News and Updates

Olympic Torch Lit in Olympia

 

The Olympic torch was lit on March 24, 2008, in front of the Temple of Hera on the historic grounds of Olympia, in the birthplace of Olympism, where the Ancient Olympic Games took place. The flame was lit successfully, according to a traditional ritual, using the sun's rays and a parabolic mirror to light the flame.

Following the mythical lightning, the priestess entered the Ancient Olympic Stadium with the torch and handed it over to the first runner of the Beijing 2008 Torch Relay. The young Greek, Alexandros Nikolaidis, passed by the tomb where Pierre de Coubertin's heart is buried, to launch the long journey of harmony of this Olympic Torch Relay.

Luo Xuejuan, a swimming gold medallist at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, became the first Chinese to carry an Olympic flame in Greece, after receiving the flame from Nikolaidis.

Despite her previous experience as a torchbearer in the Beijing leg of the Athens 2004 torch relay, Luo said she felt honoured and proud for being chosen as the first Chinese torchbearer

The torch will cross five continents and stop in 21 cities around the world before reaching China, where it will stop in over 100 places. On August 8, 2008, it will enter the Olympic Stadium in Beijing during the Opening Ceremony to light the Olympic cauldron.

 

Airport Trip Gets Easier

 

Several new roads leading to the Beijing Capital International Airport will be completed in mid-2008, with hopes that there will be no more traffic jams between Central Beijing and the airport, according to the Official Web site of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on February 27, 2008.

Around the airport, the main gateway to China's capital, five expressways are now under construction, in addition to the existing Airport Expressway. They are the Second Airport Expressway, the Southern Line to the Airport, the Northern Line to the Airport, the Beijing–Chengde Expressway, and the Sixth Ring Road. Of these, the Southern Line and the Second Airport Expressway directly access the airport's new T3 terminal; the existing Airport Expressway reaches T1 and T2; and, the Northern Line links the Beijing–Chengde Expressway with the northern freight area of the airport.

To help passengers to find their way to T3, a free shuttle service will be available between T3 and T2, with a seven-minute ride at an interval of roughly seven minutes.

The airport bus company said it has added a fleet of 88 high-standard buses to expand the capacity of the six bus lines to different parts of the city from T3, with bus fares remaining unchanged.

The express-rail service linking the airport with Dongzhimen in northeastern Central Beijing will be put into operation on July 1, 2008. Reports say the light-rail service to T3 and T2 at the airport will run at an interval of 8–12 minutes and will make only one stop other than at its terminals: at Sanyuan Bridge.

 

Three Key Elements of Healthy Living Made Public

 

More than 1.2 million copies of a health pamphlet and poster titled The Three Key Elements of Healthy Living will be distributed throughout the capital city's streets, communities, schools, organizations, and Olympic athletes' residences and nearby restaurants. The information, to be presented for the first time in English, carries the logo of the Olympics, Paralympics, World Health Organization (WHO), Ministry of Health, and the Beijing Municipal Food Safety Commission.

Representatives of the WHO, Ministry of Health, Beijing Municipal Food Safety Commission and BOCOG met in Beijing on March 10 to discuss the information in the pamphlet and how best to distribute the brochures throughout the city. The Three Key Elements of Healthy Living focuses on food safety, healthy eating, and physical exercise to promote healthy living.

The Three Key Elements of Healthy Living is a new campaign introduced by the World Health Organization, dedicated to improving citizens' health in the long term. Through cooperative efforts, the aforementioned organizations came to agree upon the wording for Chinese and English editions of the pamphlet.

Under each of the three "key elements of health," readers will find five examples and methods they can use to integrate them into their daily lives. Experts agree these elements are easily overlooked but are vitally important. Because of their Olympic connection, they are expected to be readily accepted by most people, showing the world the concern that the Olympics has for promoting healthy lifestyles.

 

Thirteen Main Urban Waterways Cleaned Up

 

Qinghe, which literally means clear river, now has a landscape of clear water and green banks, since the city's last two "smelly gutters" have been completely treated, the Beijing Daily reported on February 27. Thirteen main waterways within the Beijing urban area are now clear, and their water quality meets China's surface water standards.

The waterways, which meander 120 kilometres over an area of 866 square metres, have undergone years of water purification. In 2007, the city completely treated the main waterways within the Sixth Ring Road, including the downriver portion of the Qinghe.

After the treatment of its downriver portion, the Qinghe expanded in width by 100 metres, and two sewage treatment plants were constructed along its banks: the Xiaojiahe Sewage Treatment Plant and the Qinghe Sewage Treatment Plant. No more wastewater will be allowed to flow into the river.

The city's main flood ways will also be renovated, with the two flood ways at the Macaohe and Majialou cleared out.

 

Shichahai Fire God Temple to Be Unveiled Soon

 

The 34-million-yuan refurbishment of the Huo Shen Temple, or the Fire God Taoist Temple, at Shichahai area can be viewed by the public when it opens ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games, The First newspaper reported on March 7, 2008.

Possibly built in the Yuan Dynasty      (1271–1368), the key historic site lying along the northern axis of the capital city was renovated once in 1605 during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and once in 1759 during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). The inimitable mixture of Ming and Qing architectural styles also received improvements at the end of the Qing Dynasty.

After China's Liberation, the cultural ruins were converted into a military rest house and provisional residency. In 2002, local cultural relic protection administrations rescued the building from dilapidation by relocating its residents and work units, which also greatly improved the temple's neighbourhood, creating a new pattern of cultural relic rehabilitation for future reference.

According to the administration, the original appearance and the structural materials of the temple were preserved, and 60 percent of the original coloured drawings were saved.

 

Wheelchair Accessible Subway Stations Coming Soon

 

The Beijing Municipal Government has put operations in full swing for convenient access to the city's subway system for people with disabilities. By the end of October 2008, all improvements will have been completed. The Beijing Evening News reported on March 13, that each of Beijing's subway stations will have wheelchair accessible entry and exit points by June.

The plans said that at every station on subway lines nos. 1, 2, 13, and the Batong line will be equipped with tactile guided paths and Braille signs to help visually impaired commuters. In addition, moving ramps will be installed. Each of the 16 stations along Line No. 5 will have barrier-free elevators for direct access to and from ground level.

A380 Maintenance Hangar Completed

 

Construction of an A380 aircraft maintenance hangar, the largest in Asia, was completed in Beijing on March 18, 2008.

The hangar, the first of its kind in the city, can accommodate all Boeing and Airbus series aircraft including the A380 "super jumbo", according to the Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Corporation (Ameco Beijing).

Located to the north of the new third terminal (T3) at the Beijing Capital International Airport, the hangar is expected to provide maintenance services for 11,500 planes every year, according to the joint venture contract between Air China Limited and Lufthansa.

The hangar covers a floor area of more than 70,000 square metres; its construction was part of an airport expansion project that included the new terminal T3, which opened on February 29, 2008.

Construction of the 700 million yuan (nearly US$100 million) hangar, consisting of a maintenance hall and an attached building, was launched in September 2006.

The hangar will offer maintenance services to all passenger flights during the Olympic Games, said Chai Weixi, general manager and CEO of Ameco Beijing.

 

Magnetic Metro Tickets Coming Soon

 

Beijing is upgrading its metro ticketing system with magnetic cards set to replace the current paper tickets by the end of May 2008.

The Beijing Subway Control Centre said on March 18, 2008, that single-journey magnetic tickets are expected to be put into use in late May on all of the city's metro lines. Automatic cashiers to sell and collect the cards are being tested.

In 2006, Beijing introduced a refillable smart card for regular public transportation users. Subway riders who don't own smart cards must purchase paper tickets.

Under the new system, commuters without the smart card can buy a magnetic card from an automatic cashier at the station and return it before leaving the subway. The system is similar to the one currently used in Shanghai.

Each magnetic card will be printed with Beijing's subway map, including the current five lines and four new routes that will soon join the network.

 

Beijing–Tianjin Goes High-Speed in August

 

The first China-made bullet train designed to run at 300 kilometres per hour has completed its test run and will be in service between Beijing and Tianjin in early August, a railway official said on March 9, 2008.

"A train prototype rolled off the production line in December and has completed its test run," said Shao Liping, director of the railway authority in Nanning, capital of the southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The new train is expected to operate on a 117-kilometre (km) intercity rail line beginning August 1, a week before the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games.

It will reduce the travel time between Beijing and Tianjin to around 30 minutes from the current 70 to 80 minutes, said Shao during the recent meeting of the National People’s Congress.

Shao said the train, the latest model in the China Railway High-speed (CRH) Series, will be produced jointly by manufacturers in Qingdao, Shandong Province, and Tangshan, Hebei Province.

Shao said the Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Railways are conducting research on a 350-km/h train for the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway that has been under discussion for years.

China's fastest self-developed trains now run at a service speed of up to 250 km/h. Those trains, which debuted in April 2007, link Beijing with Harbin, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

 

Free Admission at 33 Museums

 

Beginning on March 28, 33 museums in Beijing will be open to visitors free of charge, with some taking new measures to prevent chaos during the expected visitor boom.

In the Capital Museum, visitors have to book tickets through phone calls or via the Internet using their real names beforehand, said Han Yong, deputy curator.

"The designed daily receiving capacity of the museum is 3,000," he said. "Visitors should bring their ID cards to get free tickets."

The museums offering free admission in Beijing include: the Capital Museum, Beijing Museum of Natural History and China National Film Museum, among other public museums and memorial halls belonging to municipal or district cultural and heritage protection departments, as well as patriotic educational bases at municipal level.

Most of the 33 museums in Beijing will impose an upper limit for visitors every day by distributing a certain number of tickets, said Kong Fanzhi, head of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage.

Sight-Seeing Image Ambassadors for Beijing Wanted

 

A competition aimed at selecting sight-seeing image ambassadors for Beijing was launched on March 18.

Winners of the competition will work as hosts on sight-seeing city buses to introduce the history and culture of Beijing to tourists.

The campaign, sponsored by Beijing Radio, the Beijing Foreign Cultural Exchanges Center, the City Bus Travel Agency and www.zhaopin.com, will promote the city during and after the 2008 Olympic Games to enhance Beijing’s image as a tourist destination.

Unlike beauty pageants, the competitors will be evaluated basically by their oral expression, writing, responsiveness, understanding of Beijing’s history and other qualities considered essential to the task. Eloquence in both Chinese and English is mandatory.

The final contest will be held at the end of May; three winners will be picked as “City Sight-Seeing Image Ambassadors.” Some of the finalists will be hired by one of the sponsors—City Bus Travel Agency—to begin their careers as hosts on sight-seeing buses in the city.