Much like the Bird’s Nest, the Water Cube made a radical transformation from December of 2005 to August or 2008. While the Bird’s Nest has become one of the most recognizable symbols of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, the Water Cube was perhaps the most beautiful venue of the Olympics.
December 2005
August 2008
Tags: Olympics, Beijing, #080808, Olympic Green, Water Cube
The first time I came to Beijing was in December of 2005. At that time I had the privilege of visiting the Bird’s Nest, Watercube, and Opera House all while they were still under construction. Wow, has the city, particularly these notable landmarks changed in 2.5 years time. Below are some photos comparing the then (Dec/05) and now (Aug/08) of the Bird’s Nest.
December 2005
August 2008
Tags: Olympics, Beijing, #080808, Birds Nest, Olympic Green
Yesterday was my first day attending the Beijing Olympics and was it a busy one! From the brand new but crowded subway to the mega-security lines and then into the Olympic Green, Beijing has impressed all around. After wondering around the Olympic Green, we attended the quarterfinals and the semifinals of fencing (men’s team epee). Later in the afternoon we saw the mens individual archery competition in which the American lost to the Mexican. Finally the Ukrainian won and I got to watch my first Olympic Medal presentation ceremony, live in person!
Later in the evening, I caught the USA women’s volleyball victory over China (on TV) and then we ended the evening at the Holland (Heineken) House, which was good fun.
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Flickr (most pictures will be posted on my own website when I have more time)
Tags: #080808, Olympics, Beijing, Archery, Fencing, Archery, Medals
Here is a widget that shows the updated medal counts. C’mon USA, 加油！
What’s interesting to note is that when American sites, such as NBC in this case, organize the medals leaderboard, they do it by total medals (putting the US on top), whereas most other listings, including Wikipedia, list most gold medals first.
Olympic Medal winners at NBC Olympics.com!
Why China is not inclined to Democracy
Symbolizing China’s feelings toward foreigners - A summary of new movie examining China’s complex relationship with outsiders, through a Chinese Graduate student’s life in the US
China: The High Tech Police State
Faces of China in Photographs - Some amazing pictures of the diversity and yet similarity of China’s people (pdf)
How to bring China into International Systems
Video of Beijing preparing for the Games
The Beijing 2008 Olympics will start in 4 days!!
As of this morning, my plane tickets to Beijing are bought and in hand! I have a place to stay and the promise of Olympics Games’ tickets. Beijing Olympics, here I come!!!
I’ll be in Beijing from the evening of August 14th to the morning of August 19th if anyone wants to meet up. Yay!!!!
As of yesterday all the food & drink vendors and retail outlets in and around Shanghai’s subway stations have cleared out their inventory and closed. No more grabbing breakfast in the subway station for me. 
They’ve even put tape over the doors to make sure no one sneaks anything inside. Some larger, more established outlets are still running, such as McDonald’s.
How do they decide who stays and who gets closed down?
Do they compensate the stores that are forced to close?
With less than a week before the start of the Olympics, most news coming out of China is related to the Olympics.
Economy
China as a Global Economic Superpower
To be an economic superpower, a country must be sufficiently large, dynamic, and globally integrated to have a major impact on the world economy. Three political entities currently qualify: the United States, the European Union, and China. Inducing China to become a responsible pillar of the global economic system (as the other two are) will be one of the great challenges of coming decades—particularly since at the moment China seems uninterested in playing such a role.
Chinese yuan still undervalued by BigMac standards
Olympics
China, Visas, & the Olympics-the Great Mystery
Something extraordinary is happening in China, and we are not talking about the Olympics. Rather, Chinese officials have been clamping down on visa applications and implementing bureaucratic impediments to new and renewed visa applications under the guise of pre-Olympic security.
Etiquette and dressing guidelines for BJ residents - You’ve got to be kidding me
Lingering last minutes complaints with the Olympics
The next month is supposed to showcase China as an open, rising power. Yet the International Olympic Committee and Chinese organizers have been criticized for failing to deliver on pledges of unblocked Internet access, TV reporting freedoms and clean air.
Beijing managing Human Rights for the Olympics
Miscellaneous
To mark the occasion, a feature in the current issue of Oriental Outlook magazine takes a look at the history of TV drama and how programs make it to air. This includes an interesting article on the workings of CCTV’s censors.
Satirical Post about all of Beijing’s quirks
Welcome to Beijing, friends from the foreign press! I greet you on behalf of the many expatriates who’ve lived in Beijing for years. We’re all really eager to read the stories you file. We can’t wait to see what this city, which we know all too well, looks like from the perspective of visiting journalists — you, with your keenly honed observational abilities and your uncanny wordsmithery. (Is that a word?)
China, the Olympics, and the looking forward
Hosting the Olympics was supposed to be a chance for China’s leaders to showcase the country’s rapid economic growth and modernization to the rest of the world. Domestically, it provided an opportunity for the Chinese government to demonstrate the Communist Party’s competence and affirm the country’s status as a major power on equal footing with the West. And wrapping itself in the values of the Olympic movement gave China the chance to portray itself not only as a rising power but also as a “peace-loving” country. For much of the lead-up to the Olympics, Beijing succeeded in promoting just such a message.
Last week, I received the following email from Marina at the Overseas Vote Foundation, joining me in encouraging all expats to vote in this upcoming election.
Hi Toffler,
I saw your link to Overseas Vote Foundation on your blog and wanted to thank you for providing it for your readers! This is an interesting site: What an enterprising person you are! Incidentally OVF has some news for you: FedEx Express will be shipping the ballots back to US in Asia free of cost; for more information about this, see our web site again –www.overseasvotefoundation.org — also notice that we have 4 choices now on our entry page including Youth Vote Overseas. Maybe you or someone you know would like to enter the video contest! Have a nice summer!Marina Mecl
Director, Voter Outreach Overseas Vote Foundation
I also confirmed with my friend who works for FedEx in Shanghai, that FedEx will indeed be shipping the ballots back free of charge. She said FedEx would make an announcement about it soon.
Cultural & Business Insights, Experiences, Observations
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Censoring Chinese TV