Olympic Times – Sports Daily

The dream meet for athletes can be poison for economists. Many host countries of previous Olympics have faced economic slowdown after the Games following a growth burst in the run-up to the event. Is China going the same way?
Most economists and financial analysts tell China Business Weekly that the country doesn’t need to worry about a post-Olympic slowdown. A growing service industry and a maturing middle class will ensure continued growth. Besides, industries such as those related to environmental protection and renewable energy will generate new and solid investment opportunities.
So does China need to be afraid at all?
“My answer,” says Chen Jian, secretary-general of Beijing Olympic Economy Research Association, “is an absolute ‘no’.”
He points out that the so-called post-Olympic downturn, called “Valley Effect” or “V-low Effect” by experts, is mainly caused by a dramatic increase in investment in the pre-Olympics stage, accompanied by a boom in consumption and revenues. Investment and consumption shrink in the post-Olympic stage, which also comes with the heavy burden of maintenance cost for idle Games venues.
“However, these are impossible in China after 2008,” says Chen.
Seung Ho Park, president of non-profit Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI), says a short-term economic lull right after the Games is expected, but all countries recover thereafter.
“The host gets comprehensive benefits out of the event – in terms of national image, popular enthusiasm and living quality. We should not see it from the economic perspective only,” he says, citing Japan and South Korea as examples. Despite experiencing economic downturns immediately after the Olympics, they have evolved into two of the biggest economies in Asia thanks to the Games.

Investment momentum
One of the sponsors of the Beijing Games, Bank of China (BOC), has carried out a study of 12 sessions of the Games spanning 60 years. In nine of these 12 sessions, the hosts’ annual GDP growth in eight years after the Olympics was 0.4 to 2.5 percent lower that the eight years running up to the event, showing an economic slowdown after the mother of all sporting meets is commonplace.
Following the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and Seoul Olympics in 1988, Japanese and South Korean economies slowed by more than 2 percent on a year-on-year basis. Both nations had been enjoying double-digit growth in the run-up to the Olympics.
“Our analysis finds that the deceleration occurs largely in small nations,” says Zhu Min, vice-president of BOC, adding the effect of the Games on large nations has been relatively small.
Echoing Zhu, Zhao Jinping, researcher with Development Research Center of the State Council, says Beijing’s economy makes up 4 to 5 percent of China’s, while Tokyo and Seoul accounted for about 10 percent of Japan’s and South Korea’s economies.
“So even if Beijing grows at a relatively slower speed, China’s progress, in general, is unlikely to slow,” says Zhao.
China is also a huge market undergoing rapid development, so there are numerous investment opportunities in any case, such as infrastructure, energy, manufactures and services, which means an economic deceleration due to inadequate investment is an unlikely scenario.
In addition, China will host a series of international events and embark on mega projects right after the Olympics, which may further accelerate the economy. These include the 200 billion yuan Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, South-North Water Project, the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai and the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou.
Experts also predict that the Olympic Games will mark the beginning of a new chapter for China’s tertiary industry, involving tourism, finance, culture, exhibition, sports and real estate sectors. China’s service segment now contributes around 30 percent to the nation’s GDP, which is far behind the 65-75 percent in developed nations.
Zhao says the service industry can effectively increase job opportunities and enhance living standards. It will also greatly optimize the structure of China’s economy and facilitate sustainable and sound development.
Chen predicts the 2008 Olympics will also continue to benefit the country’s tourism industry for about a decade after the event. His association forecasts 600,000 foreigners will flood into the capital for the Games. Some 4.5 million foreign tourists are expected to come to Beijing this year, spending a total of $4.8 to $4.9 billion. That number is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 8 to 9 percent, meaning 5 million to 5.3 million foreign tourists may visit the capital in 2010, spending between $5.3 and $5.6 billion.

Tourism boost
Barcelona is a good example of how Olympics boosts tourism. The host city of the 1992 Games spent $7 billion to build its Olympic Center on a virgin beach and developed it into a tourism area, which has become a landmark resort for not only Spain but the entire Europe. The coastal city, which was ranked 16th in the Top Tourism European Cities list in 1992, jumped to the third position after the Games.
Many foreign service operators are confident of China’s post-Olympic opportunities. WPP CEO Sir Martine Sorrell declared during his trip to China in October that the advertisement and consulting giant would invest more in China even as some predicted a post-Olympic slowdown.
“WPP is well prepared to tackle the expected ‘bump’. The growth will carry on for a number of years,” he said. “Maybe others will disappear, get scared and leave, but it will only give us more scope.”
Experts say the Olympics do wonders for a nation’s image. “It is a chance to showcase China’s open, peaceful and transparent progress in all fields, which will enhance investors’ confidence in the nation,”says Chen.
SERI’s Park stresses that Olympics can provide local corporations a global platform. “It turned Sony, Honda, Korean Air and Samsung into global brands. Many Japanese and South Korean companies began to emerge in the world market following the Tokyo and Seoul Games,” says Park. He believes the Beijing Games will have a similar effect on Lenovo, China Mobile, Bank of China and Air China.
Take Yili for example. It’s the only dairy sponsor of the Beijing Olympics. “The Games is an opportunity for us to turn from a national to an international brand,” says Pan Gang, president of Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group. The company currently exports dairy products to 20 countries and regions.
Yili generated an operating revenue of 19.4 billion yuan last year, up 17.56 percent over 2006, with a net profit of 439 million yuan. Its 2008 target for operating revenue is 21.6 billion yuan and a net profit of 600 million yuan.
“We completed restructuring our products structure in the first half of 2007, with high-value and hi-tech products now accounting for 40 percent of Yili’s total operation,” says Pan, adding the Olympics sponsorship has prompted it to upgrade the product structure.

from: chinadaily.com.cn 

The Chinese capital will ban smoking in most public places starting from May 1 — a big step toward tobacco control in a nation of 350 million smokers.
The move will also meet China’s pledge of a smoke-free Olympics.
More than 150 Chinese cities already have limited restrictions in place, but the capital will be the first to ban smoking in all restaurants, offices and schools, English-language China Daily reported Monday.
Beijing has had some smoking restrictions since 1996, when the municipal government prohibited lighting up in large public venues such as schools, sports arenas and movie theaters.
The new rules, which were announced on Saturday, expand the scope to include restaurants, bars, Internet cafes, hotels, offices, holiday resorts and all indoor areas of medical facilities.
Hotels must also have rooms for non-smokers, but the ratio is still being discussed, said Cui Xiaobo, a renowned tobacco control expert who helped draft the new rule.
Institutions that fail to comply face immediate fines of up to 5,000 yuan (713 U.S. dollars), while it has not yet been decided how to deal with smokers breaking the new rule.
“There are proposals to fine individuals up to 200 yuan,” said Cui. “They won’t be fined for now, because some legislators insist the new rule contradicts a previous law.”
Cui added that more details on how caterers and bar owners should enforce the ban will be released soon.
Some restaurant owners, however, doubt the rule will be implemented.
For Chinese, smoking is part of a meal, said Zhao Yingqi, manager of Jingweilou Restaurant in the city’s downtown. His restaurant has about 20 non-smoking tables compared to the 400 plus tables with glass or steel ashtrays on each.
“It’s not a bad idea to have non-smoking restaurants,” said a 40-year-old smoker surnamed Xie who was dining at the restaurant. The majority of diners support the new rule, in line with national surveys last year.
Guo Xiaodong, boss of the first smoke-free restaurant in Beijing, said it is most important that caterers understand and abide by the rule.
Bars will also be forced to make changes. The rule requires smoking areas to be strictly segregated with clear signs.

from: chinadaily.com.cn 

Beijing Olympic sponsors are using their moment in the limelight to improve their corporate social responsibility (CSR) profiles.
The People’s Daily quoted International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacque Rogge as saying sponsors’ CSR undertakings have boosted their images worldwide.
Worldwide Olympic partner Samsung Electronics said CSR is one of the top reasons for its expansion in the Chinese market.
Since 2005, the South Korean company has contributed 9 million yuan ($1.23 million) toward building 45 primary schools in rural China.
In 2002, the firm also established a scholarship that has so far been awarded to more than 2,300 Chinese students.
In 2004, soft drinks giant Coca-Cola launched a poverty alleviation project to train 1,470 young farmers in areas such as toy production, mechanical repairs and bench work.
In 2003, General Electric employees showed their charitable sides by raising 240,000 yuan to help China combat SARS.
They also donated lighting equipment to flooded areas in Sichuan in 2004 and sent rice to the province during a 2006 drought.
Diversified minerals and metals company BHP Billiton has financed protection projects for the Great Wall, giant pandas and the environment in Lijiang, Yunnan province.
In 2006, Lenovo Group, the first Chinese company on the IOC’s TOP Partners list, started a campaign in 854 counties to promote the Olympic movement among more than 8 million people.

from: chinadaily.com.cn 

For the first time in the history of Beijing’s subway system, 24-hour subway service will be offered during the opening and closing days of the Beijing Olympic Games, subway corporation sources said.

The subway is expected to account for the bulk of passenger transportation on the Olympic opening day on August 8, 2008, when some 100,000 people are expected to attend the opening ceremony at the main stadium of the “Bird’s Nest,” which has a capacity of about 90,000. In addition, over 10,000 artists, security officers and other personnel will also need to evacuate the venue after the ceremony is over.

To ensure the timely exit of spectators, the subway will enter a “peak operation time” 30 minutes ahead of the windup of the opening and closing ceremonies, with a minimum interval of three minutes, sources were quoted by Xinhua as saying.

According to the Beijing Daily, the subway will extend its operating hours during the Olympic Games from August 8 to 24, and a “green passage” will be opened at subway stations for Olympic ticket-holding spectators, Games organizers and volunteers, who will be exempted from paying the two-yuan subway fee.

from: beijing2008.cn

Shandong province will be the first province to sell tickets for a new kind of sports lottery, the instant lottery, beginning on March 23.
The lottery will then go nationwide in May and June, China’s Sports Lottery Administration Center announced last week.
The Olympic-themed instant lottery has five varieties and features different themes such as “To be No 1″ and “Good luck to China”.
The lottery tickets display the Fuwas (the five Beijing Olympic mascots), Olympic game introductions and the Olympic torch relay route and other designs.
The face value of the tickets will range from 5 to 10 yuan.
Different from other sports lotteries, which give players a 50 percent chance of winning, the instant lottery will have a 65 percent prize-winning rate, with the top prize totalling 250,000 yuan ($34,965).
Buyers will have to go to designated places to cash in tickets worth more than 5,000 yuan.
Online operation will ensure the lottery selling remains open and fair, officials say.
In 2007, China’s total lottery sales exceeded 100 billion yuan, an increase of 18 billion yuan or 20 percent over 2006, setting a 20-year record in China’s lottery history.
China launched its first lottery in June 1987. Lottery ticket sales are one of the main sources of funding for building community sports facilities and financing the country’s social welfare programs. Lottery bylaws stipulate that a minimum of 35 percent of receipts must go to the welfare sector.
The sports lottery public welfare fund contributed 2.75 billion yuan to the Beijing Olympic Games.

from: chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-03/18/content_6544784.htm

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman voiced confidence on Tuesday that the country will host a clean and safe Olympics, Xinhua reported.

China is confident about safeguarding the environment and security conditions during the period when the Olympic Games are being held in Beijing, spokesman Qin Gang told the media at a routine press conference in Beijing.

In reply to a question about the upcoming Olympics, Qin said that the improvement of the capital’s environment not only served the needs of the Games, but also helped to carry out the scientific concept of development as well as to substantially improve the living standards of Beijing residents.

According to Qin, Beijing spent 120 billion yuan (16.9 billion U.S. dollars) in improving air quality in recent years. The number of “blue sky” days, or days with fairly good air quality, increased to 246 last year from 100 in 1998.

A coordination workshop was also established to help Beijing and its five neighboring municipalities and provinces initiate joint actions in a bid to ensure the air quality during the Games, Qin said.

The government believes the major pollution indices will meet national and World Health Organization criteria. China welcomes athletes from all over the world to participate in the Beijing Olympics, Qin said.

On security, Qin noted China’s attachment of great importance to relevant issues. The country has already formulated a strategic plan to ensure safety during the Games in accordance with International Olympic Committee (IOC) requirements.

“A security commanding system based on the experience of previous Games has also been put in place.”

Qin said China would continue to keep a close eye on and continue its efforts to improve security conditions during the Olympics. He emphasized that the country has the determination, confidence, and competence to ensure the safety and success of the Olympic Games.

from: beijing2008.cn

Beijing launched its first census of pollution sources for accurate statistics on Friday, amid a green drive to improve environment ahead of the Olympics.
The survey will cover 90,000 sources of pollution, among which 24,000 are industrial sources, 45,000 residential, 21,000 agricultural and 128 facilities for centralized treatment of pollutants, according to the city’s bureau of environmental protection.
Information collected from the census would help the government formulate policies and plans for environmental protection, said Zheng Jiang, vice director of Beijing’s environmental protection bureau.
Beijing authorities had identified the 90,000 sources through their registrations with the industrial and commercial administration and from an informal survey conducted earlier by the local government.
Local companies and institutions must provide accurate and detailed information about the control, discharge and treatment of pollutants, energy consumption and the use of fertilizer, pesticides and feedstuff.
“The success or failure of the census depends largely on whether the questionnaire is filled out truthfully and carefully,” Zheng said.
Those who fail to comply could be fined up to 50,000 yuan (US$7,000), he said.
The survey started at Beijing Electric Power Transmission and Transformation Company (BEPTTC) as well as Beijing Yanshan Petrochemical Co., Ltd (BYPC). Each of the two companies, based in Fangshan District, had to fill in a 58-page questionnaire due at the end of the April when the survey was expected to end.
BEPTTC was a source of sulfur dioxide, ammoniate and nitride, while BYPC mainly discharged waste water and exhaust gas.
The survey of residential pollution would not necessarily cover every household but would target larger polluters such as hotels, restaurants, hair salons and hospitals.
About 7,400 surveyors have been trained for the large-scale census.
The statistics would be publicized next year.
Beijing authorities said last month that major pollutants in Beijing were down and air quality in the city had improved for a ninth consecutive year, but experts warned that the government should prepare for a long and tough fight against air pollution, citing inhalable particles and ozone as major obstacles for Beijing to achieve its “Green Olympics” goal.
China started its first national census of pollution sources on February, focusing on industrial sources including metallurgy, chemistry, construction materials. power plants, paper-making, pharmaceuticals and mining.
The central government planned to finish data collection and analysis this year and approve the findings in the first half of 2009.

from: chinadaily.com.cn

Quoted prices for hotel stays in Beijing during the summer Olympics has jumped up by four to ten times higher than normal, said China’s biggest online booking provider Ctrip.com International Ltd.
The travel booking company said on Friday that its online hotel reservation data show that standard hotel rooms in four and five star-ranking hotels during the August Olympics have been nearly booked out.
“Only some 20 hotels in Beijing still have rooms available for reservations by foreign tourists during the period. However, mostly probably, only luxury suites are left for them to choose,” said Tang Xiaofeng, senior hotel business development manager of Ctrip.com.
The website provides updated hotel-room reservation information of 500 of Beijing’s total 800 star-ranking tourist hotels. Nationwide, it has links with 2,800 hotels.
A receptionist at the Jinlun Hotel, a four-star hotel seated by the side of Beijing’s east-west axis Chang’an Avenue said that all of the hotel rooms have been booked out during the Beijing Olympics with the daily price for a standard room quoted at 6,000 yuan (833 U.S. dollars), as compared to 1,008 yuan (140 U.S. dollars) at present.
Tang said that most hotels in Beijing require hotel bookers to pay full price in advance for staying during the event. Hotels would not refund the money if customers changed schedules or canceled reservations.
He said as hotel rooms in Beijing are getting hotter, many hotels only receive customers who prepare to stay longer than five days in August.
Beijing is gearing up to accommodate about 500,000 foreigners during the Games, along with huge numbers of domestic tourists.
Besides tourist hotels and public lodging houses and inns, Beijing will also provide 1,000 officially designated “Olympic Family Hotels” to accommodate the visitors. The cost of each “Olympic Family Hotel” is 50 to 80 dollars per night.
The Shanghai-based Ctrip.com also found the hotel price in Beijing Olympics’ co-host cities, such as Qingdao and Shenyang would rise by 30-40 percent during the event. The east China coast city of Qingdao, which is also a popular beachside resort city in summer, will see price rises of 50-100 percent higher than normal days during the Games.

from: xinhuanet.com

Restaurants, bars and nightclubs in one of Beijing’s main nightlife centers and celebrity hangouts are to be closed to help ensure security at an Olympic football venue, said authorities.
“About six restaurants and bars inside the Beijing Workers’ Stadium compound will be ordered to suspend operation for more than 20 days before and during the Olympic Games,” said He Zhenxing, stadium vice manager.
The venues, popular among Beijing residents, would suffer lost business, but the order was issued to guarantee security for the Games, he said.
“The stadium will not pay compensation to them, but may extend their leases or give preferential treatment after the Olympic Games,” he said.
Managers of the establishment said they had not received formal notification from the government, but said they would accept the order, although they felt “very unhappy” about it.
Most of the venues are still open, but some are carrying out renovations.
“More than 130 employees in my restaurant will be out of work during the suspension. If they don’t return after the Games, I will have to hire new hands and start over again,” said Zhang Youjing, manager of Youjingge Restaurant.
Zhang said his 700-square-meter restaurant had hosted celebrities, including David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Jacky Chan, and took 20 million yuan (2.7 million U.S. Dollars) in sales in 2004 when it opened.
“I really don’t know what it will look like after the Games,” he said, “I’m not a threat to the Olympic Games and I cannot resist the official order by any means. I only wish myself good luck,” he said.
The manager of Club Mix nightclub, surnamed Guo, said he would have no choice, but to obey the order. “We have almost 800 customers every night. More than 200 workers will stay at home on a minimum salaries during the closure.”
“The club was closed for two months when the stadium was being renovated last year, and every worker here earned 600 yuan a month while staying at home. All of them returned,” Guo said.
“The suspension during the Olympics would definitely hurt our profits, but I believe we can withstand that cost,” said Guo.
An Outback Steakhouse restaurant is still open and the chain manager said he was not much worried about the suspension. “Dozens of colleagues and I will sit it out and I guess our salaries will not drop sharply,” he said, without giving his name.
“If we need to pay a reasonable price for the Beijing Olympics, we are willing to do so,” he said.
Almost a dozen sports shops under the stands have been closed and moved out of the stadium since 2006 when the venue started renovation.
“At first, I planned to sue the stadium because the profits dropped sharply during the renovation, but I gave up after my lawyer’s mediation,” said Wang Zhongdong, manager of a shop selling golf equipment. “For a successful Olympics, I’m prepared to make a contribution.”
The stadium, which held the 2004 Asia Cup and four national games, will stage football during the Beijing Olympics. It covers 80,000 square meters with a holding capacity of 62,000 audiences.

from: chinadaily.com.cn 

Beijing Capital Airport is designating about 100,000 square meters of tarmac for Olympic Games and Paralympics charter flights to tackle the unprecedented travel rush.
The D section of the tarmac in the newly-completed Terminal 3 (T3), or one 10th of its total floor space, will be especially designated for the charters with 12 boarding gates during the Games, airport officials told a news conference here on Tuesday.
“We are well prepared and confident of ensuring convenient and comfortable services to passengers“, said Dong Zhiyi, the airport’s general manager.
He applauded the end of the four-year construction of the terminal, adding it manifested the great resolution and capabilities of China to deal with such an event.
When the world’s largest single terminal starts operation on Friday, the airport will have the capacity to carry 76 million passengers annually, against the present 36 million, he said.
The airport, China’s busiest, handled 53.47 million passengers last year, putting it among the world’s 10 busiest.
The Olympics, to be held in the Chinese capital in August, are expected to bring more passengers to the city.
A total of 26 airlines will use the new terminal. The first six — Sichuan Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Qatar Airways, Qantas Airways, British Airways and El Al Israel Airlines — will use the operations immediately.
Other carriers, including Air China and Lufthansa, will begin using the terminal on March 26.
The terminal, which started construction in March 2004, covers a floor space of 1 million square meters. The expansion, which cost 27 billion yuan (3.65 billion U.S. dollars), covers 1,467 hectares, 1.6 times larger than the former space.
The third runway became operational in October and greatly eased the traffic volume.
The present airport will see its passenger flow exceed 60 million this year, seven years earlier than anticipated, Yang Guoqing, China’s General Administration of Civil Aviation (CAAC) deputy head, said last month.

from: xinhuanet.com 

China has been making persistent efforts to help resolve the Darfur crisis, Chinese ambassador to Sudan Li Chengwen said on Saturday.
Li’s statement was in response to Steven Spielberg’s decision to withdraw as the Beijing Olympics’ artistic advisor by linking it to China’s ties with Sudan.
China is very concerned over the Darfur issue, Li said, and has been trying to help resolve it.
The Chinese government has been working closely with the UN to end the crisis in Sudan’s western region of Darfur through political means, he said.
On July 31 last year, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1769, authorizing the deployment of a UN and African Union (AU) “hybrid peacekeeping force” in Darfur, which was a breakthrough in the efforts to restore peace in the region.
China helped the Sudanese government, the UN and the AU reach a consensus on the “hybrid force”, he said. The negotiations were tough and “our efforts have been applauded by the international community“.
The Chinese government made some proposals for a peaceful settlement of the Darfur issue, too, and they were approved by various parties, Li said.
Moreover, last year when Sudan and the UN differed over the deployment of the “hybrid force”, China appointed veteran diplomat Liu Guijin as a special envoy on the issue. Liu visited Khartoum thrice to persuade the Sudanese government to accept the UN resolution.
Liu attended two peace talks on the Darfur issue, and kept traveling between the US and Africa – to major African countries, the UN and the AU offices, Arabian countries and the European Union – to facilitate communication and coordination among the parties involved in Darfur.
China has remained in constant touch with Sudan and held frequent discussions with its officials, but with full regard to its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Chinese government tries to ensure that the international community listens to Sudan’s concerns, and vice-versa.

Peace front
Beijing has taken active part in the “hybrid force’s” peacekeeping efforts in Darfur. In fact, its 140-member advanced contingent, which reached there in November, was the first UN peacekeeping group in the region.
In order to improve the humanitarian situation in Darfur, China has given 80 million yuan ($11 million) worth of aid to Darfur, $1.8 million to the AU, and $500,000 to the UN fund, set up for resolving the Darfur issue.
The Chinese government has also encouraged entrepreneurs to help in Darfur’s development. And many Chinese companies have already done so.
All these make it absolutely clear China has been playing its role in helping resolve the Darfur issue. Hence, it deserves objective and just treatment, Li said.

from: chinadaily.com.cn 

A senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) official dismissed worries over air pollution in Beijing and reaffirmed confidence that the local organizers will ensure healthy atmosphere for athletes and spectators during the 2008 Summer Olympics.
R. Kevan Gosper, Vice-Chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Beijing Games and an IOC member, said air quality had frequently been a concern in previous games but most were properly addressed.
“Ever since I’ve been on the IOC: in the 1984 Los Angeles games, we were worried about pollution because they had few public transport and most were motor cars, and at the 1988 Seoul Games we were also worried because it was an industrial city,” he said, adding that the similar worries emerged in the run up to the 2004 Athens games.
But he stressed that every time they found ways through the problems.
Gosper was in Beijing for the Swimming China Open, a debut tournament of the Water Cube, an iconic Olympic venue near the national stadium “Bird’s Nest”.
Describing the Water Cube as “breathtaking”, Gosper said Beijing was lucky to have the two flagship venues, and athletes from all over the world would also be lucky to compete here.
He said all preparations for the games had been going on smoothly, including measures to curb pollution.
“The Beijing authorities have been spending a lot of money on air quality, both as part of Beijing’s needs as well as the games’ needs,” said the Australian.
Statistics show that from 1998 to 2006, Beijing invested 120 billion yuan (about 16 billion U.S. dollars) to improve its environment, and in 2006 alone, the investment topped 25 billion yuan. The municipality has shut down pollutant-emitting factories, enhanced supervision for the construction sites, and is vigorously expanding its public transportation system.
The Olympics involves many parties, including the IOC, the international federations, the municipality, and the national Olympic committees, Gosper said.
“This is like a big ship with a lot of people work with hammers in their hands, or like an orchestra, and everyone knows the rule,” he said.
Just as Beijing has learnt from previous games like in Sydney and Athens, it will also have expertise to share with London, host of the 2012 Olympics, he added.

from: xinhuanet.com 

Tourism authorities here are looking for welcoming households to provide rooms for foreign visitors during the summer Olympics.
Xiong Yumei, deputy director of the Beijing Tourist Bureau, said that the bureau would recruit about 1,000 households as “Olympic Family Hotels” to increase the city’s guest room supply for the event. More than 500,000 overseas visitors are expected during the summer Games, with the largest daily inflow estimated at 300,000.
Xiong said that Beijing has 806 star-ranked hotels that have 130,000 rooms with 220,000 beds. Other lodging houses and inns have another 646,000 beds.
“The guest room supply may still fall short of demand, especially for hotels close to the sports venues,” said Xiong.
She said that the bureau would choose among households’ applications in March. “Families should own the apartments that they plan to offer and be able to provide foreign guests with spare rooms, good ventilation and sanitary conditions,” said Xiong. She added that at least one person in each household should be able to communicate in English.
Homestays are popular in Western countries but relatively new to China. Other requirements set by the Beijing Tourist Bureau include changing of bedding, appropriate dressing by household members and a willingness to help guests find their way around the city and the Games.
The charge for homestays will be US$50 to 80 per day, less than most hotels. Xiong said that the price might be adjusted to reflect market fluctuations.
The cost of a five-star hotel room during the Games is forecast to be about 2,960 yuan (US$411) per night. For four-star hotels, it is forecast at 2,320 yuan; for three-star rooms, 1,600 yuan and for two-star accommodations, 1,200 yuan.

from: chinadaily.com.cn 

In the run-up to the Olympics, Beijing wants more smoke-free hotel rooms and is planning to raise the proportion in each hotel to at least 70 percent.
Public opinion is sought by the Legislative Affairs Office of Beijing’s municipal government. Citizens in Beijing can put forward their opinions and suggestions on the Internet from January 21 till February 1.
The smoking ban will build on 1996 regulations and could be expanded to more public places including fitness centers and cultural relics sites, offices, meeting rooms, dining halls, toilets, aisles and lifts in buildings belonging to government or private institutions.
In addition, the outdoor smoking area should not be where the public has to pass through, says the new regulation, posted on the official website of the legislative affairs office (www.bjfzb.gov.cn).
However, fines are only planned to be small – up to 50 yuan (US$6.9), says the regulation.
As the host city for the August 8-24 Games, Beijing wants smoking bans in all hotels that provide services for athletes and other Games workers, and all competition venues and restaurants in the Olympic Village by June.
The city has also banned smoking in hospitals, schools, restaurants and other places.
From October 1 last year, Beijing banned smoking in the city’s 66,000 cabs, and imposed a fine of 100 yuan to 200 yuan (US$14 to 28) on drivers if caught smoking in cabs.
China has pledged non-smoking Olympics and Green Olympics, and this year’s event will be the first non-smoking Olympic Games after the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), of which China is a signatory, went into effect in 2005.
About 350 million people in China smoke, statistics from the Ministry of Health show. That is about 26 percent of the country’s population and a third of the world’s smoking population. About 1 million people die from smoking-related diseases each year.

from: chinadaily.com.cn 

The Beijing Electric Power Corporation has invested 221 million yuan to support 18 months of electric augmentation in its “0811″ electric network program. The company is currently examining its facilities and capabilities to ensure a smooth supply of electricity during the Olympic Games.
As the Beijing Games will begin in August, this coincides with the busy summer season, when city residents use the most electricity. The “0811″ program not only deals with this doubled responsibility, the modernized technology also helps to patch up leaks in the electric network. In 2005, the health of wire circuitry used to transfer electricity reached only 43.6 percent. Today, that number is 71 percent. Currently, Beijing’s electricity network is in the process of trying to keep up to speed with the needs of the city’s rapid development.
A representative from the Beijing Electric Power Corporation explained that the “0811″ program is geared towards satisfying the electricity needs of the Olympics, assuring a safe supply of electricity, and boosting the company’s capabilities of handling electric emergencies. The program has increased the life of Beijing’s energy circuits and greatly improved transference ability.
The “0811″ engineering project involves methods of directly transferring electricity to buildings, sites, competition venues, roads, and bridges that will be used for the Olympic Games.
The National Stadium (“Bird’s Nest”) and the International Broadcasting Center (IBC) have four avenues for electric delivery, while the “Water Cube” has three. All other important Olympic sites have at least two different sources for electricity. In the case that one path fails, the other will automatically kick in.
The electric grid running through the city has also been strengthened so as to ensure that even at very high temperatures, electricity will be delivered in a safe manner. With the improvements, when strong electric storms hit the city, there is a very small chance of electricity delivery disruption.
Currently, the city’s urban and rural electric reliability rates are 99.9382 percent and 99.79 percent, respectively. Obvious improvements have been made regarding electric service, as the average time for electric recovery within the city has dropped from around 8 hours to 5, and from 26 to 16 outside the urban areas.

from: beijing2008.cn 

Beijing’ acting mayor Guo Jinlong said Sunday the municipal government will work to contain housing price hike and provide low-rent housing for poor residents.
He said the government would strengthen the macro control on the property market, adjust land provision and keep a tight housing credit policy, among others, to achieve the goal.
The government would spend 2.9 billion yuan ($40 million) to build and purchase 500,000 square meters of houses and flats and rent them to low-income residents at affordable prices, he told about 770 lawmakers at the annual session of the legislature.
Beijing would also build a total of 7.5 million square meters of houses and flats with reasonable prices and sizes this year, as one of the measures to curb the price hike, Guo added.
The government planed to spend 580 million yuan to renovate the houses for 10,000 families that were in dangerous conditions.
The average property price in China’s 70 and medium-sized cities in December were up 10.5 percent from the same month of the previous year, while in Beijing it was up 17.5 percent, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) earlier this week.
Officials with the Ministry of Construction have criticized that some developers were only interested in building large-sized luxurious apartments for high profit.
Some development companies hoarded land and apartments or spread false information to create public fear for housing shortages so they could drive up prices, Vice Minister of Construction Qi Ji said.
Earlier this month, the State Council, China’s cabinet, made amendments to the Regulation on Administrative Punishment for Price Violations to allow more stringent penalties for illegal price manipulators.

Beijing’s acting mayor Guo Jinlong delivers a government work report during the opening ceremony of 13th Beijing People’s Congress in Beijing January 20, 2008.

The acting mayor also vowed to accomplish the preparations for the upcoming Olympic Games to a “high level”, partly by addressing the concerns on traffic jams and pollution.
He put the preparations on the top of the municipal government’s agenda for the year, saying “(We must) accomplish the preparations for the Olympic Games and provide services in high-level and high-caliber ways.”
Guo made the remarks while delivering a government work report to about 770 deputies to the city’s legislative body that kicked off its annual session on Sunday morning.
“Hosting the 2008 Olympic Games and Paralympics is a great event for the county, the people and the Chinese nation,” Guo said.
He urged the National Stadium, nick-named the “Bird’s Nest” due to the shape, and other venues and facilities to conclude construction according to schedule.
The expansion of the Beijing international airport and the Beijing South Railway would be completed this year, plus the construction of a subway linking the airport to the downtown and several other subways and expressways.
Guo said Beijing would enact the “strictest standards” for pollutant emission this year and curb the pollution by heavy trucks that work at night.
Beijing would also cooperate with neighboring provinces and cities in improving environment conditions.
However, he admitted that “the task to control pollution and traffic congestion is still arduous.”
The government needed to provide better public services and improve the management of the city, he said.

A 22.1 billion yuan investment has increased Beijing’s power supply by 33 percent to 68.9 million kilo-voltage amperes (kva) to meet peak demand during the Olympic Games in August.
“Seventy more above 110 kv transformer substations were added to the power grid, bringing the total to 337,” said Zhao Honglei, Beijing Municipal Electric Power Corporation spokesman, on Wednesday. “The maximum power supply was increased from 52 million kva to the current 68.9 million kva.”
In September 2006, Beijing invested 22.1 billion yuan (about 3 billion U.S. dollars) in upgrading its electricity networks. The project was completed on January 1.
“The power grid in Beijing is well equipped and able to resist heat, humidity, thunder and other extreme weather,” said Zhao. “It will ensure a safe and stable electricity supply for the Olympic stadiums.”
Zhao said the maximum power load during the Games is expected to hit a record 14.6 million kilowatts since the events coincide with the city’s peak power demand in summer.
Electricity demand in Beijing fluctuates with climate change and the city greatly relies on power imported from other areas.
Air-conditioning use is believed to be the main cause of rising consumption during summer.

from: xinhuanet.com 

A 7.7 million-yuan project to protect a 1,245m section of the Great Wall near Beijing was completed on Monday, the Beijing Daily reported.
The targeted section has been closed off to tourists for a long time. However, it rotted as a result of erosion and, especially, rain washout.
In 2007, the authorities of Yanqing County, where the Great Wall is located, used the money to restore the fallen parts and to build a waterproof layer on the surface of the section.
The project, the most expensive one since the implementation of the open door and reform policy in 1978, covered the 2,455m northern part of the Badaling section and an extension of 3,700m on both ends of the section. All these areas will continue to remain untouched by tourists. However, tourists can enjoy their new look from distant vantage points.
The Great Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage site, stretches for 6,700 km and traverses Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei and Liaoning. Its construction began some 24 centuries ago.

The Badaling section of the Great Wall (Photo credit: China Foto Press)

from: beijing2008.cn