Houston Community News >> Beijing Skyline Rises Higher, Faster, Stronger

7/6/2008-- As the waves of tourists converge on Beijing over the next month for the Olympics, they will look up to see a stunning new skyline that China's leaders hope will showcase the nation as a modern world power.

Thirty years ago the city was a poverty-stricken backwater studded by a few dull Stalinist monuments grafted onto an ancient and decaying imperial capital.

The transformation has taken place at dizzying speed in the years leading up the Olympics with around 10,000 sites under construction, many of which will still be unfinished when the Games start on August 8. "The Olympics is a world event and world-class architecture has been delivered for that event," said Rory McGowan, the director of the Beijing office of international design engineers Arup.
 
Click Here to Read More

Advertisement