opening ceremonies

I know it's been about two days since the opening ceremonies, but illness has prevented me from posting until now, and the following events have been the most singular experience thus far.

Friday evening, I was tasked with traveling via mass transit across town to purchase a particular cable from Beijing's brand new Apple Store. Those of you who know me will understand that exploring a foreign locale is one my absolute favorite things in life, and the language "barrier" only serves to add to the excitement.

The trip across town was uneventful. After reaching the closest stop, I took a quick taxi ride the last 3/4 mile to the center (I would have walked had I not been in a hurry). Inside the cab, however, I noticed this:


Since then, I've noticed at least four such microphones placed into taxis. Saying as little as possible, I jumped out and made for the center, which has apparently just been finished and is filled with stores allowed "just for the Olympics" (a phrase we're hearing quite often these days).



This mannequin occurs in a great many iterations around Beijing. There's one in McDonald's that's bigger than I am; this body alone stands over 20 feet tall.



The Apple store, opened last week. In spite of the fact that it features an identical guaranteed-to-make-you trip translucent staircase as the store in New York, this location blows 5th Avenue out of the water. Downstairs was a Fossil shop featuring only the most fashionable of watches at bargain basement deals. I picked one up; if any of you want the hippest watch on earth send me some money and I'll get you a something that would cost 3 times as much in the states. Seriously.

And this is where things really got interesting, though decidedly less pictorial. Leaving the center, city traffic had dramatically subsided (this was about 6.45pm, just over an hour before the ceremony). Walking to the subway station, I could not help but notice the spike in police, military, and paramilitary presence. There were two police cars on every corner and three police officers in each, as well as military at every large building and on all bridges. I hopped in the subway and rode back to the hotel without incident, then began to watch TV (and work some more). One channel appeared to be little more than every main traffic camera in the city, which clearly showed that only taxis, buses, and military vehicles remained on Beijing's streets. As the opening ceremonies began, the smog outside my window lit up with fireworks that were lit all around the city. Apparently NBC wasn't informed, because Chinese CCTV had an exclusive helicopter shot of the fireworks lighting all the way from the Bird's Nest through the Temple of Heaven and Tienanmen Square to the Forbidden City. This led into what we all now know as the most incredible opening ceremony ever staged.

The massive police force has more or less subsided, though traffic remains lower than the days immediately preceding the Olympics. In summation, if you want a job that allows for multitudinous hours of people watching, sign up for the Chinese military. To an outsider, many of the precautions seem slightly exaggerated yet entirely understandable. China is a nation with many real and legitimate threats against its security both within and without of its borders, and with over 40 heads of state in one city one can allow for a certain amount of zeal in pursuing safety. What strikes me as odd is the perennial phrase "just for the Olympics." More on that in an upcoming post. I'll also post photos from the sight-seeing day on a slow news day.