I've only been here a few days and am clealry seeing the city at its best, but here are my impressions:
-Everything is big. From the six to eight-lane thoroughfares to the huge city blocks to the vastness of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, to the massive buildings with throngs of people, the large scale of the landscape jumps out at you. No quaint brownstones or even 6-floor walk-ups here. Apropos, perhaps, for a government and society emphasizing the collective over the individual.
-The Chinese have been friendly. Even at the women's beach colleyball final this morning, the applause was only positive. Not a boo or heckle to be heard, nor dirty look to be seen.
-They don't really card about making money. The concessions at the events are priced within reach of the locals ($0.50 for a beer) although the selection is appallingly inadequate. It's almost weird but there were just a few souvenir shops at the events with not much of a selection.
-The city seems clean, the traffic not too bad, the subway clean and reliable, and the air quality has been fine. We've been told that all of this is the exception and not the norm. Clearly the government has invested a lot into making the city presentable. The question is to what extent things revert post-Games. I know some that are hoping that people get inspired to keep Beijing clean after the Games. I'm very curious to see how things are a year from now.
-While everything has been positive, I wouldn't say that it's a party atmosphere at the events. The vibe at the events is more on security and getting on with presenting the best face to the world vs encouraging those attending to hang out and party.
All in all, it has been fascinating.
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