Olympics

In front of the Birds' Nest stadium.

Before, during and after the Olympics there has been an avalanche of news articles around the world asking the question: “Will the Olympics change China?”  In my experience, the Olympics provided ordinary Chinese with a chance to contribute to their society and experience it in a different way than ever before.  While the change this has brought may only be incremental, it is important nonetheless.

The volunteer organization at the Beijing Olympics was China’s largest volunteering effort ever: 600,000 volunteers in total, including 100,000 at the Olympic sites.  I worked more than 100 hours during the Games’ 16 competition days as a volunteer at the Olympic Green, the site of the main arenas and where most of the spectator crowds gathered.  My team comprised a group of young, dynamic university students from all over the country, most aged between 19 and 22.  As “guides” on the site, we helped spectators find the way into and out of stadiums, took photos of excited family groups and had hundreds of photos taken of us, helped the elderly and disabled navigate their way, and located lost children (and the occasional lost wife). 

The Olympics have moved into week 2 with track and field replacing swimming as marquee events and the national stadium (better known as the Bird’s Nest) supplanting the Water Cube as the place to see and to be seen.  With two competition sessions per day scheduled at the Bird’s Nest, which holds 91,000 spectators, the crowds at the Olympic Green have gotten much bigger and the atmosphere livelier.  Families are spending the day on the Green, arriving several hours before competitions and wandering around and/or visiting the numerous sponsor pavilions.

I had been worried that the bigger crowds would lead to long waits in security lines, as I had experienced some delays getting to the Water Cube early in week 1.  However, I should have realized that the Chinese authorities are among the most experienced in the world in managing large crowds.  Indeed, by Saturday morning – the first day of competition at the Bird’s Nest -- 50 or so additional security lanes had been set up and spectators were being moved smoothly through the check points. 

A cool aspect of week 2 is seeing many of the athletes wandering around on the Olympic Green (and elsewhere around town).  During week 1, most of the athletes are either competing or in training, so they don’t get out as much (although Kobe and Lebron somehow managed to show for events all over the city; particularly for Michael Phelps’ swimming events).  By week 2, however, the swimmers, rowers, weight lifters, archers, shooters, fencers, and many other athletes have finished their competitions and are free to be out and about. 

The Water Cube (or the National Aquatic Center) is where swimming and diving events are held.

My colleagues David Dollar and Mara Warwick have already posted some impressions from the Olympics.  As Mara has noted, it is certainly exciting to be living in the host city.  Beijing residents seem to be doing everything possible to welcome the influx of visitors–both from other parts of China and from around the world. In addition to the thousands of official volunteers, I have seen old men and women on the street providing directions to visitors, and have observed Chinese giving up their seats on the subway to foreign visitors who were on the way to watch the games.

On the eve of the Olympics, there is a collective holding of breath amongst Beijing office colleagues.  Will everything go smoothly?  Will it rain tomorrow?  Who will light the flame?  How will the flame be lit (will the phoenix come home to roost in the bird’s nest or will the sleeping dragon finally awake)?

Having the Olympics come to town – OUR town – is pretty amazing.  The last few frenzied weeks have seen The Great Polishing of Beijing taking place.  The newspaper reported that there are a million flowers in Tiananmen Square – I wonder who counted them?  Everything that could be decorated has been – banners and flowers and bright, shiny billboards are everywhere.  The Capital Museum is staging the greatest exhibition of China’s cultural relics ever seen – many priceless relics normally stored in the vaults of China’s Forbidden City are on public display.  My colleague Chunxiang Zhang’s 16 year old niece was so enthralled by the exhibition that she stayed for 8 hours.  Even my seven year old is getting into the spirit, working on an Olympic diary that requires us to think up at least one Olympic related activity for her every day so that she has something to write about.  My four year old is still a bit unclear about what the Olympics really are, but is quite happy that the five cute mascots – Fuwa –  seem to have taken over our house.