Beijing--50 Brilliant Years By Guo Meng Photos by Jiang Jun, Lu Gang, Lu Yan, Liu Xinhua, Teng Ke, Jia Dequan, Li Shixin

The face of Beijing is changing.

The city of Beijing is greeting the Socialist Motherland's 50th year with a furious blast of sound and glory this golden autumn. The government proudly pronounces that Beijing is becoming more beautiful, that it is changing beyond recognition and proclaims that these changes are winning the world's admiration. BEFORE: Jinaguomenwai Dajie, 1950s AFTER: Jianguomenwai Dajie, 1990s.

PLANTING

"Beijing seems to have changed from a construction site into a big garden overnight," according to the government, which has invested 110 billion yuan in 67 projects.

Beijing is planting trees, flowers and grass. A 20,000 square meter grass area east of the Second Ring Road from Fuxingmen to Yuetan Nanjie is the biggest new green area in Beijing this year. There is also a public square in the green area, with 10 sets of lights, a fountain and a sculpture.

Construction of public squares has been stepped up. A green area in front of Qianmen Jianlou covers 20,000 square meters, surrounded by 24 gingko trees and two flower terraces.

The newly completed Xidan Time Square has replaced the former commercial district in Xichengqu. The square is the first project where old housing has been demolished in favor of a new green grass area with trees.

TRANSPORT

New square at Xidan along Changan Avenue.

Ping'an Avenue today.

The new Oriental Plaza on Chang'an Avenue

The government still takes pride in its road building. At the founding of New China, there were only eight Beijing roads, a total length of 398.2 kilometers. They were 96 percent dirt. Some suburban residents had never even visited downtown. In 1978, the roads reached 6,562 kilometers. Since the adoption of reform and opening up policy, construction has taken off. The Jingchang Expressway, the Jingkai road, Jincheng Expressway and Jingshi Expressway opened the gates of Beijing to the north, south, east and west. Rural roads have tripled in length. There were roads connecting 3,754 villages in 1986, asphalt roads connecting 232 counties and asphalt roads established between villages in Tong County. The construction of the extension of Baiyi Lu started July 9, marking the first step in constructing Zhongguancun high-tech park. The 169-million-yuan project will extend the road 900 meters from Chengfu Lu in the south to Qinghua Xijie in the north.

Nannaoshikou Dajie today.

The Chinese government has dubbed the development of Zhongguancun Village a "cross-century strategy of economic development" and aims to build Haidian District into China's most vigorous knowledge and technological base by 2010.

A series of important road projects was completed August 28:

• Dongsihuan flyover
• Pingan Avenue, connecting Chegongzhuang and Dongsi.
• Caishikou Nandajie, from the South Second Ring Road to Caishikou and Nannaoshikou Dajie, connecting Changan Avenue with the Southwest Second Ring Road.

"It is hard to believe that it only takes 40 minutes to drive from the Capital Airport to Tianjin along the East Fourth Ring Road expressway, free of charge," according to the official Beijing government release. "Convenient transportation will bring more business opportunities to the two cities."

Beijing pledges 31 billion yuan for road construction in the coming five years. Other transport achievements are worthy of note.

Travelers could cruise Beijing's first waterway after completion of the boating phase of a 1.1 billion yuan urban water beautification project on July 28.

The subway between Fuxingmen and Bawangfen was scheduled for completion on September 28.

A light track train is under construction. The first phase of the project will be completed in 2001. From Xizhimen, the project amounts to 40 kilometers, 16 stops: Zhongguancun, Qinghua University, Beida University, Shangdi Industrial Park, Aviation City and the future Microsoft Park.

Beijing Railway Station in the 1980s.	Chang'an Avenue in the 1950s.	Chang'an Avenue in the 1980s.
Nannaoshikou Dajie before reconstruction in 1998.	Dongdan in the 1950s.	Ping'an Avenue before rebuilding.

SHOPPING

The new Wanfujing Department Store has an unbelievable flow of customers, including 400,000 the day it reopened.

The renovated Wangfujing has been chosen as a symbol of Beijing's booming commerce to rival Ginza in Tokyo, Champs Elysées in Paris and Huaihai Lu in Shanghai.

The department stores and old shops -- Wangfujing Department Store, Sun Dong An Plaza, China Photo Studio, Silian Hair & Beauty and Shengxifu Headgear Shop -- have retained their distinctive styles. The government has invested 1 billion yuan in the reconstruction of Wanfujing: removing banisters, widening the street, installing lampposts and paving with red, yellow and gray bricks.

Modern rickshaw boy.

Wangfujing by night.

Sun Dong An shopping Center.

Wangfujing by day.

LIFE

Summer fashion show.

With reforms over the past 20 years, people in Beijing have bid farewell to the old days scarred by scarcity of supply and fettered imagination. What they are after now is far more than ample food and clothing. People today pay close attention to diet, fashion and consumer goods. Shoppers want personal computers, automobiles and home theaters. They look for spacious housing. Televisions, washing machines and refrigerators are the consumer-desirable of 10 years ago. Never before have people paid so much attention to their living environment and cultural life.

Increasing residents' incomes and changes in attitude have promoted catering, commerce, tourism, banking and real estate industries.

Take housing for instance: In the past 10 years, Beijing has added 120 new residential areas with complete service facilities, providing new homes for more than 200,000 families who left their old houses.

An official survey conducted earlier this year found families intending to buy homes account for 15.33 percent of the total, 3 percent higher than in 1998. It is estimated that in 1999 Beijing residents will spend 5 billion yuan on buying homes. The emergence of large shopping centers such as Scitech, Beijing Lufthansa, Chungyo and Sogo have brought about changes in local consumer habits and a new urban environment. With all kinds of luxuries and daily necessities, these shopping centers meet the needs of consumers of almost all income groups. Beijing residents have markedly increased their spending on dining out of their homes, resulting in a boom for the catering trade. Only 10 years ago, it was still a dream for most Chinese to travel abroad, yet during the Spring Festival holidays this year, more than 30,000 Beijingers went abroad.

Chinese are enjoying their newfound fashion freedoms.

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