2008 Beijing Olympics: Scenes from Tiananmen Square

Yesterday, on 8/7/2008 - 1 day before the opening ceremonies, I took a stroll along Wangfujing (王府井), Tiananmen Square (天安门广场). Here are some of the things I saw:

Tons of media from all over the world, interviewing, shooting, performing. This group is interviewing artists in 798.

This group is interviewing Olympic Volunteers.

Young, Middle-Aged and Old people - All supporting the Olympics


Security going in and out of Tiananmen Square


T-Minus 1 day 2 hours 41 minutes and 8 seconds till the opening ceremonies

The scene at Tiananmen Square

2008 Beijing Olympics: Hotel Price Rollercoaster

One of the more interesting aspects of the Beijing 2008 Olympics has been the evolution of the price of hotels and different types of accommodations.

In July 2007, I was working with a few different Chinese universities in Beijing on a summer camp for American teenagers. When asking about the possible cost of the basic university dorms during the Olympics, the managers and deans all stated that none of the hotels could give us an accurate price. These hotels (about 2 star level) usually cost around 30 USD per night for a double room. It seemed like all of the different universities were preparing for a huge increase in price due to anticipating huge crowds for the Olympics.

During the same time, all of the major 4 and 5 star hotels in Beijing were preparing for the same surge – of price and of tourists interested in the Olympics.

Fast forward a year and the Olympics are upon us. The prices have quadrupled across the board. No matter if it is the cheapest hostels, the 5 star hotels or everything in between. My friend was planning of traveling in Beijing during this time for 2 days. The price for Leo Hostel in Beijing is 550RMB or almost 80USD for a single room. Dorm rooms with 8 people cost 40 USD. Typical hotels costing 50 USD are now asking for 200. This is amazing.


At the same time, a combination of factors has changed the scope of the Olympics with respect to visitors.

1. The increased regulations of visa applications have made it much more difficult for foreign visitors to participate in the festivities.

2. Due to the same visa issues, many westerners already in China have left. One friend told me that 80% of all foreigners have left China in the past 6 months. I don’t really believe the ratio is truly that high, but its definitely true. Many friends and friends of friends in Shenzhen and Guangzhou have left.

3. Recent terrorist attacks in Xinjiang province have forced the government to increase security measures. Not only has this possibly affected foreign tourists, but many Chinese tourists have stayed away from Beijing.

“They’ve even mobilized surface to air missile defense systems around Beijing. You know if something happens, it’s going to be in Beijing.” – My Aunt

Combine these reasons with protests from some European heads of states, the Tibetan issue and the Sichuan earthquake, the amount of foreign tourists at the Beijing Olympics are drastically less than the 500,000 previously expected. As The Times of India reports:

People connected to the travel industry were expecting a flood of visitors coming to Beijing two weeks before the Games.

Instead, there is a small trickle of visitors just three days before the start of the Games apart from the athletes and sports officials from different participating countries.The arrival lounges at the Beijing airport, including the recently opened Terminal 3, are not at all as crowded as one would expect at the airport of a city hosting the world's biggest sports event.

Though exact numbers are not available, most observers feel there are lesser foreign tourists seen at Beijing's airport on a given day now than what was visible few months back.

Without the amount of foreigners expected, many of the hotels have changed pulled back on their previously ridiculous rates. Although rates are still higher than before, they are much more "reasonable".

"I am getting very low price quotations from three-star hotels. They are ready to sell rooms at nearly half the price they were asking for two weeks back. Lot of hotels are losing hopes of 100 per cent occupancy during the 16 days of the Games," Chang Qing, a travel agent, said.

Some news outlets have even reported that many 4 star hotels have less than a 50% occupancy rate for the entire Olympics. Who knows what the figures are for 3 star hotels and smaller establishments. I guess all that preparation starting a year ago was really a waste of time.

2008 Beijing Olympics

I’m officially on my way to the Olympics.

• I have my bags packed.
• I found a relatively cheap business hotel in Chaoyang District for about 400 RMB per night.
• I have my tickets ready – 4 events including a basketball game between the USA and Angola.
• I called friends and family who I’m going to hang out with
• I’m going to attend a pre-Olympics Columbia alumni function in Beijing
• I have the Olympic spirit
• I even have an Olympic T-shirt

In the past few days, there has been a lot of talk about increased security for the Olympics. Due to the recent terror bombings in Xinjiang province, the security ramifications have affected the entire country.

I have seen guard dogs and increased security in Shenzhen’s subways.

I’ve been searched and re-searched in the airports, and even had to take off my shoes. That never happens in China.

I tried having a family friend help book me a hotel room that would be cheaper than I would be able to find. She could use her connections and book the room in someone else’s name to book a 4 star hotel for about 350 RMB. Typical 4 star rates are more than 1500 RMB. However, due to the terrorist bombings, all hotels are requiring that all guests be registered in his/her own name. So much for the 4 star hotel.

Even with all these possible issues, the Olympics experience is going to be great!

Barak Obama's Brother is in Shenzhen

In the past few days, it has been exposed that the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Barak Obama, has a half brother living in Shenzhen, China. That’s cool. A lot of foreign media sources have picked up the story.

Friends say he has a long-term Chinese girlfriend in her 20s from Henan, a poor landlocked province that sends millions of migrants to the coastal cities.

He lives in Nanshan, a brash new district of high-rises and streets teeming after dark with young migrants eating spicy street food and cramming into bars, karaoke joints and massage parlors.

“He is big, strong and full of energy, speaks good Chinese and is a really easygoing guy,” said a Chinese friend, “He always wears a hat over his shaven head. I believe he has several consultancy jobs.”

Chinese officials said there are unanswered questions about his internet-based company, Worldnexus Ltd. It has provided corporate communications and website design to Chinese firms seeking customers in English-speaking markets, of which the United States is the biggest.

It seems like Ndesandjo is experiencing the typical American – or Westerner – in Shenzhen life.

• He lives in Nanshan, where most expats live – and where I’ve recently moved.
• He has a younger Chinese girlfriend. No surprise there.
• The girlfriend is from Henan – everyone it seems is from Henan.
• He speaks Chinese and is really easy going.
• He has his own company that does some international import/export – all westerners work in import/export and/or teaching English. EVERYONE!
• The company isn’t officially registered in Shenzhen – yea, not many foreign businesses are registered in Shenzhen. Most are registered in Hong Kong.

I would be interested in meeting Mr. Ndesandjo to get his prospective on Shenzhen, living in China and that the best bars in Nanshan are.

Pastic Bags in China Renewed

Ever since June 1st of 2008, just about all Chinese cities have imposed a fee for using plastic bags at 7/11s, Wal-Marts, ect. Bring your own bag, or pay 1RMB (.15 USD) to use ours. That's how the government wants to reduce the amount the white waste and help the environment. (I wrote about it here)

Since this regulation has gone into place, there has been a lot of media coverage on the effects both in China and Internationally. Some have even suggested that China will save almost 37 million barrels of oil per year.

Radio and TV news has interviewed employees of many companies and the situation seems to be the same. Across the board, plastic bag use has decreased by almost 80%! That's incredible.

However, that's not the whole story.... Not in China, atleast.

I went to Carefore today to pick up some orange juice. It keeps my energy up and is rich in vitamin C. Honestly, it's an acquired taste. So i'm waiting in line with my medium box of OJ (12.5 RMB) waiting to checkout and I notice the lady in front of me putting her stuff on the checkout belt Little by little, she places her fruits, veggies, frozen food, meat, ect. on the belt.

When the clerk asks her if she would like to purchase a plastic bag, or if she had her own bags, she replied that she didnt need any. However, in my point of view, she didnt have any bags with her (I constantly carry one in my pocket just in case). Instead, she was holding a small roll of still-connected plastic bags in her hand - the ones used for holding fruits and veggies. She then calmly seperates the bags and without any thought, places all of her items in.

This is outrageous! Instead of doing the good thing of bringing her own bag, or thinking to help the enviorment, or even following the basic rules, this lady (kinda grumpy lady) finds away around it by just using the other bags. According to different media reports, while use of the regular plastic bags have drastically fallen, the use of fruit, veggie, rice holding bags have increased almost 10x! The retailers and the markets don't know what to do about it.

While watching this lady do her thing, I also looked around me to see how other people were reacting. Everyone was just minding their own business, talking on the cell and waiting patiently (or sometimes impatiently) in line. No one thought anything wrong was happening.

Maybe in a Chinese culture where "face" 面子 matters, some social pressure would easily solve this problem. Only if someone would actually care.

TIC.