13810, is the number of cities worldwide. This is calculated by Wu Zhiqiang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former vice president of Tongji University, and his team, after retrieving the changes in the world's satellite images in the past 40 years through artificial intelligence recognition technology. Of the more than 10,000 cities, Beijing has at least one that has done so, and that is to host the Summer and Winter Olympics (the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympics) respectively.
Unique, unique and other distinctive achievements are highly regarded in this country of more than 1.4 billion people, especially sports, which is more involved, although people participate more from social media. The most intuitive example is the Chinese men's national football team (referred to as "Chinese men's football"), every game has tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of people pay attention, but there are only a few people who really go to the football field to play football - sometimes, "Chinese men's football" will be treated as a kind of "qu art", and its various materials often appear in entertainment programs such as cross-talk and variety shows.
Of course, change is happening, on the one hand, the government is promoting national fitness, on the other hand, the holding of many large-scale sports events has stimulated people's enthusiasm for participation in sports. The past Winter Olympics are an example, not only athletes from all over the world are fighting fiercely on the field, but also triggering the enthusiasm of the Chinese public for participation in ice and snow sports. In addition, due to the peculiarities of Beijing, the eyes of the whole world are gathered here.
"Unfortunately, due to the impact of the epidemic, I was unable to come to Beijing to watch the Winter Olympics. But from what I learned in Australia, the enthusiasm for the Winter Olympics in China as a whole is very high, the public participation is very high, the quality of the tv broadcast is also very good, which has aroused the emotional resonance of many global audiences, and from this point of view, the Beijing Winter Olympics have been very successful. Andrew James said of Sloth Bear Sports.
James is a senior director of POPRUS, he has 17 years of experience in China, the main work is the design of sports venues, including the Beijing National Speed Skating Hall "Ice Ribbon" of the Winter Olympics, the design comes from the company he works for, because of the epidemic reasons James is in Australia, even through video communication, you can feel his excitement about the success of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
▲Ice ribbon design drawing.
"The first time I came to China for work reasons was in 2001, to assist the Beijing Olympic Bidding Committee at the time to prepare for the Olympic Bid, and the biggest impression was that the road was wide, the streets were full of bicycles, occasionally one or two black cars passed by, and 80% or 90% of the means of transportation were bicycles, which was not exercise, it was commuting," James said. Looking out the window at the cityscape of Beijing, Paul lamented to me that Beijing now feels more modern than New York. Compared with Western cities, there are still many people on the streets of Beijing, and occasionally there will be people running, but not much, hoping that the success of the Winter Olympics will drive more citizens to invest in the wave of national fitness. ”
Like James, Su Tong, who has been engaged in the Olympic Games and its related work, describes the Olympic Games being held as a "grand narrative" and a carrier of destiny. In his 2049 studio, he said to Lazy Bear Sports: "The two Olympic Games (in Beijing) are a 'carrier' of fate for everyone, and you have to go with the flow and make good use of this 'carrier' to describe yourself, express yourself, and achieve yourself." ”
Su Tong's studio is crammed with books, maps and photos of him with various influential people. The group photo with an official of the Olympic Games is the most mentioned by Su Tong recently, which is mainly the "carrier of destiny" that he himself emphasizes.
Unlike their participation in the Winter Olympics, most people living in the city can only watch the Winter Olympic games through live television and new media broadcasts (a small number of people will be invited to watch the games live, but need to comply with epidemic prevention regulations), they look at the city where they live is witnessing history, or because of their busy work, they have no time to take care of it, and even trigger the feelings of old Beijingers "looking for their hometown" - psychologically, at a certain festival, major event, emotional impact, People often trigger inner thoughts: Where are we, who are we, what is our hometown like?
"Beijing has grown too fast, become an international metropolis, and become a place where people all over the country and even the whole world want to come and fight for it." Lazy Bear Sports designer Sun Yue sighed, "Where is our hometown?" ”
Andrew James.
Beijing gives anyone a chance: inclusion
Beijing, in the official and folk context of the West, sometimes stands for "China." This means that Beijing is not only the hometown of Beijingers, but also a gathering place for everyone of 56 ethnic groups and 34 provincial-level administrative regions. She's big enough, inclusive enough, and mobile enough. One example is that almost every small outbreak of the outbreak that began in 2020 has been indispensable to Beijing, mainly because Beijing's ties with all parts of the country cannot be separated. Therefore, Beijing has been getting bigger, transforming, blending, developing in a more modern and faster direction, and trying to carry the dreams and possibilities of more people.
"Beijing is not a very livable city, not even as good as Shanghai, Guangzhou, And Chengdu." Singer and musician Liu Minghui, who won the third place of the year in "China's Strongest Voice", told Lazy Bear Sports, "Beijing is very tolerant and friendly to young people, and she can really be a city that realizes her dreams." ”
Liu Minghui came to Beijing in 2002, and he has always felt that Beijing is very kind to him, very lucky. At the beginning, he came from Changchun to Sanlitun in Beijing to sing, and through his own efforts, he fell behind step by step and had a good life. For example, one summer, he and the band were rehearsing to sing some of Beyond's songs, when they came across a couple of followers wearing sunglasses. After coming in, he learned that the person wearing sunglasses was Wong Ka-keung (a famous singer and one of the members of beyond), and Wong Then told him about Beyond's creative philosophy and his experience in Japan. Finally, they sang Beyond's "No More Hesitation" together.
"Beijing has a lot of added value, anyone who is strong will feel small when they come to Beijing, and she will remind you of smallness and unimportantness from various aspects." Liu Minghui, who currently has an 800-square-meter music space in Chengdu and runs back and forth between Chengdu and Beijing, said, "Man is a complex animal, I miss Changchun when I was in Beijing, and now Chengdu misses Beijing." ”
Financial writer Zhang Xiaoping felt the same as Liu Minghui, who came to Beijing from Shaoyang, Hunan Province, became a financial journalist here, and later bought a house and lived a decent life. Although Zhang Xiaoping still remembers the life of sharing weal and woe with cockroaches when he first came to Beijing, he is grateful for Beijing's "added value" - he can go to Peking University, Tsinghua University and other lectures, and listen to various literature and economic forums and lectures. This invisibly gave him the leverage to change himself.
"There were a lot of opportunities back then, and in retrospect we missed a lot of opportunities. But I listened to Mr. Xiaobo (Wu Xiaobo, a financial writer), who said you buy a house and go, I did the right thing. Zhang Xiaoping said to Lazy Bear Sports.
▲ Yu Miao (front row, second from left) from Shenyang to Shanghai in 2007, 10 years in New Oriental, and now in the physical education industry.
In this survey, many people mentioned Beijing's tolerance, opportunities and vision, but they also pointed out that at a certain age, this opportunity in Beijing began to decrease or even disappear. Liu Minghui said that once people reach the age of 30 or even 35, they cannot buy a house in Beijing, solve the problem of household registration, etc., and their children will not be able to go to school. These thorny questions can leave people with a choice: Should I leave Beijing?
Almost every once in a while, enthusiastic young people who have struggled in Beijing will discuss how to "escape" beijing, return to their hometowns, or go to a more livable second- and third-tier city, which may be the place to take root in the next life.
"Many people in Beijing are concerned about the world, while many people in Shanghai are alone." Yu Miao commented on the difference between Beijing and Shanghai, she was the director of New Oriental, and in recent years in the development of the physical education industry, "Beijing's freedom and style are different. Beijing's political attributes are stronger, more policy-oriented, and people's thinking is more 'correct' than Shanghai's; Shanghai has more Western ideas, whether it is architecture or humanities, Shanghai is more diverse and free. ”
Yu Miao came to Shanghai on January 5, 2007, joined New Oriental through an interview, and then stayed in Shanghai and took root, she mentioned that her personality is more suitable for Shanghai - Shanghai makes her learn to be herself and pay attention to herself, while Beijing should love the organization more and be closer to the organization.
"If I can't love myself and the people around me, I don't have the ability to care about the world." 」 Yu Miao said, "For me, the quality of spiritual life is more important than having to do an earth-shattering event." ”
The impact of the Double Olympics on Beijing: Great changes
Over the past few years, many people have deeply resented the smog in Beijing, and they also miss the Beijing singer Lao Wolf's singing in "You at the Same Table": "At that time, the sky was always very blue, and the days always passed too slowly." ”
Beijing has become a place where many people struggle, many people have been achieved, and many people have been lost here, coming and going in a hurry, and sometimes Beijing has become a "station" - even Beijingers may not be able to find their own "nostalgia" and wander in their hometown.
Su Tong came out of the subway one day and saw a painting promoting Beijing, with the words "Beijing welcomes you" and then a beautiful river, and the Beijinger who grew up in 1968 (he claimed not to be old Beijing, his hometown is Tianjin) was surprised: "How is this the same as Shanghai?" ”
The river originally painted was the Tongzhou Canal, representing Beijing. "The concept of Beijing is already Tongzhou, Beijing is no longer the Central Government Affairs District of Tiananmen, this is a big change, you don't make this mistake." You see the airport has moved to Daxing, the Beijing Municipal Government has moved to Tongzhou, and in our impression, it is Tongxian. Su Tong said.
Some of the latest mapping software has marked the city of Beijing in Tongzhou.
Beijing has become larger, more prominent, more populous, many people can not find a sense of existence, pride, natural resistance to Beijing, it seems that in Beijing, a super city of more than 20 million, many people are "more than me no more, less than me a person" state, and the connection with Beijing is weakening step by step. For example, during the epidemic in 2021, I went to see Beihai Park, and at the end of the day, I suddenly found a place called "Tuancheng", bought a ticket to go in, and found that there were more than 800 years old trees on it.
I got goosebumps and was full of emotion. When I came to Beijing in 2007, I never knew about this place called Tuancheng — the 800-year-old tree seemed to be watching me, and I was listening to every ancient sound of it. This made me realize that the depth and remoteness of Beijing is not only the central axis of 700 years of history, the 600-year-old Temple of Heaven, and the Forbidden City and the Great Wall that have been visited countless times. I should re-examine the city of Beijing and re-examine myself.
"When we were young, we could see flocks of crows, not pigeons," Su Tong told Lazy Bear Sports, "The change in Beijing was mainly after the mid-90s, starting with the demolition of Wangfujing, and the dismemberment was more severe." ”
▲ A tree more than 800 years old in "Tuancheng".
Sun Yue, a designer of Lazy Bear Sports, has a similar view to Su Tong, whose two Olympics have been on a rapid development track, where his childhood farmers' markets, roadside stalls and all the fireworks have been replaced by uniform, modern equipment, and he now lives in Daxing , where many old Beijingers have undergone demolition, far from Beijing's second and third rings.
In this high-speed convergence with the world, the Olympic Games have changed Beijing, and Beijing is also reinterpreting the Olympic Games. Taking the Olympic Park as an example, the South And North Gardens are already must-visit places for many Beijingers on weekends and holidays. According to official figures, more than 500 million people were welcomed in 2018, and the runners on the runway there are enjoying the beauty of sports and the city of Beijing. With the arrival of the Winter Olympics, the strengthening of environmental governance has made the smog in Beijing almost disappear, and some media have also issued a sigh of "returning to Beijing".
Of course, just like the Winter Olympics, the two Olympic Games have left a lot of large sports assets for Beijing (which also includes Zhangjiakou and Yanqing). Taking the Bird's Nest as an example, in other countries, whether such a large venue can be completely left after the game is a difficult decision, but in China, every year the tourists from all over the country who come to visit the stadium are endless, even if there is almost nothing inside, even if the entrance fee is 50 yuan (the water cube is 30 yuan), and large-scale performances, corporate conferences and important events such as e-sports will be held here - the Bird's Nest, water cube and other Olympic venues have become a kind of "symbol" of a spiritual holy place.
Andrew James also reminded that China is building various sports venues, outside of Beijing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Xi'an, Wuhan, Changsha and other large stadiums are building, the purpose is to hold one after another large sports events, but many of them did not clearly consider the subsequent operation when building.
"The problem with most sports centers in China is that they are built for one purpose, to host a big event or to showcase their city, without thinking about how the venue will be used after the event. Usually such a sports center is not equipped with other functions, so you can only do sports when you go there, and you can't do other things, such as shopping, entertainment, or eating with friends. However, as I said before, China is experiencing rapid development, and the government and owners will pay more and more attention to the comprehensive planning, architectural design, quality, operation, experience and revenue of sports venues, and sports events and venues will also move towards a virtuous circle. "Sport creates pride and builds community, and events help increase community interest in projects, which in turn makes communities healthier." And the cultivation of sports heroes must first build everyone's enthusiasm for the project, sports heroes help us win the game, after winning the game more people have interest in the project, people are interested in it will want to try it themselves. This is one of the post-Match legacies of the Winter Olympics. ”
Perhaps, many cities will follow the sports characteristics of Beijing's "double Olympic route", and it will not be long before other cities will bid for the Olympic Games again, setting off new sports and madness again. And these madnesses will definitely bring many changes to the city itself, and naturally will leave challenges.
▲Liu Minghui came to Beijing from Changchun to establish a foothold and take root, and is currently working as an 800-square-meter music space in Chengdu.
How Beijing moves into the future: Be Yourself
Whenever winter comes, people living in Beijing will look forward to snow, because it is possible to go to the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven and other ancient buildings to enjoy the chic look of the snow scenery - every time it snows, the 100,000 tickets of the Forbidden City will be sold out, and some people sigh on social media: "Be sure to go to the Forbidden City once, in the winter when the snowflakes come with the wind." ”
This is the unique cultural connotation of Beijing, not only the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Bird's Nest, the Summer Palace, etc. these make up the "other Beijing" - people who come and go, began to be inextricably linked to this "Beijing". Singer Liu Minghui mentioned that the 2008 Olympic Games brought him a great shock, this special experience can not be felt in other cities, and he once again mentioned the word "added value".
▲ Su Tong, as the main designer, participated in the production of this "Olympic map". From 2008 to 2022, he was associated with sports in various ways.
Su Tong showed the appearance of the former "Beijing", once Beijing did not have air conditioning, but it is still a relatively distinct four seasons, walking on the street can be slow and leisurely, and you can also see a variety of large trees and ants. For his future and the city of Beijing, Su Tong told Lazy Bear Sports: "You can only follow the inertia. And the fate of Beijing City, in the tide of history, will eventually go in which direction, no one can make a judgment. But we need to find a new growth point for a city, and the epidemic has provided some new imagination space. ”
Indeed, the city of Beijing has a population of more than 20 million and more than 20 million interpretations. Coupled with its unique political, cultural, and spiritual significance, it has indeed become an all-encompassing "city". And as time passes, "change" may become the theme of the city. The American writer Witold Rybczynski mentioned in his book "The Transmuted Metropolis" that many landmarks are difficult to escape the fate of being demolished, the Marshall Store for 43 years, the Philadelphia Train Station for 54 years, and madison Square Garden for 25 years. Unless these buildings have special historical significance, they are difficult to withstand the test – because people's aesthetics will always be tired.
"On average, it will be repaired once every thirty years, and after sixty years it will be abandoned." Kevin Lynch, an American urban planning expert, said in his book "Here and Now."
Looking back at Beijing, including the Forbidden City, which was once almost demolished because it occupied too large an area, there will be many in Beijing. Liang Sicheng tried his best to protect the city wall, but ultimately failed, just a small footnote. Shenyang's Wulihe Stadium, a landmark that bears witness to Chinese football and even Chinese sports, was also blown up because it didn't match business, and we can only recall bits and pieces from the old pictures. Therefore, Su Tong's summary of Beijing is "lonely", and these attractions such as the Forbidden City are "individuals" rather than a complete display of Beijing.
According to China Mobile, beijing's new phone numbers have stopped growing at a high rate after 2018. This is a deeper problem for Beijing and urbanization.
Taking Tianjin as an example, many people who see the complete display of those modern historical buildings in Tianjin may be as touched as the "Tuancheng" in Beihai Park - of course, it takes efforts to protect these cultural relics with spiritual connotations, and even before they are built, they think of their multiple values. Not only is the purpose of the construction of many sports venues, but only to hold a sports event and ignore commercial operations, Barry Wilson, vice president of the Hong Kong Urban Design Institute, pointed out that the homogenization of Chinese cities is serious and fails to reflect the characteristics of the city.
"Ignoring emerging ideas and building for yesterday, not for tomorrow, creates a huge waste of resources and opportunities." To achieve more resilient cities, we must design our buildings according to local conditions. ProMed said this when attending the forum in September 2021.
As many of us in our survey have mentioned, Beijing's work attributes are stronger, the temperature of her association with everyone is weakening, and the touching, flesh-and-blood things are weakening or decreasing. To make a hypothesis, Liang Sicheng's evaluation of the Beijing City Wall at that time was "the courage of the world is unmatched", if such a thing survives, it will benefit future generations, because it will allow more people to find the past and see the future.
Now, Beijing, as well as the surrounding Zhangjiakou and Yanqing, have gone through the baptism of the Winter Olympics, and this "world's first-tier city" (in 2020, China's six cities will be selected as the world's first-tier cities: Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Taipei, Shenzhen) has once again walked ahead, with a "double Olympic" crown. The new coronation has also given people new expectations for Beijing.
The Canadian writer Irani Anosh put it this way in The City Without Sorrow: "Everyone is looking for a place where our hearts have not yet collapsed, where we have all our love and hope." ”
Beijing can be better, especially in the city and the people who see it as life, they want to have more contact with the city - Beijing can become their "home". Perhaps, as the slogan of the Winter Olympics goes: "Together to the future." ”
Friendly reminder: Beijing has become bigger, faster, and less like Beijing because of the particularity of sports, development planning, and political status. The good thing is that she can give anyone a chance; the bad thing is that her connection to anyone is waning. Especially those who regard Beijing as an irreplaceable hometowner for life.
Unlike the previous reports of Chengdu, Wuhan, Xi'an, Changsha, Hangzhou, Chongli and other individual cities planned by Lazy Bear Sports, Beijing will be a series, in addition to the two special topics this time, there will be an in-depth visit series of well-known sports attractions: 1. Gong sports, 2. Shichahai Ice Rink, 3. Tsinghua and Peking University (sports history), 4. Shichahai Sports School, etc., so stay tuned.