The time span of seven years could sufficiently change Beijing from a giant construction site to the world's largest garden.

The "Green Olympics", a slogan used in Beijing's bid for the 2008 summer Olympic Games, would leave a unique legacy of environmental protection for the Chinese capital.

"When Beijing hosts the 2008 Olympics," said Chen Jianbo, a gardener in Beijing's Chaoyang District, "I will take the best care of the lawn I work for."

The proposed 12-square-kilometer Olympic Green and 14 sports venues will give Beijingers something to remember the great Olympics. Meanwhile, they will continue the good habit of protecting the environment after the games.

According to the plan of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, the urban forest rate in Beijing will increase to 50 percent by 2008, from 43 percent at present.

Tree belts with a total area of 125 square kilometers are planned to circle the metropolis.

By the end of 2007, the air quality of Beijing will be improved to compete with that in environment-friendly cities in developed countries.

"In the coming years, morning joggers will not inhale polluted air," said Pan Shuda, chief engineer of the administration. " People will be able to see blue sky on more than 70 percent of the days each year."

To bring back blue skies and clean water to Beijing, China will allocate 45 billion yuan (US$ 5.42 billion) for environmental protection projects.

"The bidding and hosting the Olympic Games has given Beijing a good chance to improve its ecology and environment," said Xie Zhenhua, chief of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).

In three years, Beijing will outlaw motor vehicles which do not meet new discharging standards, paralleling the Standard II in European countries.

In five years, 90 percent of polluted water will be treated properly and 98 percent of solid waste will receive innocuous treatment. Ninety percent of buses and 70 percent of taxis will use purified energy.

In seven years, 30 percent of waste will be recycled. The Olympic Green and athlete village will provide lots of environment-friendly facilities, including solar-celled street lamps and no-flush toilets.

The municipal government is now working to make the blueprint become a reality.

Local authorities have ordered 110 factories which produce air and noise pollution to move out of the downtown. The area inside the city's fourth road ring should remain extremely clean, they said.

The International Olympic Committee said it hopes the Beijing Olympics in 2008 leave a unique legacy for the world.

Beijing Mayor Liu Qi vowed to improve the people's awareness of environmental protection and provide a green Olympics for the outside world.

(People's Daily 07/20/2001)