All Beijing Olympic Venues Under Construction

With just 433 days to the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics Games,the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games confirmed earlier this month that all thirty-one of the Beijing-based venues are now under construction. Temporary venue for the triathlon event and urban road cycling course begun in earnest in April in addition to the 12 venues which are being built from scratch, such as the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, and include some of the largest architectural projects from the 18,000 capacity Beijing Wukesong Cultural & Sports Centre to the Beijing National Stadium, known as the ‘birds nest’ it will host both the opening and closing ceremonies seating up to 100,000 people. Smooth progess has been made, with main structures erected, most projects are on track for completion.

In preperation for the Games, the Chinese government is also investing in the renovation and construction of six venues outside Beijing. Part of the downside of hosting such as world class event, is the need for development land and as part of this overall project, over 300,000 houses have been demolished and their residents relocated. There are those that believe that the with Chinese Government’s ‘in with the new out with the old’ mentality, a significant proportion of historic architecture and culture intrinsic to these residential districts has been lost forever. However with tourism income accounting for over 5% of China’s total GDP, this figure is set to massively increase with the upside being that demand for property in both Shanghai and Beijing is likely to surge as the 2008 Games and the 2010 World Expo become a global showcase for both cities.

Further future developments on the cards include Shanghai Disneyland Resort which is expected to open in 2010 and having already opening the Shanghai International Circuit which first hosted the Chinese Grand Prix back in 2004, these Chinese cities are making all the right moves to creating the best environment for international property investment.