Two years on from the Olympics, China’s capital is marching forward in its quest to be a world-class international city, says Paul Mooney
Beijing underwent one of the most ambitious urban makeovers the world has seen to host the 2008 Olympics, the most expensive in history. The transformation extended from state-of-the art athletic facilities and fast-rising residential and business districts to high-tech transportation networks and the renewal of historical sites, significantly remaking the layout of a city that has not changed much since Imperial times.
Foued El Mabrouk, general manager of the Grand Hyatt hotel, has lived in Beijing for more than 20 years. “City planning, infrastructure, transport, roads and landscaping are all better,” he says, adding that more attention has also been paid to the environment.
“You can even see it in local authority initiatives – for example, recycling and utility consumption. Awareness has been pushed up since the Olympics, and this will continue because the government has realised the impact it has had on social stability,” he says. ”The level of confidence and maturity has also increased – Beijing is moving towards becoming an international city.”
Many of the sporting facilities built for the games have been converted for public use. The National Aquatics Centre, popularly known as the Water Cube, has become a public water park following a year of construction work, giving the now sleepy Olympics area a boost. Meanwhile, the impressive National Stadium, otherwise known as the Bird’s Nest because of its large outer framework of intertwined steel ribbons, is being used for entertainment and sporting events.
China has so far escaped the full impact of the financial crisis and so Beijing’s economy continues to boom. During the first eight months of this year, the city chalked up almost US$170 billion in foreign trade, up 53 per cent from the same period last year. The total included US$31 billion in export value, an increase of 18 per cent year-on-year, and US$139 billion in import value, up 64 per cent. As a result, hotels are enjoying a promising recovery despite concerns about the oversupply that resulted from the Games, and competition from the World Expo in Shanghai, which draws to a close at the end of this month.
Mabrouk says that while occupancy rates remain below 2007 levels, “it’s not because of the downturn but the rise in the number of new hotels”. He adds: “Luckily, the economy in China remained strong and GDP increased. Interest in the Chinese economy grew and the influential economic, financial and political players continued to come here.”
He says the number of visitors is increasing but that arrivals are “spread among too many hotels. The pie is getting bigger but the hotels are too numerous”. And there are more on the way – hotel industry analyst STR Global says 23 hotels are being developed in the capital, contributing 6,267 rooms.
Properties to open recently include Shangri-La’s luxury China World Summit Wing, which launched in August, and the Hilton Beijing Capital Airport, which became the fourth Hilton-branded property in the city when it opened in July. Four Seasons, Intercontinental and Mandarin Oriental all also have projects under way. The Four Seasons property is set to open in 2012, while the Intercontinental Beijing City Centre, the third hotel for the brand in the city, is due to launch in 2014. Although the Mandarin was gutted by fire last year, construction began again in August.
Sources say the new supply will be soaked up by the growth in visitors. The Beijing Tourism Administration (visitbeijing.com.cn) says that from January to June this year, the number of tourists arriving in Beijing rose 8 per cent year-on-year, to a record 80 million. And according to the World Tourism Organisation, China will become the world’s hottest tourist destination over the next decade as it enjoys strong expansion.
International hotels are also looking to the domestic market to keep driving business. At the moment – unlike many other global cities, where locals make up the bulk of guests – China’s big properties still rely on overseas visitors.
“The room for improvement will be in the domestic market,” Mabrouk says. “The top tier hotels are 30 per cent domestic and 70 per cent international, but in the long run the domestic sector will grow. With the increase in wealth and disposable income, the need to use international hotels will rise.”
According to Airports Council International, the sharp increase in visitors meant Beijing Capital International became the world’s second busiest airport in the first four months of this year, with 23 million passengers to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson’s 27.5 million, having moved up to third place from eighth last year. This boost in numbers has been helped by the opening of Beijing’s sprawling Terminal 3 complex, which was built for the Olympic Games and is designed to accommodate the largest of passenger jets.
One of the best results of the Olympics is the high-speed light rail connection that whisks travellers along a 28km stretch between the airport and Dongzhimen station – located close to major embassies and hotels – in less than 20 minutes. Dongzhimen is linked with Beijing’s subway system and passengers can check in for their flight and drop off their bags downtown before heading to the airport.
Further projects to improve the city’s infrastructure are ongoing, creating “a lasting legacy of the Olympics that will improve movability”, according to Helena Fu, sustainability director for China for technical and management support services firm AECOM. Her company is working with city planning officials to learn how other world-class cities are dealing with transportation, municipal infrastructure, watershed development and energy.
A high-speed rail connection between Beijing and Shanghai is due to open next year, and the subway system, which has expanded dramatically in the past three years, will add several new lines. A 10km Maglev train line, known as Line S1 and designed for western Beijing’s Mentougou and Shijingshan districts, is awaiting the go-ahead. China will also begin to study the feasibility of a second airport for Beijing later this year. If it goes forward, it is likely to be located in the southern part of the city.
One of the biggest challenges will be finding a way to deal with increasing traffic problems – about 1,000 more cars take to the roads each month. Scott Kronick, president for North Asia at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, says: “[The government] definitely wants to build up mass transportation – there’s real concern about the congestion.”
One high-tech proposal that could change the face of mass transportation and put an end to the tailbacks is the Super Bus project, which will be tested in Beijing within a year. It will employ a huge bus that runs on rails straddling the streets, with cars moving freely underneath. The Super Bus will be able to accommodate as many as 1,400 people and move at a speed of 40 kmph, partially using solar power.
Plans are also afoot to reorganise the city. The government is developing the Central Business District in the east part of Beijing, where sleek new buildings are providing state-of-the-art offices for multinationals and big-name local companies. Hotel and retail space is also being added – as well as China World Summit Wing, the Park Hyatt opened here two years ago (see panel above). Meanwhile, banking institutions are setting up shop on Financial Street in the west, and new municipal government centres are rising in Tongxian to the east and Fengtai to the south.
The city skyline continues to expand, with well-known international architects coming here to design some of the most daring buildings in the world – a point that has upset many Chinese architects, who feel their foreign counterparts are using the city as playground for experiments.
Structures built in the run-up to the games include the CCTV Tower, designed by Holland’s Rem Koolhaas. Housing China’s behemoth state broadcaster and costing an estimated US$750 million, it stands at 230 metres and is composed of a continuous angular loop of horizontal and vertical sections, leading residents to dub it the “Walking Pants Building”. The National Theatre, an egg-like structure made of titanium and glass that looks like it was set down on Chang’an Avenue from outer space, and is seemingly balanced on a man-made lake, was designed by France’s Paul Andreu. Construction of the project was halted several times because of widespread opposition from local architects, who thought it too costly and out of place in a neighbourhood of Stalinist and Imperial architecture. Still, many agree that it’s one of the world’s most stunning buildings.
“All of the architecture coming up is part of the process of bringing China into the next century,” Kronick says. “The beautiful thing about Beijing is that you have a huge amount of tradition but you also have this ambition to be seen as a modern world-class city, a juxtaposition of the old and new, all hodgepodged together. That’s what I love so much about this city. You can have a guy riding a bike with a monkey in his basket next to a guy driving a BMW.”
Fu at AECOM says that even if the Chinese are bringing in overseas expertise, they will always seek their own path. “China will want its own type of solution, whether buildings or city plans,” she says. “Architectural and tech companies have to be aware of a common thought. It’s a matter of referencing local standards and contexts.”
Fu adds that Beijing contrasts markedly with her home in Queens, New York, which she says has not changed much in 20 years. “[In Beijing] you come back and the shopping mall is done over and there’s a new one right next to it – it does seem that the city is always shifting.
“I think Beijing is incredibly dynamic – although it’s a very old world city, it is also very young. It feels like it’s still in its adolescence.”
Where to stay
- China World Summit Wing
This Shangri-La property is one of Beijing’s newest international hotels, having opened in August. Located on the upper floors of the 330-metre China World Tower in the Central Business District, it is also the city’s highest property. The rooms are situated on levels 64 to 77, and all 278 of them have floor-to-ceiling windows and stunning city views. Each averages 65 sqm, and has free wired and wireless internet access, 40-inch flatscreen TVs, DVD players, TVs in the bathroom, iPod docking stations, and Nespresso machines. The hotel also offers an executive floor and conference facilities.
1 Jianguomenwai Avenue; tel +86 106 5052 299; shangri-la.com
- Park Hyatt
One of the best hotels in the capital in terms of facilities and ambience, the Park Hyatt is situated opposite the China World Trade Centre in the heart of the Central Business District. The hotel opened in 2008 and has 237 bedrooms ranging from 45 sqm to 240 sqm, and are equipped with comprehensive workstations and free wifi. The on-site fitness centre has state-of-the-art equipment and an atrium swimming pool. Xiu, a rooftop bar housed in traditional-style architecture, is one of the city’s most popular drinking places.
2 Jianguomenwai Street; tel +86 108 5671 234; beijing.park.hyatt.com
- The Opposite House
Situated in the booming Sanlitun entertainment district, this two-year-old boutique hotel has loft-like studios and two-level penthouses with a private rooftop terrace. The 99 rooms are designed to convey a sense of space and warmth by using natural wood, and the sunny atrium lobby is decorated with contemporary artwork. The Opposite House also has some of the best dining venues in the city. Wifi access is free throughout.
The Village, Building 1, 11 Sanlitun Road; tel +86 106 4176 688; theoppositehouse.com
- The Yi House
Open since the spring and located on the grounds of the Dashanzi Art District, this is one of Beijing’s more interesting concept hotels and is convenient for those doing business in the north-easterly part of the city. The red-brick Bauhaus-style structure, which was once a crystal factory, has a French colonial and deco character. Artwork – from nostalgic black and white photos to the works of avant-garde artist Chi Peng – is displayed around the property.
The 30 bedrooms offer high-quality linen, flatscreen televisions, Nespresso machines in the suites and free wifi internet access. Fennel restaurant features excellent Mediterranean cooking and there is also a gym on-site.
Jiuxianqiao Lu, 2 Hao Yuan, 798 Yishu Qu; tel +86 106 4361 818; yi-house.com
- Ritz-Carlton Financial Street
As the name suggests, this Ritz-Carlton is located on the gleaming Financial Street, and since opening in 2006 it has been one of the city’s smartest hotels. The 253 rooms are among the largest in Beijing and are brightly decorated with Tang-dynasty wood-block reproductions on the walls. You will find amenities such as LCD TVs and excellent workstations. Internet is available for free in public areas or 120 yuan (£11.50) per 24 hours in the rooms. The hotel also has a great spa and restaurants.
1 Jin Cheng Fang Street, Financial Street; tel +86 106 6016 666; ritzcarlton.com
- Fairmont
The 222-room Fairmont is situated in the heart of the Central Business District. Currently in phased opening stage, most of the hotel is now up and running, although the spa and pool are not yet open – they should be by the end of the year. The natural light-filled interiors, accented by contemporary Chinese artwork, create a nice “East meets West” feel. Rooms feature state-of-the-art technology, wifi and wired internet (120 yuan for 24 hours), 42-inch plasma TVs with a built-in computer and Bose Wave speakers with iPod docking stations. Conference facilities include a meeting concierge and themed dining rooms. Wood-roasted duck and Wagyu beef are available at the Cut restaurant.
8 Yong An Dong Li; tel +86 108 5117 777; fairmont.com
