Busy Busy Busy

It has been a few days since I have last posted. Since Wednesday my hours have been pretty long. The media is slowly starting to arrive and we are expecting them all here by the end of next week. Right now we have 4 restaurants open and we will open the final 3 I believe next Monday.

My schedule came out and my hours are not bad. A few 3am shifts and the rest are day shifts which balances out nicely. I was trying to plan a trip to The Wall but the trip we wanted to go on is booked until September. I found an ad on craigslist for this tour to the wall in an area were not many people go. It is a 3-5 hour hike and the guy said the only tourists there are the people you go with. We all want to do it however most people leave at the end of August. I might try to go on one of the tourist trips now and then this guys trip in September.

Here is an email I got from one of the people on the project about the local happenings with the Olympics less then 2 weeks away. I thought you guys would enjoy it:

1. Steel giant helps to clear the skies

The Capital Steel Group has reaffirmed its long-standing promise to cut production during the Games in a well-orchestrated publicity move by Beijing authorities to show the world its efforts to provide athletes and visitors with a clear sky and cleaner air.
Group president Zhu Jimin said that its plant in the capital's western suburbs would run at only 27 per cent capacity to help cut emissions.
"Shougang [the Chinese name of the company] is a group with a strong sense of social responsibility," he said. 'I’m happy we can do our part to help present a great Olympics."
He said Shougang could afford to cut production temporarily.。
"Our group had record profits in the first half of the year, and I believe our profit in the second half should still be all right after we resume production after the Olympics."
The group posted net income of 5.26 billion yuan (HK$6.03 billion) in the first half of the year- much higher than last year's total of 4.36 billion yuan.
The company has shut down three big plants this year, allowing only one to run while the Games are on. Full operations will resume after October 1. However, Shougang will move all its steel production to Caofeidian in neighbouring Hebei province (~) by 2010.
Founded in 1919 in Beijing, the group has contributed dramatically to the economic development of the capital, but its emissions are thought to be one of the main causes of the city's pollution problems.
Although it has invested billions in the past decade to upgrade its filtering systems, the group has been at the centre of criticism whenever Beijing's air pollution problems are mentioned. Some academic research suggests the group is responsible for a tenth of all air pollution in Beijing.

2. Non-Games flights banned for opening

Beijing will restrict aircraft landing and taking off during the opening ceremony on August 8 airline officials said yesterday, forcing the rescheduling of dozens of flights due to security concerns
Domestic media reports quoted aviation Sources as saying Beijing Capital International Airport would be closed to all non-Olympic traffic between 8pm and midnight on the evening of the opening ceremony.
Officials at the Beijing airport and the mainland's aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Administration of China，said they were Unaware of the order or unable to comment．
Aircraft are already banned from flying over Beijing，though authorities are taking no chances and have placed anti-aircraft missiles near the National Stadium．known as the Bird's Nest．
From Sunday, passengers in Beijing，Shanghai，cities with airports designated as diversion airfields during the Olympics，and the restive regions of Xinjiang(新疆)and Tibet(西藏)will have to clear security before entering terminals．
Travel agents said some domestic flights were already fully booked on the evening of August

3 Buildings silent as workers exit, cranes stop July.21st

Building sites across the capital fell silent yesterday and the last of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers began leaving the city in Beijing's last-ditch effort to curb pollution and ensure Games security for the Olympics.
As part of a flurry of sweeping measures taking effect during the countdown to the Olympics, thousands of construction sites within the city's Sixth Ring Road came to a standstill and will stay that way for 60 days.
Infrastructure projects, including interior decorating operations at office buildings and residential areas have also been banned since yesterday in Beijing.
But Olympic-related projects have been exempted, with workers being kept busy adding final touches or cleaning up construction sites.

Factories were shut down July 21st and for the first few days we could tell the difference. Things were not as smoggy and the air seemed a little better. It has now been a week and it seems to me like it is right back where it began. We had a good run of seeing the sun and moon but now its back to clouds. Since I have been working 12pm - 10pm I have not been able to see how the traffic has been. We have actually been taking the subway in and a cab back.

The Subway is really nice here. Either the whole thing is new or they just got new subway cars but everything is very clean. It takes about 40 minutes to get to work and it is free. We show our Olympic credentials and we ride for free. It might switch to 24 hour service which would be awesome because I would not have to worry about turning in cab receipts anymore. We still do not have a bus to take managers back and forth. We are the furthest venue away and do not have a bus...we don't get it!

I need to head to work but just wanted to give everyone an update as to where I am what is going on. 12 Days until the opening ceremonies!