We lived in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympic games. It was like a massive convention swept into, and took over, the town. Most of us who lived there were browbeaten into telecommuting (a much newer idea twelve years ago) and avoiding driving.
The day before the start of the big event there seemed to be more official helicopters buzzing downtown than there was traffic. Almost the entire population had been swept up and installed in their homes. Somehow, deserted streets don't seem likely in Beijing, Hong Kong (equestrian) or Shanghai (football).
The question every four years is, are they ready? The consensus answer for Beijing is, yes. And in this day of the weakened dollar, one of the benefits of a summer holiday at the Beijing Olympics is that China has kept the Yuan largely steady at eight, more or less, to the dollar for years (it's now right at seven). Your dollar ought to go much further than if you stay in that matchless Tuscan villa.
This Olympics was meant to showcase a rising and confident New China, and just yesterday we saw an indication of the return of official confidence with the resumption of tourism to Tibet. But James Fallows, who writes and blogs for The Atlantic magazine, has a cautionary note about the official mood in Beijing.
There are photos from all over China in the EarthPhotos.com China gallery.
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