No Escape Beijing Olympics 2008: The Olympification of the Streets

Think the games are confined to the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube? Well think again, outside of China the Olympics might be confined to your TV set or your computer screen, but not so here in Beijing. Let’s move out into the streets.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on which side of the fence you stand upon), even miles away from the Olympic Green, the Games are still very much a part of life for Beijingers.

Want proof? 16 pictures — will that do?

Beijing Subway: Olympic Mania

Yours truly’s second home (a mobile one at that), the Beijing Subway, has been successfully brainwashed into Olympic Mode. In many a Subway station, you see this:

The whole thing gets scarier when you approach the station at platform level: Actually, it gets scariest at busy stations, where whole crowds assemble and watch the Games. Sudden yelps of sheer joy (or, if it’s a soccer game, shouts of sheer anger), are suddenly here and there. It’s no rocket science, we guess…Above Underground LevelWant to escape the underground world for a bit non-Olympic Beijing? Above ground, it’s just as Olympic as underground:
  Even outside major corporations and even government buildings, the atmosphere is still very much Beijing 2008 Outside Central Beijing Outside central Beijing, the slogans still have it that this is one heckuvan Olympics City. Unfortunately, I couldn’t exactly pull of the trick of shooting photos while driving, so I’ll leave you with just one pic I took when the car was pretty much still: This is in Huairou, about 40 to 50 miles northeast of central Beijing. Even here, though, Beijing is still in Olympic fever. One More Thing Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. That’s the back of a ticket to the Olympic Games! Spread the word: