Soaking up the Olympic atmosphere in Beijing

Matti Varheenmaa has been preoccupied for the last few weeks with the preparations for the Olympic Games. Varheenmaa works as a project manager for the Chinese PC company Lenovo, one of the major commercial partners of the Beijing Olympics. Lenovo operates a customer service counter at the main press center of the Games.

"I would have never expected this kind of Olympic hype. All the people are so excited -- especially the volunteers-- to be a part of this thing. Some Finns might consider it to be quite unconceivable for someone to work long days for a month or two, without any compensation. But the Chinese here seem to take it in stride and even enjoy it," Varheenmaa says.

The number of tourists in Beijing has increased many fold with the approach of the Games, Varheenmaa says. This is clearly visible even near Varheenmaa's office, which is located clear across town from the places most often frequented by foreigners.

"The other thing is that with such large numbers of foreign reporters arriving here, you cannot but notice them. Everywhere you go, you run into people toting cameras and microphones, reporting on everything they can think of."

Life in an Olympic city

Varheenmaa has lived in Beijing for almost three years. According to the Finn, the Games have helped completely transform the city's almost depressingly gray facade. Numerous improvements to the city's infrastructure have also made life in the city a little bit more pleasant.

"Another sector in which the city has taken huge strides is public transportation. New subway lines and stations have been opened, and even the ticket system has been modernized to where we can now use rechargeable smart cards like in Finland for example."

Beijing has incontestably undergone a significant face-lift. Numerous new shopping centers have emerged and the roads have been upgraded, and the work still continues. Varheenmaa especially praises the traffic arrangements at Beijing's new international airport terminal, which have helped cut congestion to a minimum.

"The new airport is one of the most visible improvements to the city. The old terminal was - to put it nicely - quite rundown. So, this new one really makes life easier. And what's more, the new subway line makes getting to the airport very simple by completely sparing you from the traffic jams."

Car restriction helps cut pollution

While some Olympics preparations have helped make life in Beijing easier, the tightened security measures have, in contrast, made it slightly harder. Varheenmaa says that in subway stations, for example, the security checks were initially conducted almost too zealously. Now, however, the security guards have learned to take a more practical approach to them.

"Well, it does make life a little bit more difficult, but they've found a sort of middle path, which makes things flow smoothly. In addition, people have already become accustomed to the checks. In practice, whenever you go on the subway, you have to take your luggage through an X-ray machine just like at the airport, but they don't have metal detectors or anything like that. The security check doesn't take that long, as long as people go through it in an orderly fashion."

Before the start of the Games, there was much discussion about the air quality in Beijing. In July, Beijing introduced a partial car ban, which has halved the number of cars on the city's roads. Nevertheless, it is difficult to evaluate the effects of the car restriction.

Beijing's infrastructure underwent vast improvements in the run-up to the Games. (Image: Radio86)"It's hard to say whether the ban has been effective in reducing air pollution in the city -- let's say that in any case it has not been a bad thing. If the ban hadn't been put into effect, the air quality would most certainly be a lot worse than it is now. The problem here is that the skies are quite often covered in a haze, which is not necessarily in any way linked to pollution. The city is situated next to a mountain range, and on a windless day, the mist just gathers over it."

Varheenmaa says that since the car restriction went into effect, the number of clear-sky days has increased significantly, and even scientific measurements have shown the air to be cleaner. Nevertheless, he thinks that the time in which the air is expected to clear up has been somewhat underestimated.

Varheenmaa will follow the Games mostly from behind the scenes because there is a lot of work to be done.

"I have made plans to go and watch one beach volleyball match, and also the opening ceremonies of the Paralympic Games. But otherwise I really don't have the time to attend any of the other events. In addition, it's been very difficult get tickets, even if you live here in China. Initially I wanted to go and watch the opening ceremony, but getting the tickets proved to be such an ordeal, that I had to give up on that idea."