8/8/08 is almost here! How do you think the Olympics have affected China?

xiaohu
 August 01, 2008, 01:59 AM posted in General Discussion

In 2006 I took my first trip to China, I visited Chengdu, Shenyang and Beijing.

I absolutely loved it, every minute of it!

Because of what I witnessed there, I see myself someday soon relocating to China.

I know that for quite some time before the announcement was made that the 2008 Olympics would be held in Beijing was made, China's economy was already growing and strengthening at an astounding pace.  However the progress in Beijing was by far the most amazing, and like nothing I had ever seen!

I literally couldn't wank down a single street in Beijing without seeing at least 2 out of 3 buildings being refaced and remodelled.  Never in my life had I ever seen so many skyscrapers being erected at the same time.  The entire Beijing skyline was dotted with giant cranes, street corners or blocks had multiple skyscrapers being built at one time.

Never before had I seen such rapid progress in a place!

It was absolutely mind-boggling!

I know each city has it's own micro-economic situation and that being that Beijing is the capital city, it would only stand to reason that it would grow more quickly than other cities like Shenyang, but to the great extent that I saw, the rate at which Beijing business and commerce was exploding, can only lead me to one conclusion. The reason for this great explosion is entirely due to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

I know I'm stating the obvious here, and I'm sure that, by now everybody knows that the rapid economic expansion is directly due to the Olympics.  The Chinese people want to make the very best possible impression on the West, and are looking to the 2008 Beijing Olympics as being that golden opportunity to show off the opulence of China to the rest of the world.

So my question is, do you think there could be any downside to this tremendous growth of China's great capital city? IE: sudden overcrowding, an even greater disparity developing in the standard of living between the rich and the poor, rapid inflation, weakened city infrastructure, etc.

Do you think the great spending on upgrading the city is going to be worth the tourism dollars, and interest by the outside world in China?

What are the positive aspects of this growth and do they outweigh the negative aspects?

Most importantly, do you think all the attention towards China is going to spurn even more foreigners to learn Chinese?

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calkins
 August 01, 2008, 02:38 AM

I definitely think that the huge construction growth in Beijing the last 6 or 7 years was mostly due to the Olympics.

China has spent $42 billion (USD) on the Olympics!!!  The Athens games in 2004 cost $16 billion.  That's quite a difference in 4 years.  To me, it's a sign of what China is willing to do to be recognized by the rest of the world.  It's a good thing, and I think it will definitely benefit China.

And I definitely think more people will be interested in Chinese culture and language.  Mainly because of simple exposure.  One sad thing about the West (mainly the U.S.) is that we are fairly oblivious to the rest of the world (I might say ignorant).  Just the exposure from the games will provide many with knowledge they wouldn't have otherwise gotten.

There are definitely negative effects on China from the huge growth in Beijing (increased pollution, potential economic downturn after the games are over, etc.).  But I think the negatives will be negligible compared with the positives.