From Newsweek:
The transformation of Beijing for the 2008 Olympics is emerging as perhaps the most ambitious remake of any major world capital in history, short of the postwar reconstructions. The silhouettes of the spectacular new stadium and swimming center are already familiar worldwide, but they are set in a rebuilt urban core that startles return visitors. Lush new green spaces, swirling expressways, shopping arcades roofed with giant LED screens, a new downtown financial center plus a vastly expanded public trans-port system have all rapidly appeared. To some, the Olympic-driven metamorphosis evokes the remaking of Paris by Baron Haussmann between 1865 and 1887″a complete redesign of the city center, including the creation of the grand boulevards for which Paris is famous today. [Full text]
See also a Reuters story which shows how preparations for the Olympics are casting light on the “vulnerable underbelly of the country’s rise.”
