Beijing Starts to Feel The 'Olympic Effect'

Newsweek, December, 2006 by Melinda Liu

Once every decade or two, in the life of a great nation, celestial bodies align just right and set the stage for change. For the People's Republic of China, which has already achieved a stunning rags-to-riches transformation, 2007 promises to be such a year. The biggest catalyst for the country's extreme makeover, of course, is the looming 2008 Summer Olympics.

Over the past few years Beijing's race to erect prestigious Olympic venues and create a "Chinese-style Manhattan" scarred the Chinese capital with vast, yawning construction sites. Now many are morphing into glittering, cutting-edge architectural gems. Yet the "Olympic effect" is more than a physical face-lift. Preparing for the Games has become a nationwide exercise in soul-searching and self-improvement, too....

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