster would be to have a dust storm blow in from the Gobi Desert...

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Hourglass

not surprised at all. I'm in Beijing quite regularly, and the air quality leaves a lot to be desired. I was there for a couple of days last week, and the air quality on the first day was appalling. But it had mainly cleared away the next day. Guess it depends on the wind and atmospheric conditions. Major PR disaster would be to have a dust storm blow in from the Gobi Desert...

I've heard from a lot of people that pollution is disgusting around there. I don't think China should have been awarded the games, but here we are.

I'm not in favor of boycotts since they are so damaging to the athletes who have trained their whole lives, but I'd like to see countries boycott the opening and closing ceremonies.

[mr.x]

About a size of 800 U.S. guards (armed) may join Bush's trip to the OC of Beijing 2008.
Japanese News Agency reported.

It's comfirmed that the aim is to ensure the full safety of this great great American president from the potential attacks by Al Quada or Islamic extremists. This's quite a rare record in the history of White House.

There comes a spotlight and thousands of guns for him

[Urban Zombie]

^
You've got to hand it to the Americanos, sending Bush to the Olympics is a far more effective way to offend the Chinese than any boycott could ever do. I'm sure he's waiting with eager anticipation for the "Ninja event".

[204]

With less than six weeks before it plays host to the Olympic sailing regatta, the city of Qingdao has mobilized thousands of people and an armada of small boats to clean up an algae bloom that is choking large stretches of the coastline and threatening to impede the Olympic competition.

Local officials have initiated an all-out effort to clean up the algae by mid-July. Media reports estimate that as many as 20,000 people have either volunteered or been ordered to participate in the operation, while 1,000 boats are scooping algae out of the Yellow Sea. The official news agency, Xinhua, reported that algae currently covered a third of the coastal waters designated for the Olympic races.

Water quality has been a concern for the sailing events, given that many coastal Chinese cities dump untreated sewage into the sea. At the same time, rivers and tributaries emptying into coastal waters are often contaminated with high levels of nitrates from agricultural and industrial runoff. These nitrates contribute to the red tides of algae that often bloom along sections of China's coastline.

But officials in Qingdao said pollution and poor water quality did not have a "substantial link" to the current outbreak, according to Xinhua. Instead, scientists blamed the bloom on increased rainfall and warmer waters in the Yellow Sea. Algae are now blooming over more than 12,900 square kilometers, or 5,000 square miles, of the sea, according to Xinhua.
"We will make all our efforts to finish this job," said a propaganda official in Qingdao. "Now, forces from the entire province have become involved." He said ships and boats had been sent from two other coastal cities, Rizhao and Yantai, to help haul away the algae.



Workers cleaning up the algae bloom in Qingdao on June 24. The country's official news agency, Xinhua, has reported that algae covers a third of the coastal waters designated for the Olympic competition.

Read the rest

Copyright © 2008 the International Herald Tribune All rights reserved

[mr.x]

20,000 people have either volunteered or been ordered to participate in the operation

what????

[towerguy3]

can we expect choking conditions similar to the smoke over San Francisco now with all those wildfires?

[mr.x]

Friday, June 27, 2008

Beijing 2008 – Tourists, Where Are They?
Posted 11:24 am ET (GamesBids.com)

The Associated Press reports that Beijing’s summer tourism season has been slow, and hotels and travel agencies are blaming it on tightened visa rules and scarce tickets to Beijing Olympic events. According to the Associated Press some may be reluctant to book trips because “China’s authoritarian government seems more concerned with keeping out foreigners than welcoming them to the Games”.

Since China was awarded the 2008 Summer Games the hotel industry has more than doubled its five-and-four star hotels to 160 hotels.

Several hotel managers also cite soaring prices, which rose artificially when Beijing Olympic organizers reserved 70 per cent of the rooms at the city’s four and five-star hotels in 2005 and 2006. But several months ago organizers released thousands of rooms, dropping their room holdings to 40 per cent.

The average price of a five-star hotel in Beijing range from $560 to $1,150 per night, according to the tourism bureau, but some rates reported were as high as $2,000 per night during the Games. The average price of a four-star hotel is $325.

Also, the number of foreign visitors to Beijing in May dropped by 12.5 per cent from a year ago. The recent earthquake may account for some of the decrease. A slumping world economy, and alarming images of deadly rioting on March 14 in Tibet, followed by “chaotic” pro-Tibet protests on international legs of the torch relay may be other reasons for the decrease, reports the Associated Press.

Those homeowners hoping to lease their houses or apartments to tourists are also disappointed. A manager of a website aimed at overseas Olympic tourists said he had 200 units, but only 20 were reserved. The average price per unit is about $145.

Guo Lingmei, general manager of marketing for BTG Travel in Beijing said tourism will probably remain slow for the entire summer, blaming high hotel prices and difficulty in obtaining tickets to Olympic events.

Some five-star hotels will be in good shape during the Games because they secured reservations from Olympic sponsors of Olympic committee delegations, reports the Associated Press.

[towerguy3]

Tourists aren't coming here either. Americans are staying away from us

[giallo]

Originally Posted by mr.x2

Friday, June 27, 2008

Beijing 2008 – Tourists, Where Are They?
Posted 11:24 am ET (GamesBids.com)

The Associated Press reports that Beijing’s summer tourism season has been slow, and hotels and travel agencies are blaming it on tightened visa rules and scarce tickets to Beijing Olympic events. According to the Associated Press some may be reluctant to book trips because “China’s authoritarian government seems more concerned with keeping out foreigners than welcoming them to the Games”.

Since China was awarded the 2008 Summer Games the hotel industry has more than doubled its five-and-four star hotels to 160 hotels.

Several hotel managers also cite soaring prices, which rose artificially when Beijing Olympic organizers reserved 70 per cent of the rooms at the city’s four and five-star hotels in 2005 and 2006. But several months ago organizers released thousands of rooms, dropping their room holdings to 40 per cent.

The average price of a five-star hotel in Beijing range from $560 to $1,150 per night, according to the tourism bureau, but some rates reported were as high as $2,000 per night during the Games. The average price of a four-star hotel is $325.

Also, the number of foreign visitors to Beijing in May dropped by 12.5 per cent from a year ago. The recent earthquake may account for some of the decrease. A slumping world economy, and alarming images of deadly rioting on March 14 in Tibet, followed by “chaotic” pro-Tibet protests on international legs of the torch relay may be other reasons for the decrease, reports the Associated Press.

Those homeowners hoping to lease their houses or apartments to tourists are also disappointed. A manager of a website aimed at overseas Olympic tourists said he had 200 units, but only 20 were reserved. The average price per unit is about $145.

Guo Lingmei, general manager of marketing for BTG Travel in Beijing said tourism will probably remain slow for the entire summer, blaming high hotel prices and difficulty in obtaining tickets to Olympic events.

Some five-star hotels will be in good shape during the Games because they secured reservations from Olympic sponsors of Olympic committee delegations, reports the Associated Press.

Ha! I can only laugh at the whole situation. It just goes to show how out of touch Beijing is with the rest of the country and the world. Beijing isn't ready for this type of event. The only city I could see pulling it off is Shanghai, but there was no way Cpt. B was going to allow that.
I'm a direct result of the visa mess currently happening in China. I was going to stay in Vancouver until Aug. 2nd and then head back to SH and try and hit Beijing for the Olympics. Instead China blindsides over a third of China's foreign population with the cancellation of the F visa (business visa). Myself and thousands of others have decided to take a longer vacation home and avoid all of the hoops that we'd have to go through to make it back in to the country during the Olympics. Right there China isolated a very accessible and wealthy base that would have booked hotel rooms and bought tickets. I can't think of anyone still in SH that is going to attend. Whatever happened to the 'Welcoming the world to China' marketing scheme? Between the visas and inflated hotel prices, it all looks like a cash grab gone wrong.

[mr.x]

This is just motherfucking funny......NBC's new ad promotes BOTH "The Mummy Returns" and the Beijing 2008 Olympics together:

• Video Link

[mr.x]

From The Sunday Times
July 6, 2008

Smog in Beijing five times over safety limit as Olympics nears

Flora Bagenal

Pollution around the Olympic stadium in Beijing could be five times worse than levels deemed safe by the World Health Organisation.

Chinese officials admit they can no longer guarantee that the air quality will match international standards as pollution tests by The Sunday Times revealed the full extent of the challenge facing British athletes.

With just five weeks to go before the start of the Beijing Games, tests conducted outside the national stadium — known as the Bird’s Nest — and at Tiananmen Square, the starting point of the marathon, showed the air is thick with particulate pollution.

Even the Chinese government’s official air pollution index — which monitors a range of pollutants, including carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide — is running at double the level recommended by the WHO.

Du Shaozhong, deputy director of Beijing’s Environmental Protection Bureau, said: “We made a commitment to ensure air quality for the Olympic Games . . . as for whether we have reached the goal, that will be examined after the event.”

The British team is taking no chances and will train in Macau on the southern coast until the last minute to minimise athletes’ exposure to Beijing’s smog.

Haile Gebrselassie, the world’s leading long-distance runner, who suffers from asthma, has already pulled out of the marathon.

Last week The Sunday Times used an industrial hand-held air monitor to measure the number of particles in the atmosphere, which include car emissions and coal dust from factories. The particles are considered the biggest polluting factor.

The average reading at the stadium was 780,000 particles per litre of air. Even factoring in a 25% margin of error for humidity levels exaggerating the readings, this is more than five times the amount deemed safe by the WHO. The organisation considers 105,000 particles per litre of air a health risk.

Average readings at Tiananmen Square were lower — but still four times worse than the WHO standards when factoring in the humidity.

“Anything over 300,000 would be very worrying if you were using the same equipment in London,” said Professor Frank Kelly, a pollution expert at Kings College London.




This is how it looked yesterday after it rained:

[mr.x]

There's no comparison, but from what I've seen from sneaked pictures of the dress rehearsals of the Beijing Opening Ceremony, they are amazing....especially the fireworks:

[Smooth]

All those fireworks look like they'd be enough to cause Beijing's air quality to spiral out of control.

[Hong Kongese]

It's really really beautiful, thanks for sharing!

[mr.x]

^ did I mention that they're doing EIGHT rehearsals for the opening ceremony??? That's right, they're blowing up those fireworks eight times.





Factories asked to close to ease pollution during Beijing Olympics

Rujun Shen, Reuters
Published: Saturday, July 19, 2008

(Reuters) - With less than a month to go to the Olympics, Beijing and neighbouring provinces have asked polluting industries to shut or reduce production to clean the air for athletes, and to help offset a looming power shortage.

Polluters have been asked to shut or reduce production for two months beginning July 20.

Provinces across China anticipate electricity shortages this summer, as coal supplies tighten.

Rising power and other costs, combined with weaker-than-expected metals demand, have led some aluminium and small zinc smelters to announce voluntary output cuts of up to 10 percent from their expected production.

Below is a list of shutdowns due to take effect from July 20 unless otherwise stated:

BEIJING:

Shougang Steel Group, long Beijing's worst polluter, is relocating most operations to neighbouring Hebei Province. It will reduce steel output at its Beijing plant in the third quarter to 560,000 tonnes, down 50 percent from a year earlier.

All cement producers in Beijing will be shut, as well as over 200 quarries and lime producers.

Beijing Eastern Chemical Works will shut down.

Beijing Yanshan Petrochemical Group, four coal-fired power plants and 18 other heavy polluters will cut production to reduce emissions by 30 percent.

HEBEI:

The province has shut down plants that could not meet environment protection requirements ahead of the Games. As of July 7, the following annual capacity was shut:

Coke: 350,000 tonnes

Iron: 7.11 million tonnes

Steel: 5.58 million tonnes

Cement: 9.67 million tonnes

Small power generators: 745,000 kwh

INNER MONGOLIA:

More than 80 coal storage and sales institutes near Baita Airport in Hohhot, the provincial capital, have been closed. A further 100 have been ordered to improve.

Coal-fired power plants must use low-sulphur coal to reduce emissions. If air quality cannot meet standards, key pollutors will be ordered to shut.

TIANJIN

Two steel mills, one fertiliser company, one cement maker and a ferro-manganese smelter will close from July 25 to Sept. 20.

Two cement companies and a chemical plant will reduce production.

SHANXI:

Small coking plants have been ordered to shut.

Many small coal mines have been shut since mid-June, in the wake of a mine blast, and are likely to remain shut for the rest of the summer.

SHANDONG:

Shengli power plant, textile-to-aluminium conglomerate Weiqiao Pioneering Group, and 130 other companies that failed to meet emission standards in April would be asked to shut down during the Olympics if they are not able to improve.

Sources: Municipal and provincial governments, Xinhua, industry sources

(Editing by Lucy Hornby and Gill Murdoch)

[twoNeurons]

Wow! cool fireworks. Beijing is really applying a lot of Band-aid solutions to fix the air quality, isn't it?