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District Goes Green to Win Bid
Beijing's Chaoyang District, where the 2008 Olympics main stadium will be located if the city wins the bid to host the next Games, is working hard to improve the environment.
It is hoped this will help the city achieve the aim of getting the event to China.
Ten projects are being planned or are already being carried out by the district government, the Beijing Morning Post reported.
There are less than 10 months before the International Olympic Committee (IOC) members vote for the host city, which means all projects related to the application must be finished within that period, according to the newspaper.
Before October 1, all illegal or temporary buildings in the district were removed.
On a 100 metre-wide section of the Chaoyang part of the Fourth Ring Road, trees and grass will be planted to turn the road into "An Olympic Road", the report said.
The green belts along the Chaoyang sections of five express ways including Beijing-Tianjin and Beijing-Shenyang will also be widened and upgraded. More money and effort will also be invested in fighting air pollution and improving the environment in the district, the report said.
In addition, several routes including the Chaoyang section of Beijing's Axial Road (Zhongzhou Road) will also be widened to ease the flow of traffic.
A total of 4 million square metres of lower quality housing and business buildings in the district will be torn down within the next year, and house owners and firms will be financially compensated.
Chaoyang's work has been supported by Jia Qinglin, the Party secretary of Beijing, who said the municipal government of Beijing and residents will try their best to win the bid for the Games.
President Jiang Zemin has already written to Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the IOC, to show the Chinese Government's support for the bid.
Jia said that as the capital of a country with a population more than 1.2 billion, Beijing should make a positive contribution to international sport by hosting the Olympic Games.
Jia asked that all officials in the city should try to relate their work to the bid.
It seems people are more confident of Beijing's chances of success following China's achievements last month in Sydney. "I am hopeful I can view world famous athletes in Beijing in 2008," said Su Lide, a Beijing resident.
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