万花筒 Kaleidoscope2007-10-22&10-23, 奥运---北京大变脸（在线收听）

A phoenix is rising from the ashes of a battered Beijing. With less than a year into the start of the Olympics, the Chinese capital is being given a twenty billion-euro face-lift. No matter where you go, you’re surrounded by cranes and scaffolding. There are currently more building sites in Beijing than in the whole of Europe. The Olympics is a perfect excuse for the authorities to turn a slumbering Beijing into a 21st century capital.

The country is undergoing a rapid development. On the one hand, the historical districts of Beijing must be preserved. This must go hand-in-hand with the modernization of the city. Some of the changes would of course affect the layout of the city. For example, widening the roads will obviously cause the destruction of old houses. As the standard of living increases though, we are obliged to modernize these traditional residences.

But for many Beijingese this modernization is a bitter pill to swallow. Tens of thousands have been evicted from their homes and demonstrations take place daily. Nothing has come off them though, the majority of traditional districts still being destroyed. It’s necessary to make space to accommodate the symbols of new Beijing, an opera house, an Olympic stage and towering office blocks. Of the old city little remains other than a few houses, and these completely renovated.

When I was young, we had to burn charcoal to stay warm during the colder months. I remember it burning my eyes. Today though the government has renovated these districts and installed electricity and running water. It’s much more practical. Hutong has become even more beautiful.

More than a hundred million euros a year are currently earmarked for heritage protection. But many don’t think it's enough and the government should be spending more to safeguard the city's history.

One hopes that the democratic spirit—the spirit of culture and heritage protection will increase and improve. We need to protect this city’s heritage and sometimes it’s necessary to fight for this.

On the countdowns, completion has already started there are just three hundred days left for the excavators to finish their work., just enough time for the dust to settle before the Olympics. The authority is guarantying the work will be completed in plenty of time for the opening ceremony.