The workers gymnasium near my house was to be used for the boxing events.
The weather this summer was spectacular, without the crazy heat of previous years, and much better air quality as they prepared for the coming games.
I hit up one of my favourite sandwich places here in Beijing, Bocata. Every single restaurant, bar, and probably brothel in town had a TV with full-time coverage of the games.
Tabletop. WOoo.
All the events had pretty heavy security, but everything seemed to be going quite smoothly.
Strict traffic restrictions seemed to have an effect, as traffic was great the whole time here.
This is the main Worker's Stadium, which hosted some footie.
The buses were insanely packed.
The police presence was pretty heavy too, helping with traffic and offering help to anybody who asked.
They additionally set up these "help booths" all over the city, which was kind of a nice touch.
I've never seen anybody directing traffic at this intersection before. But then, I've never seen it swarmed with a zillion Olympics-crazed spectators before.
Beijing welcomes you!
Helpful help ladies!
This is the new Sanlitun Village, which was supposed to open in early 2007 as the "Sanlitun Style Complex" or something. The developers ran out of money, and it was only in late 2007 that somebody else came along and finished it.
It's a collection of very unusual looking buildings, that somehow works when finished.
Holy crap, It's Yao Ming! Oh no wait, it's just his t-shirt.
No new-age Beijing place would be complete without a 星巴克, or Starbucks in common lingo.
Of course, there was a TV with Olympic events on it.
Hey there's an Apple Store here now too!!
It's got all the same stuff here. Only about 15% more than equivalent prices in the US (but still cheaper than the UK hahahah).
Just like any other Apple store, people mostly come here to check their Email.
Holy crap, that's a lotta shoes!!!!
This is the big Landao shopping centre complex. Lots of TVs here too.
This is over at The Place, a complex famous for its monstrous-ass suspended TV. They had a Coca-Cola Olympic Display or something. You had to wait in line quite a while to get in.
That's a seriously long line
and that's a seriously huge TV hanging overhead there.
Next, finished the day off at Qianmen, near Tiananmen square, first passing by the old Palace Musem here.
Tiananmen was simply closed.
That's the National Theatre in the background.
Ready .... set ....
goooooo!!!!!!!
And finally arriving at Qianmen.
Apparently there used to be trains.
They've completely rebuilt this place, putting in tonnes of interesting and slightly old looking buildings.
And of course, a gate (men).
You quickly realise there's something seriously wrong with this place once you get here and start walking ...
It takes a few seconds to put your finger on it ....
but then you take a closer look into a shop and ....
.. realise that they're all empty. About 98% of them.
It's just a shell of a neighbourhood with nothing to do.
It's bizarre.
It's completely soulless.
But that doesn't stop the hordes from having a grand ole' time walking up and down the road once.
There were 2 restaurants open.
And a few bajillion people taking photos.
The Qianmen post office.
Here is a pretty poor quality panorama of the Qianmen area. It's a bit harder for the software to work with close quartered photos.
One of the two restaurants was apparently worth waiting in line for an incredibly long time.
Yaaawwwwwwwnnn.
Qianmen used to be a somewhat interesting very old, run-down, and creepy place. Now it's a sparkling clean, modern, completely vacuous place. Go figure.