Chinese Lives

Just days before the competition starts formally, let’s see what our sport stars are doing at their free time. Thanks to photographers’ hard work, we have following pictures.

Source: http://cache.tianya.cn/publicforum/content/funinfo/1/1222736.shtml

28th July marked the opening of the Beijing Olympic Village, and Chinese athletes attended the ceremony and moved in on the same day. Yao left America and appeared in the event. Finger crossed he will not yell at his team members during match. Liu Xiang, who won 110m hurdles in 2004 Athens Games, looks fine and relaxed. It was a surprise he won last time. Good Luck to him.
The village is newly built, costing a lot of money, branded as luxury building by BBC’s report in a not good tone. However, since this is the first time China host Olympics, the government did try most efforts to impress the world, of course in priority to provide athletes a comfortable accommodation. We are happy about that.

As the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games approaches, more than 400,000 volunteers have been working at 550 street stalls around Beijing since July, providing information, emergency aid and translation services for people from around the world. A total of 74,615 volunteers will provide services at Games venues, the Olympic Village and media centers of the Olympic Games. In addition, one million “social volunteers” have been helping to keep traffic and maintain social order in the communities and townships of Beijing.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will stimulate volunteering in the society
It is not like you want to be a volunteer, you go to an application point, and you become one. At least volunteering for the Beijing Olympic Games has strict requirements about language skills, appearances, energy and good health. All chosen volunteers are regrouped as where they work and get trained separately. News say 300 volunteers were picked from 70,000 applicants to work on awarding ceremony. They started complicated etiquette training since last August. Now time is up. I know you are all ready.

China’s Spring New Year drops on Feb 7 this year, and presently 22 days pre new year, a battle called getting home is now on. Students, farmer workers and all others who work outside where families live will spend New Year with families at home, which make the rail system to care for 20 million person/time travel every year in 40 days covering both before and after New Year’s Day.

Some major cities in China, such as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing seem to be emptied before New Year, because people return to their hometown, while 5 days after New Year’s Day, big volume of population head back to big cities mentioned above via rail system.

Airplanes and buses only divert small part passengers due to their transport capacity. Last year, I joined Spring Travel on route from UK to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to Shen Zhen, Shen Zhen to Wuhan, which was expensive and long long journey. In Shen Zhen, my plane was 5 hours late.

Here below, compared to my exhaustion and stress, this is a real pain to queque for tickets five days before departure and know your seat on train is on depend, because pressure on rail is like 1/3 world population on the train. To transport more people home, rail system has to sell standing ticket.

At last, my best wished to every Chinese on their way home.