A new subway line, which runs through the complex of stadiums, gymnasiums and parks for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, is to begin trial operation on June 1.

An official has said the construction of the subway tunnel and stations has been completed.

The 4.4-km-long line starts from Beitucheng, near the northern fourth ring road, and travels underground through the gymnasium of swimming, the venue for the Olympiad opening ceremony, the Olympic Park and the Forest Park. It has four stops.

Beijing currently has 95 km of mass transit railway lines in operation, of which 54.15 kilometers were built underground.

According to Beijing’s city planning authorities the city will increase the number of subway lines to nine with a total length of 200 km by 2008, and bring them to 19 totaling 561.5 km by 2020.
Source: English East Day

Beijing plans to shut down 144 petrol stations by the end of May. That is about 10% of the city’s total. The idea is to help clean up its air before the August Olympic games, state media.

These gas stations, and nine oil depots, are mostly owned by China’s state oil major Sinopec and by CNPC.

The oil facilities, mostly in outlying areas, are either too costly to run or fail to meet air quality regulations.

All the petrol stations in the capital city will have until the end of May to install equipment, costing about RMB600,000 ($83,680) apiece, to capture emissions from vehicles.

The city has 1,442 petrol stations.
Source: Reuters

Faced with persistent air pollution despite promises to stage a green Olympics, Beijing is planning to reduce its motor traffic by half during the Games to improve air quality and ease traffic flow.

This according to an article in The Beijing News which said the number of vehicles in the city was expected to reach 3.3 million by August, meaning that roughly 1.65 million cars and trucks would be pulled off roads each day. The city will dedicate lanes to Olympic traffic and increase public transportation with new shuttle buses to accommodate visitors and local residents, the article said.

Beijing officials have not announced Olympic contingency measures, but the newspaper said the traffic plan had been completed.

The city’s air pollution — ranked by some studies as among the worst in the world — is one of the most pressing challenges facing Olympic organizers, with fewer than 200 days until the opening ceremony on Aug. 8.

Many Olympic teams plan to train outside the city to protect athletes.

Besides whatever measures Beijing officials take to reduce pollution, factories throughout north China may face shutdowns during the Games.

Guo Jinlong, the acting mayor of Beijing, said, ‘The task of controlling pollution and traffic congestion is arduous.’

Traffic restrictions have been anticipated for the Olympics since last August, when Beijing conducted a four-day experiment that limited motorists to driving on alternate days, depending on whether the last number on their license plate was odd or even.

That test eliminated more than one million vehicles each day, easing traffic but having a less substantial effect on air pollution. The Beijing News did not specify whether the odd-even system would be used for the Games.
Source: New York Times

Chinese couples who wish to get married on the opening day of the Beijing Olympic Games can do so provided they apply in advance.

Beijing municipal civil affairs bureau spokesman Guo Xusheng denied rumors that marriage registration offices would be closed on August 8.

Guo Xusheng said, ‘Couples are free to tie the knot on any weekday, so why not on August 8?’

The Chinese love the number 8 (ba) because it sounds like the word for wealth and fortune (fa). August 8 is ‘extra special’ this year because of the three 8s in the date.

Last year, 3,390 couples tied the knot on the lucky date, and some of them had to wait outside the marriage registration office for one entire night.

Some wedding planners, however, have advised newly weds not to hold wedding ceremonies on that day.

An online wedding planner Lu Ke said: ‘The government will impose rules to smooth the flow of traffic during the Games, which could make transportation unpredictable. So you shouldn’t take too many risks on your wedding day.’
Source: China Daily

Beijing saw its 246th blue sky in 2007, narrowly fulfilling its annual target of 245 days of blue skies. (For the record that leaves, say, London for dead and is not that far from Sydney.)

Beijing’s air quality has shown steady improvement for nine straight years. Last year, Beijing had 241 ‘blue sky’ days.

As the Olympic Games near, Beijing has intensified its efforts to curb air pollution. The city planned to have 245 days with fairly good air quality in 2007, or two thirds of the total days.

Statistics show that although the number of ‘blue-sky’ days did not increase dramatically, there were also fewer extremely bad air days. Beijing recorded only three heavily-polluted days this year, lasyt year there were 13.

The capital launched a drive called ‘Defending the Blue Sky’ in 1998, when it only had 100 days of fairly good air quality.

The Olympic host city aims to have 70% of the days in 2008 up to the standard. Which means at least 11 more blue sky days.

Beijing has been working to reduce pollution and improve the air quality to ensure a ‘Green Olympics.’

For example, the municipal government cut public transport fares in an attempt to lure local residents out of their private cars. The city has also converted 18,000 outdated coal-fired boilers and installed electrical heaters in 20,000 detached houses, replacing coal-heated devices.

Beijing is also considering traffic controls during the Olympics, in which drivers with even-and odd-numbered license plates, except taxis, buses and emergency vehicles, would only be able to drive on alternate days.

During a test of this proposal conducted from August 17-20, about 1.3 million cars were taken off the city roads each day and the amount of pollutants discharged was cut by 5,815.2 tons, according to a report by the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau. It is not known why this plainly beneficial rule has yet been brought into effect.
Source: China View