Smog aside, Beijing is in bloom
Posted: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 11:15 PM
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Beijing, China
By Petra Cahill, msnbc.com Editor and Reporter
Beijing is in bloom. Tree saplings line highways leaving the airport. Roses and irises burst from busy rings roads. At Tiananmen Square, hundreds of thousands of flowers make up an elaborate, terraced display of Olympic proportions.
After reading dozens of stories about the stifling levels of smog in Beijing, visitors may be surprised at just how green, and floral, this city is. In fact, more than 40 million flowers have been planted across the city in preparation for the Games set to begin on Friday.
The ancient city’s fresh new landscape is intended to "create a harmonious and friendly environment," Wang Sumei, vice director of Beijing Landscape Forestation Bureau, told a press conference at the end of July.
With over 100 gardens and parks, the capital city has long had a tradition of green space, which has been greatly augmented in the build-up to the games. According to Wang, since Beijing was chosen to host the Olympics in 2001, 24,000 acres of new plants have upped the city’s "green coverage" from 36 to 43 percent of the urban center.
‘A moment of change’
"I am here enjoying the sunshine, enjoying the green trees and the happy people," said Chen Guotian, 55, an English school teacher who was stretching in Chaoyang Park early Tuesday morning.
The largest park in the city – 790 acres compared with New York’s 843 acre Central Park – it will be the site of Beach Volleyball competitions once the games are underway. As such, it has been meticulously manicured and is full of elaborate flower beds, as well as basketball courts and exercise equipment.
By mid-morning, the smog-filled sky cast a haze over the highrise buildings surrounding the park – serving as a reminder that the shady, flower-filled park was a clean, calm respite from the busy city.
An area with nearly two dozen ping pong tables was packed with young and old enjoying a morning of friendly competition while an onlooker practiced Tai Chi.
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| Petra Cahill/ msnbc.com |
| Chen Guotian stretches in Chaoyang Park on Aug. 5. |
"The Olympics is a moment of change for the Chinese people. The trees are so beautiful, the fresh air, it is a transformation," Guotian said, describing her excitement for the Olympics, and her appreciation of the improvements they brought to her daily life.
"From the airport road to the four rings – it has changed greatly in the last two to three years," said Chen, a lifelong resident of Beijing, referring to the roads that circle Beijing.
Indeed, the roads around Beijing are lined not just with trees and run-of-the-mill marigolds, but with red and yellow irises, deep blue salvia, and pink and white cleome.
Chen said that she and her husband bought an apartment near the park a few years ago so that they could be closer to it and could take more advantage of its benefits. "The environment is very important for old people," she laughed. Admitting that she is not old now, but would be some time in the future.
Beijing’s parks are a haven for older people who take advantage of the shady spots to escape the humid summer heat and to socialize and exercise. In a smaller park in the Yayuncun neighborhood, about a dozen older couples were dancing to traditional music Tuesday morning.
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| Petra Cahill/ msnbc.com |
| Roadside flowers near Beijing's Chaoyang Park. |
Can it last?
Of course, all of the improvements beg the question: What will happen after the games? Water is a major issue and will continue to be one. At a recent news conference regarding Beijing’s landscaping and forestry, Qiang Jian, vice director general of Beijing Landscape Forestation Bureau, deferred on questions about irrigation and the fact that using so much water on the plants ran counter to many of the cities goals to conserve water.
"The greenification is very closely related to the irrigating efforts," said Qiang. How the gardens may be maintained after the games was not fully explained.
Nevertheless, there is one more group of flowers that were specially designed in honor of the games: "The Red Flame" – the name of the bouquet that will be handed to Olympic medalists.
Three years in development, the Red Flame bouquet was created to be easy to handle and small enough that it would not overwhelm or block the view of a small athlete, according to Wang Lianying, President of the Flower Association.
Wang also explained that the bouquet’s designers left nothing to chance when it came to numerology – the bouquet features nine red roses ("nine" is a lucky number in China because it rhymes with the word "everlasting" and represents unity) and six of each of the supporting grasses and flowers (apparently the word "six" sounds like the Mandarin word for "success").
And, will the bouquets last? Wang assured the assembled crowd at a recent press conference that the flowers would be refrigerated from the time they are cut until they are arranged – so they will be as fresh as can be. But, floral details aside, I’m guessing that holding "The Red Flame" while receiving an Olympic medal is a memory that lasts forever.
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