This year Beijing Olympic Games has a “Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics, People’s Olympics” mission and Haier (海尔), the world’s fourth largest white goods (major household appliances) manufacturer, has provided more than 60 000 tree-hugging and energy-saving electronic products to BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games).

Haier has designed a complete line of green products for the Beijing Games. 31 categories of Haier products have been installed in all Olympic venues in Beijing and the co-host cities. The Olympic products are also on sale throughout China to meet the consumers’ need.

Haier has supplied all venues with 13,236 refrigerators, all CFC-free, with 5,353 using carbon dioxide as a natural refrigerant.
1,500 green washing machines have been installed in 18 laundries established by Haier in the Olympic Village and the Media Village to provide quick and efficient laundry services for all athletes, officials and journalists.

Mind-numbing numbers, eh.

Via IT news

No earthquake is expected to hit Beijing during the Olympic Games next month. No sign of a strong quake has been detected yet, so it should be a safe Beijing 2008.

The 107 quake-monitoring stations of the network cover a 150,000-sq-km area around the capital (Beijing) and are said to be the most extensive such network in the country. It can detect a temblor as light as magnitude 1.0 and report it within five to 10 minutes.

Via China Daily

The Chinese government has installed more than 10 000 “smart devices” (think high-tech cameras) in Beijing to track down individual vehicle. This goes with the alternate-day cars ban that will begin on 20th July. Offenders will be fined 100 yuan ($15).

Starting July 20, cars will be banned on alternate days depending on the last number of their license plate.

Hope the ban and these devices can reduce congestion and pollution during the Beijing Olympics.

Via Switched

Chinese President, Hu Jintao, rode a China Railways High-speed (CRH) train to test if the Beijing metro system is up to the mark for the Beijing Olympic Games on Wednesday.

The inter-city shuttle will transport Olympic spectators, athletes and other passengers during the Games. Some football preliminary matches will be held in Tianjin.

And at Beijing Capital International Airport, President Hu reminded waitresses in the spanking new, Norman Foster-designed terminal 3 to maintain the excellent service as the airport is “first gate of the country” that visitors and foreigners will gawk.

Via Xinhua

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is currently training Beijing Olympic officials in radiation training. For instance, officials are taught how to detect and handle dirty bombs.

Dirty bombs contain radioactive material blown up using conventional explosives, which disperse the often highly poisonous radioactive substances.

Security is the key in Beijing 2008.

Via M&C

The power of the Internet allows netizens to write online petitions and give online blessings. For instance, a “I Love China” website has dedicated itself to collect online dedications, messages and blessings for the Beijing Olympic Games from millions of Chinese netizens in the densely-populated country.

The power of the masses.

Via IT Bear

Samsung has unveiled another model of Beijing Olympics cellphones named “F268″ at CHITEC 2008 (The 11th China Beijing International High-tech Expo) in Beijing.

Via AVING

7.7 million yuan was used to get 1245m section of the Great Wall near Beijing restored recently. A waterproof layer was also constructed on the restored surface. This whole stretch of the Wall remains forbidden to tourists but visitors can still marvel at the Wonder of the World at strategic vantage points.

The Great Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage site, stretches for 6,700 km and traverses Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei and Liaoning. Its construction began some 24 centuries ago.

A really magnificent piece of art.

Via Beijing 2008

Japan’s electronics giant, Sharp, expects a real boost to its LCD televisions sales from the Beijing 2008 Olympics. China is already the third largest market behind Japan and North America for Sharp’s LCD flat screens. As China is becoming more affluent, imported luxury goods and electronics will be getting more popular. Businesses have to make use of Beijing 2008 as a platform to showcase their products to China and to the world as well.

Sharp hopes to sell 10 million LCD televisions worldwide in the year to March 2009, up about 11 percent from sales of about 9.0 million expected in the current year, group president Mikio Katayama told a press briefing.

Via AFP