China Puts up Shiny Façade for the Olympics – Literally

Visitors walking down the freshly swept streets Luomashi Boulevard in Beijing don’t see the shops that are normally bustling with life on a typical day. Instead, they see an 8-foot wall, whitewashed and topped with roof pavers. It doesn’t just hide the shops. Behind them are the alleyway ‘huttong’ housing, which the government had hoped to clear out and demolish. Apparently, Chinese officials felt that the view of the shops and huttong would have put off foreign tourists, and they’ve been doing everything they can to make Beijing look nicer than it really is during the Olympic games. Residents didn’t leave in time, though – hence the wall.

From Boston.com:

“The government didn’t have enough time to get everyone to move,” said Zhang, a 40-year-old museum worker who only gave her surname. “So the wall went up for the Olympics. It is just to make a more beautiful environment for the city.”

She said she is willing to move if the developer offers her more money, though she declined to say what amount would be enough.

“I want to get on with my life,” she said. “Looking at the wall is very depressing.”

It’s yet another example of how Beijing is just putting up a façade for visitors from other nations, but this time, it’s literal. It makes you wonder how much the Chinese government cares about its people, considering that of the many promises it made during its bid for the Olympics, the only ones that were fulfilled were the ones benefiting tourists. Once again, China’s people seem to be left in the dust.

Link [Boston.com]

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