Countdown to Beijing
For Hosts, Games Lose Some Luster
Many Beijing Residents Find Tribulations of Olympics Outweigh Benefits
By Maureen Fan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, July 2, 2008; Page A01
BEIJING -- It seemed like a great idea last year, starting a hotel-reservation Web site for this summer's Olympic Games. Companies had been calling travel agencies 17 months in advance to book rooms.
He Peiyuan, who used to work for just such an agency, calculated that he could make more than $140,000 with his site, Beijing Hotel Reservations. But so far, he said, all he's managed to earn from 448 customers is about $43,000.
"Chinese clients think the rooms are too expensive or the hotels aren't conveniently located, and they're afraid of being cheated. The foreign clients just hesitate to make a decision," said He, 24, who has started to work at an art gallery for extra income.
ad_icon
The Aug. 8-24 Summer Olympics are supposed to mark a major celebration for China, an extravaganza that has ordinary citizens bursting with pride and excitement. Locals here are, by and large, proud to play host. But many are also increasingly feeling burdened by or disconnected from a billion-dollar spectacle for which expectations have been set so high.
Tenants are upset that development has driven up the cost of living in the city; drivers are bracing for major traffic congestion; and hotel managers and travel agents are complaining that security restrictions have held up business and tourist visas, keeping occupancy rates unexpectedly low for the Olympic period.
"So many people expect the Olympics will help make China's economy even more prosperous. But in China, the government operates everything. As a result, the Olympics are not that efficient, economically speaking," said Zhang Ming, a professor of international relations at Renmin University.
In every Olympic host city, there is pre-Games grumbling. But this is a city that had arguably yearned for the Games more than most, making it all the more disappointing when the burdens of hosting the event start to outweigh the benefits.
For the Chinese, the Olympics have long been seen as an opportunity to strut and preen, a chance to demonstrate their country's ascendance in the world as an economic and political heavyweight. When Beijing won its bid in 2001, an estimated 200,000 overjoyed Chinese spontaneously converged on Tiananmen Square to celebrate what state media called "the triumph of the motherland."
Seven years later, the Beijing Games are likely to be the most expensive Olympics ever, given the amount of new infrastructure and corporate sponsorship that will benefit the city. But with just over a month to go, enthusiasm among many has given way to indifference and, in some cases, annoyance.
Authorities in Beijing, for instance, have said they will limit the number of trucks in the capital during the Games to improve security and curb traffic. The move means stores are likely to find themselves short of supplies.
"I just got the key of my new apartment last weekend. I need to buy tiles, paint, sinks, a toilet, kitchen appliances, a wood floor. But several construction stores told me they got government notices encouraging them to close during the Olympics," said Yin Jun, an editor in a publishing house.
The government, meanwhile, is also trying to tighten security by deploying automatic-weapon-toting guards to the airport and applying greater scrutiny to mail coming through the capital. From June through October, post offices here will not accept packages containing liquids, chemicals, powders, electronic equipment, or even soap and ointment, without special permission from the Public Security Ministry.
"It's worse than I thought. There are so many new regulations on which kinds of things cannot be mailed from or to Beijing," said Jian Yamin, a chemical engineer.
"I want to buy a new cellphone, but I cannot use an express company to deliver it since it's an electronic good," said Jian, who added that development in the capital has driven up rent prices.
Even the authorities may have overestimated the level of interest in the Games. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games continues to predict the event will draw more than 1 million domestic visitors and 500,000 foreigners, including 22,000 credentialed foreign journalists. And yet tougher enforcement of rules governing visas and residential permits has forced thousands of foreigners to leave China and many Chinese migrant workers to leave the capital.
"If tourists want to extend their visas, they have to provide proof that they have at least $3,000 in the bank and residential papers for where they're staying," said Liu Jia, a Beijing-based visa agent. "The new visa policy is tighter because the government is afraid something will happen during the Olympics. . . . The new policy will try to keep foreigners out of China."
ad_icon
The restrictions, which in some cases require tourists to prove they have tickets for the Games and hotel reservations, have sent hotel occupancy rates plummeting. In June, four-star hotels reported only a 45.5 percent occupancy rate. The city's five-star hotels, with average room prices of $500 a night, reported an occupancy rate of about 78 percent.
Zhang Bin, a saleswoman at the four-star Sunjoy Hotel, said that the daily rate at the hotel averages about $285 a night but that "there's still room to lower the price."
"We were optimistic about the market last year, but there's such a big distance between reality and our expectations," Zhang said.
Like many Beijingers, Liu Qifei, a magazine vendor, assumed that the Olympics would bring real improvements to life in the city. But it hasn't quite turned out that way.
"Look at this street. The old buildings have been newly painted. Just opposite, the buildings facing the street have been decorated. But the buildings behind them are unchanged," said Liu, 55, who plans to watch the Games on television. "I don't like those facade projects because they are useless to our ordinary citizens."
Liu said the Olympics have led to some benefits, at least in the short term. Bus tickets are discounted, and traffic is being restricted to cut back on pollution. Such changes, though, are intended mainly to ensure a smooth event.
"I'm worried that after the Olympics, everything will return to the old orbit," Liu said.
Researcher Zhang Jie contributed to this report.
For Hosts, Games Lose Some Luster
Many Beijing Residents Find Tribulations of Olympics Outweigh Benefits
By Maureen Fan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, July 2, 2008; Page A01
BEIJING -- It seemed like a great idea last year, starting a hotel-reservation Web site for this summer's Olympic Games. Companies had been calling travel agencies 17 months in advance to book rooms.
He Peiyuan, who used to work for just such an agency, calculated that he could make more than $140,000 with his site, Beijing Hotel Reservations. But so far, he said, all he's managed to earn from 448 customers is about $43,000.
"Chinese clients think the rooms are too expensive or the hotels aren't conveniently located, and they're afraid of being cheated. The foreign clients just hesitate to make a decision," said He, 24, who has started to work at an art gallery for extra income.
ad_icon
The Aug. 8-24 Summer Olympics are supposed to mark a major celebration for China, an extravaganza that has ordinary citizens bursting with pride and excitement. Locals here are, by and large, proud to play host. But many are also increasingly feeling burdened by or disconnected from a billion-dollar spectacle for which expectations have been set so high.
Tenants are upset that development has driven up the cost of living in the city; drivers are bracing for major traffic congestion; and hotel managers and travel agents are complaining that security restrictions have held up business and tourist visas, keeping occupancy rates unexpectedly low for the Olympic period.
"So many people expect the Olympics will help make China's economy even more prosperous. But in China, the government operates everything. As a result, the Olympics are not that efficient, economically speaking," said Zhang Ming, a professor of international relations at Renmin University.
In every Olympic host city, there is pre-Games grumbling. But this is a city that had arguably yearned for the Games more than most, making it all the more disappointing when the burdens of hosting the event start to outweigh the benefits.
For the Chinese, the Olympics have long been seen as an opportunity to strut and preen, a chance to demonstrate their country's ascendance in the world as an economic and political heavyweight. When Beijing won its bid in 2001, an estimated 200,000 overjoyed Chinese spontaneously converged on Tiananmen Square to celebrate what state media called "the triumph of the motherland."
Seven years later, the Beijing Games are likely to be the most expensive Olympics ever, given the amount of new infrastructure and corporate sponsorship that will benefit the city. But with just over a month to go, enthusiasm among many has given way to indifference and, in some cases, annoyance.
Authorities in Beijing, for instance, have said they will limit the number of trucks in the capital during the Games to improve security and curb traffic. The move means stores are likely to find themselves short of supplies.
"I just got the key of my new apartment last weekend. I need to buy tiles, paint, sinks, a toilet, kitchen appliances, a wood floor. But several construction stores told me they got government notices encouraging them to close during the Olympics," said Yin Jun, an editor in a publishing house.
The government, meanwhile, is also trying to tighten security by deploying automatic-weapon-toting guards to the airport and applying greater scrutiny to mail coming through the capital. From June through October, post offices here will not accept packages containing liquids, chemicals, powders, electronic equipment, or even soap and ointment, without special permission from the Public Security Ministry.
"It's worse than I thought. There are so many new regulations on which kinds of things cannot be mailed from or to Beijing," said Jian Yamin, a chemical engineer.
"I want to buy a new cellphone, but I cannot use an express company to deliver it since it's an electronic good," said Jian, who added that development in the capital has driven up rent prices.
Even the authorities may have overestimated the level of interest in the Games. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games continues to predict the event will draw more than 1 million domestic visitors and 500,000 foreigners, including 22,000 credentialed foreign journalists. And yet tougher enforcement of rules governing visas and residential permits has forced thousands of foreigners to leave China and many Chinese migrant workers to leave the capital.
"If tourists want to extend their visas, they have to provide proof that they have at least $3,000 in the bank and residential papers for where they're staying," said Liu Jia, a Beijing-based visa agent. "The new visa policy is tighter because the government is afraid something will happen during the Olympics. . . . The new policy will try to keep foreigners out of China."
ad_icon
The restrictions, which in some cases require tourists to prove they have tickets for the Games and hotel reservations, have sent hotel occupancy rates plummeting. In June, four-star hotels reported only a 45.5 percent occupancy rate. The city's five-star hotels, with average room prices of $500 a night, reported an occupancy rate of about 78 percent.
Zhang Bin, a saleswoman at the four-star Sunjoy Hotel, said that the daily rate at the hotel averages about $285 a night but that "there's still room to lower the price."
"We were optimistic about the market last year, but there's such a big distance between reality and our expectations," Zhang said.
Like many Beijingers, Liu Qifei, a magazine vendor, assumed that the Olympics would bring real improvements to life in the city. But it hasn't quite turned out that way.
"Look at this street. The old buildings have been newly painted. Just opposite, the buildings facing the street have been decorated. But the buildings behind them are unchanged," said Liu, 55, who plans to watch the Games on television. "I don't like those facade projects because they are useless to our ordinary citizens."
Liu said the Olympics have led to some benefits, at least in the short term. Bus tickets are discounted, and traffic is being restricted to cut back on pollution. Such changes, though, are intended mainly to ensure a smooth event.
"I'm worried that after the Olympics, everything will return to the old orbit," Liu said.
Researcher Zhang Jie contributed to this report.