Beijing 2008 organizers officially released a guiding document for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games Friday on the eve of the first anniversary of its successful Olympic bid.
The document, called “Beijing Olympics Action Plan” will become the guideline for the city’s Olympic preparations.
It covers five major areas, including the overall strategic concept development of Olympic venues and related facilities, national environment and infrastructure development, social environment development and strategic support.
A draft document was released in March to solicit the opinions of the public, and received a great response from the whole country.
The public is also concerned about how the 2008 Games could leave a unique legacy for both China and sports and how such legacy could fully show China’s national features.
With more than 50 amendments or supplements made on the basis of the public’s opinions, the final version of the action plan is more in accordance with Beijing’s economic and social circumstances, becoming more practicable and more of a guideline document.
Meanwhile, Shan Jixiang, director of the Beijing Planning and Design Committee, said the city planned to preserve additional neighbourhoods in its ancient heart and ring the area with greenery in the run-up to the Games. But a year after winning the bid, Beijing is still demolishing inner city homes and spending most of its money to widen clogged roads and tackle pollution.
Shan said, “the biggest problems are the environment and transportation, so we are devoting the majority of our investment and projects to these areas. In the process of these efforts, businesses and residents are moving”.
He added that under demolition plans that took effect in 1990 the bulldozers were to spare only around 600 of some 6,000 maze-like alleyways or hutongs in Beijing’s dilapidated core.
But now he said planners had earmarked five new areas for conservation, increasing from 17 to 21 per cent the protected area within the once-walled capital.
According to a news release 69,000 households would be displaced in 2002, about 10 times more than in 1990.
Construction of Olympic venues would begin in the second half of 2003, said Shan. Architects from 15 different countries and regions have submitted 91 proposals in open bidding for the two major Games sites to the north and west of the inner city.