Planning On Beijing In '08? I Suggest....

[gh]

.... you bring your own air.

Holy shit! The pollution here (my first visit) is reminiscent of pictures of Pittsburgh in the 1950s, where you can't see more than a couple of blocks. The fact that it's 90/90 doesn't help either.

I predict the 10K will run in a time close to the WR. Men running close to women's WR that is!

But the people are wonderful, and there's an incredible sense of vitality to the place.

[paulthefan]

With an economy growing at 10% a year for the past decade and projected to continue at that rate, they will be the unrivaled giant of the east (and beyond?), just as we were in 1950 and it will all be funded by the US children of the 50s...

[az2004]

spend three weeks on the east coast prior to going to beijing to acclimate to the heat and humidity...

california dudes have a tough time once the dewpoint apporaches 60

[kuha]

This reminds me of the cartoons we saw after it was announced that LA would get the '84 Olympics: marathoners running in gas masks.

[mike renfro]

This reminds me of the cartoons we saw after it was announced that LA would get the '84 Olympics: marathoners running in gas masks.

But in '84, Angelinos had the moxie to get outta Dodge, thus reducting both traffic and pollution. Worked for me

[BruceFlorman]

But in '84, Angelinos had the moxie to get outta Dodge, thus reducting both traffic and pollution. Worked for me

Oh heck yeah! Those of us that stayed (I lived in LA from '83 to '89) wished the Games would never end.

[guru]

Re: Planning On Beijing In '08? I Suggest....

.... you bring your own air.

Holy shit! The pollution here (my first visit) is reminiscent of pictures of Pittsburgh in the 1950s...

How bad was Mexico City in '68?

[mike renfro]

Re: Planning On Beijing In '08? I Suggest....

.... you bring your own air.

Holy shit! The pollution here (my first visit) is reminiscent of pictures of Pittsburgh in the 1950s...

How bad was Mexico City in '68?

Probably not so bad as now. Populattion was quite a bit below the 15Million+ and not so many cars. But the alt and heat were probably there.

[Master Po]

We know these concerns are often/usually raised re championships in many of these cities, as kuha recollects about concerns re LA. And often those concerns are legit. In this case, however, I think gh's level of concern is real and legit. With populations go large, pop density so great, economic growth so great, and absolutely no emission control standards, this one really could be the worst for the combination of heat, humidity, and pollution. In some of these Asian cities -- and I'm sure in some other cities in the world that I haven't visited, you need to experience to really get the effect of how bad the air quality is.

[kuha]

I suspect that the Chinese government may well simply put their local Beijing economy "on hold" for the 3 weeks of the Games, in order for the air to clear a bit. They're in this strictly for political PR purposes, and moderately clear air will help in that cause.

I cited the cartoons of the late 1970s, because they clearly overstated the actual LA situation. There WAS real concern in the years leading up to LA, however, as any old timer will remember.

Mexico City was much smaller in '68, so the air probably wasn't horrible. I was there in 1975 and 1984 and in both cases, the air was like pea soup. The '68 Games were held in October, so the heat wasn't all that big a factor.

[Master Po]

I'm in agreement w you, kuha, and think I have read somewhere -- but now of course can't find the source -- that the PRC govt is planning to do just what you say around the time of the games.

[DrJay]

Re: Planning On Beijing In '08? I Suggest....

.... you bring your own air.

Holy shit! The pollution here (my first visit) is reminiscent of pictures of Pittsburgh in the 1950s, where you can't see more than a couple of blocks.

I was going to say "bring back a few bottles of it" but it would probably fall under the airlines' definition of "dangerous liquid".

[AS]

I was in Beijing about 5 weeks ago and I can couch for experiencing the thickest, brownest skies I've seen in any city in the world. Having said that, I also experienced some great hospitality, and have no doubt they'll get their sh*t toegther organisationally to run an efficient games.

Maybe they just need to bring in some big fans to blow all the grime away? Perhaps towards Taiwan...

[gm]

Or they could just lock it up and make it disappear...

Worst smog I ever ran into was in Santiago, Chile, due to the inversion layer.

[Quick Silver]

Beijing Air

Beijing is bad, but you should see Lanzhou.

Quick Silver
Hong Kong