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July 2000 Issue 80 |
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July 2000 Issue 80 |
CONTENTS
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Countdown Board for 2008 Bid Launched
A countdown board for Beijing Olympic bid was unveiled on May 27 in the show window of the Industrial Arts Building on Wangfujing Street. At 10 p.m. on the 27th, the board read *94 Days, 13 Hours and 53 Seconds
to Candidature Cities Being Decided.* The final date is the day on which the International
Olympic Committee is expected to determine which cities can compete to host the 2008
Olympics. We will adjust it when Beijing becomes one of the finalists.* Ms. Zhang
Gongrong, head of Public Relations Department at the Industrial Arts Building explained. She said that action was taken to give people a chance to demonstrate their desire to host the event. Another activity, the support Beijing Bid for the Olympics,* was held simultaneously. It was a sign-up activity. Within half a day, two-fifths of the ign-up book,* a 50-meter-long red silk cloth, was filled with signatures. Organizers said the cloth, after being signed by tens of thousands of people, will be made into dresses and shown during the Chinese Fashion Show for the Olympic Bid next year.
Model Olympic Street A street redesigned to highlight Beijing? attempt to host the 2008 Olympic Games was recently completed in the Xiaoguan area in Chaoyang District. The street features a square containing a statue of the emblem of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Bid Committee. A large square was created to allow residents to exercise or accomodate community services activities. The emblem resembles a five-pointed star, in the same five colors as the Olympic rings. It is also modeled after the ?hinese knot* and symbolizes unity, cooperation, exchange and development. Moreover, the star is in the shape of a person practicing tai ji (shadow boxing), referring to the essence of China traditional sports culture, which values smoothness, harmony, vitality and mobility. Beijing to build Largest reen Square* A large square covered with grass and trees is being planned for the north central region of the Chinese capital. Tian Yuan Square, north of the ancient Forbidden City compound, will cover 42,000 square meters, two-thirds of which will be converted into the city? largest-ever green space. Upscale office and apartment buildings, hotels, conference halls and supporting facilities, will occupy the rest of the square. Jia Qinglin, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Beijing Municipal Committee, at a meeting with Chinese and overseas architects in May, said he hoped they will well-consider the significance of the square location while creating their designs. He said the style of the new buildings in the compound would have an important influence on the city general planning and construction. Calls for worldwide bidding on designs for the square were announced in late February, and a panel consisting of famous international experts was recently assembled to help evaluate the nearly 40 designs that have been submitted. |
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Capital Talk
