It's been a while since I last posted on this blog.  But with the Olympics in town and the world's eye on Beijing, I feel obliged to air my take on the Games as a Beijinger and a Chinese!

Kodak bloggers unite! Jenny, Wallace and Tom

Like so many Chinese people both in and outside Beijing, my family and I have spent the past dozen days in great excitement and festivity.  On most evenings, we have gathered in front of the TV to watch the breath-taking moments when the Chinese athletes won gold medals, broke world records, or otherwise made history, especially in such events as FENCING and CANOEING where European athletes dominate.  Even my parents, who are in their mid-sixties and usually very quiet and reserved, shouted and laughed for the joy of unexpected victories, and shed tears for the sorrow of failed attempts.  As far as I am concerned, that is the most important part of the Beijing Olympics, or any Olympics for that matter -  to enjoy the spectacular performance that the world's greatest athletes have worked so hard to put on.  And a big plus of being the host is that ordinary Chinese people have never enjoyed Olympics so closely, and with so much comfort and convenience - you don't have to stay up until the small hours to watch one of your favorite matches!

For someone living in Beijing, however, such convenience has come at the price of many inconveniences in other aspects of everyday life.  Between July 20 and Sept. 20, I can drive only every other day because of the odd-even-plate-number traffic restriction that aims to ensure better air quality during the Games.  On some streets in the vicinity of the Games venues, one lane is set aside for use by Olympics-related vehicles only.  When I go to the airport, I have to go through more than one security check.  Business activities in Beijing have also suffered some disruption due to temporary measures put in place to improve the city's air quality.  For a much longer period, Beijing has been like a huge construction site, as the new Olympic venues, new roads and subway lines have been built in the past few years on an unprecedented scale.  

Is all of this worthwhile?  I guess the answer depends on where you stand and what you value.  For me, I would definitely have answered "Yes" last Saturday, when I was pleasantly surprised to see a clear, deep blue night sky scattered with numerous bright stars.  I have lived in Beijing for 16 years, but this is the first time that the city's night sky reminded me of the starry night that I remember from my childhood in the northern countryside!  I would also have answered "Yes" when I suddenly found in recent months that several new subway lines opened for operation one after another, making it much easier to get around the sprawling Beijing city.  The earlier nuisance of noise, dust and blocked roads associated with construction work seems to have been worthwhile after all. 

It is a big question mark whether Beijing can manage to sustain the great air quality we have enjoyed recently after the Games, when some of the temporary measures are lifted.  Probably not as much as one hopes.  But I'm sure the situation will only get better, little by little.

Finally, I think I'm not alone in finding the joy of the Olympics occasionally tempered by my thoughts of those people who are still trying to recover from the May 12 Sichuan Earthquake, which killed nearly 100,000 people and left tens of millions homeless.  It is incredible how China as a nation has pulled itself together despite the pains and sorrows of this huge natural disaster and delivered on its promise to the world to stage the best Games ever.  I feel this speaks to the courage and resilience of the Chinese people, as well as China's determination and ability to live up to its newly-found role as a major player on the world stage.

When I was home for Christmas, I began to review some of the digital photos on my computer and it occurred to me how much my life had changed in one year. Exactly one year ago, I spent Christmas with my wife in the beautiful old town of Lijiang, in the southwestern province of Yunnan, China. Neither of us realized then that it would be the last touring trip that we'd get to make together in the coming few years. We didn't know that my wife was already pregnant with my son when we went on the trip. With my son nearly 4 months old now, I had an interesting feeling looking at these photos from last Christmas, almost as if they are from another life!

Looking back though, I'm glad that we didn't know, for we would probably have canceled that trip to be on the safe side. Or even if we made that trip, we definitely would not have ventured to mount the Yulong Snow Mountain near the Lijiang old town.

Although we reached the top of the mountain in the ease of a cable cart, quite a few people suffered from altitude sickness as it is already 4506 meters above sea level where the cable cart dropped us off. As we landed from the cable cart feeling ok, we went on to climb the wooden staircase that winds its way further up the mountain for another few hundred meters, which translates into another 100 meters in altitude. We were equipped with two bottles of oxygen that we bought at the bottom of the mountain. Halfway on the staircase, we found ourselves stopping constantly to inhale the bottled oxygen, and it became a real challenge to move our legs forward. Finally, my wife began to feel a little sick and suggested that we give up on the adventure. So I gave my bottle of oxygen to her and we started to grope our way down the staircase.

Soon after we returned from this trip, we found that my wife was already pregnant. For some time, I was secretly worried that this adventure of his mother on the Yulong Snow Mountain might affect the health of the baby. Fortunately, it is clear now that my son must have dealt with the altitude sickness better than his mom!

Late in the afternoon last Sunday, I was driving away from my apartment building when I was attracted by this group of kids doing their own drawings of the building. They must have been the kids from the nearby community kindergarten. This sight touched upon a most tender part in my heart. Before I knew it, I had stopped the car, taken out my camera, and captured this scene in the dusk light.

It occurred to me later on that I would not have done this two months before. Yes, it would have been an interesting sight to me. But it would not have triggered the myriad of tender thoughts and feelings that I experienced when taking this picture. What makes all the difference is the fact that I became a new father two months ago.

One thing I have recently learned is that being a new father has afforded me a very different perspective on the world around me. For the past 7 years, I have largely focused on my career and the well-being of my family. I have been less sensitive to the joys and sorrows of other people beyond a small circle of family and friends. With the arrival of my son in this world after a most perilous night during which I accompanied my wife in the delivery room, I must say I have developed a new respect for life, I mean ANY life. Like nothing else, this fragile new addition to my life has bonded me more closely with the larger world than ever before. I feel myself more connected with other people in this world, which is a wonderful feeling. For that, I am grateful to my son and the power that has blessed me with his arrival. I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling this way, and I would love to hear you sharing some of your experiences and feelings as a new father or mother.

Looking out east from my Kodak office on the 9^th floor of Beijing Kerry Center, I can see this gigantic structure across the street gaining height almost daily, as more than 1,000 workers toil away on the site almost around the clock. I took this picture at my window using the panoramic stitching feature on my EasyShare V570 dual-lens camera. This new site of CCTV, China's affluent and powerful national TV station, is expected to be up and running by late 2007 or early 2008. The mandate from the government is to finish the work just in time for the site to serve as the base camp to broadcast the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games to the world.

The subject of much excitement and controversy, it is extolled by some as an architectural triumph, and decried by others as a shameful smear on the landscape. You can click here and find out for yourself. One thing is certain though, this 230-meter, $600 million high-rise is destined to become a new landmark for Beijing, whether you love it or hate it. Conspicuously located in the heart of the Central Business District (CBD), it is going to be the tallest building in the capital city. Due to its height and maverick design by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, it is expected to "command" all the other high-rises in the CBD by defining the spirit and capturing the soul of the bustling district. If you can make it to Beijing during the 2008 Games, make sure you include the new CCTV site in your sight-seeing plan. Whether you like it or not, you should not feel bored.

To truly understand what this means to Beijing, you cannot view it as a stand-alone thing. In the totality of Beijing's massive preparation for the Games, it is simply one of hundreds of major construction projects unfolding all around the city, including stadiums, wider roads, multiple metro lines and a new airport, as well as the relocation of polluting plants to outside the city.

As Kodak is a top Olympic partner, I feel thrilled about the prospect of helping to stage the Games in my home city as a Kodaker. However, millions of Beijing residents like me are having to pay the price of putting up with the very real pain of living on a virtual construction site of a city in the run-up to the Games. Overall I'm taking it with good humor. Well, I admit I can get cross when I find myself stuck in the infamous morning/evening CBD traffic. And I'm not at all sure how much worse the traffic could become with the completion of the CCTV site. Looks like Rem Koolhaas will not only leave his mark on the CBD's skyline, but also make his impact felt on its streets.