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Published: August 23, 2008 10:43 pm
First person: 3 days at the Olympics
Former Valley resident shares her experiences from Beijing
EDITOR’S NOTE: Connie Wieck, originally from Marshall, Ill., has taught English in China for nine years through a Chinese NGO, The Amity Foundation. Currently, she has taken a year off to formally study the Chinese language at Sichuan University in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province. Readers will remember her first-person account following the devastating earthquake that hit China in May. Now, as the world focuses again on China, host of the 2008 Summer Olympics, she has traveled to Beijing to take in the festivities and competition.
By Connie Wieck
Special to the Tribune-Star • Beijing
T-shirt and shorts? Check.
Sleeping attire? Check.
Toiletries? Check.
U.S. flag? Double check!
When you’re going to the Olympics, the usual luggage packing takes on a bit more meaning.
My trip to China’s capital city was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
I had no desire to go to Beijing for the Olympics. In my many years of teaching English in China, I’d already been to Beijing several times. There was little desire to fight the crowds, the inflated prices or the pollution during the Games.
In addition, I currently live in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province where the earthquake struck. Just 40 minutes to the north of me, millions are struggling both physically, emotionally and economically with the devastating effects of the May 12 quake.
Somehow, the Beijing Olympics just didn’t seem that important.
But that was before my Chinese neighbors and I watched the spectacular opening ceremonies on my apartment TV.
But that was before my Chinese neighbors and I watched the spectacular opening ceremonies on my apartment TV. By the night’s finish, I’d caught the fever of the Games, and it wasn’t going away anytime soon.
Preparation
I had no hotel accommodations, no venue tickets and no detailed plan. I’d only speedily purchased the airplane ticket and figured I’d deal with the rest later.
I debated landing at the airport and trying my luck with a hotel but a few Internet searches sent me to a familiar site, Holiday Inn Express.
I called and was given a special rate offered by the manager: 60 percent off, non-refundable, if charged to a credit card. It cost 868 yuan ($125) per night with breakfast. And the Olympic venues were only 20 minutes away by taxi, 25 minutes by subway.
Needless to say, I took the room.
The next thing on my checklist was Olympic venue tickets.
On the Internet, there are Web sites that sell tickets. One of the best, I was told, was CoSport which limited its buyers to those from certain countries. USA was one of them. According to the home page, a limit of eight tickets for one event could be purchased with a total of 48 tickets per order. There was a four-hour processing time and a $30 fulfillment fee. Tickets could be picked up at their Beijing office with passport or other ID.
It would have been a great move if I’d done this but frustration got the best of me. After spending a day trying to order online, I gave up. The CoSport site was in constant use with “Try again in 30 minutes” always popping up on my screen.
I was also very hesitant to try any other ticket sites due to numerous online scams. I’d read about these with people ordering through “official” sites and ending up with nothing but woe. My third day at the games, I heard firsthand of this from a father and son from India. They used the Web site www.beijingticketing.com and lost $4,000. Others lost more.
That site has been closed since the fraud was exposed.
With resignation, I decided to do the adventurous. I’d try the Chinese scalpers.
Scalping of Olympic tickets is supposed to be illegal. The government threatened that anyone caught scalping tickets would spend several years in a labor camp. I even read 135 arrests on the second day of the games had been made for those illegally selling tickets.
Despite the threats, I heard those selling tickets can be easily found but the cost will be high. With my Chinese language skills and bargaining power, I decided to take my chances.
Arrival in Beijing
My two-hour flight from Sichuan landed me in the new Beijing Capital International Airport. What an amazing place! The floors glittered. The glass windows and ceilings allowed in amazing light. The tidy shops and fragrant restaurants enticed. The place was incredibly spacious, which was obviously needed with so many passing through.
There were people everywhere here for the Olympics: Chinese and international tour groups, reporters lugging around heavy equipment, team coaches, athletes and assistants, and individuals like me who came for the experience.
Blue-jacketed Olympic volunteers were at every turn to help answer questions. Any spot along the Olympic route, you’d be able to see these Chinese young people, smiling and offering assistance. Although I found their English wasn’t as good as I’d expected, they made up for it by warmth and friendliness.
I stopped at the Olympic airport help desk, manned by our happy volunteers, for a subway map and instructions. For 25 yuan ($3.50), the express train whizzed me into the city where for 2 yuan (28 cents), I easily changed to the subway line. Then it was just a matter of watching the stops, getting off at the Shangdi Station and walking a few blocks to my hotel.
The Olympic Sports Center
After depositing my things in the hotel, it was on to the biggest task at hand: finding a venue ticket.
My best bet was the Beitucheng subway stop. This places the crowds at the Olympic Sports Center and the Olympic Green, where a majority of venues are located.
The Olympic Green itself is composed of numerous parks and walkways. The most accessible to visitors without tickets is a long, paved boulevard. I spent two afternoons in this area, people-watching. Spectators leisurely sauntered along, eventually finding themselves at the two most famous architectural wonders of the Olympics: the Bird’s Nest (Olympic Stadium), which houses the Olympic flame, and the Cube (National Swim Center).
Unfortunately, I quickly learned that tight security won’t allow anyone near the venues without a ticket. Taking pictures of the Bird’s Nest and the Cube from a distance was the best any could do without an entry ticket.
This area was not just a hang-out for spectators but for souvenir sellers as well. One woman was hawking small flags of China and the Olympics, 1 yuan each (12 cents). Another was catering to both children and adults with colorful stickers. These included hearts, Chinese flags, Olympic designs and the five Olympic mascots — Bei, Jing, Huan, Ying and Ni. When strung together, the names cleverly create the sentence “Beijing welcomes you” or “Welcome to Beijing.”
The Chinese really fell for these stickers. After paying 12 cents for one sheet, I watched the kids playfully slapping them to their cheeks, foreheads and arms. Even the adults couldn’t resist decorating their faces for the Olympics’ arrival.
Miniature flags, stickers and buttons were probably the most affordable items at the Olympics for the Chinese. I can guarantee they certainly weren’t the tickets, as I quickly discovered.
The Scalpers’ Territory: Entering the Lion’s Den
The Beituchen station underground corridor is not the most likely place to find a ticket seller. This area is more closely monitored by security police. They hustle stray scalpers out in a hurry while thousands surge up the escalators on their way to events.
I didn’t think I’d get a ticket quickly my first outing to the central Olympic area. I expected I’d be up for a fight but in this particular corridor, a lone scalper was standing. He flashed a ticket to those of us hurrying by. I stopped to ask the price, not even caring what sport it was.
“400 yuan ($58),” he said.
“I’ll give you 300 ($43.50),” I said in Chinese.
The seller frowned and shook his head. I shrugged and moved onward.
Then the security detail started through the corridor. My seller quickly caught up with me and gave me a poke.
“300?” I asked again.
“300,” he replied.
I quickly checked the ticket: Aug. 16, weightlifting, 7 p.m. that evening.
The original price was $14.50 but I really didn’t care. With scalpers, you snatch up what you can afford.
Before the police were upon us, he had my money and I had my first Olympic venue ticket.
Above ground, I learned just what a great bargain I had made.
As soon as spectators left the subway escalators, we entered the scalpers’ territory, or rather the lion’s den, as I called it. Official signs were posted to the right and left, warning against scalping, but these ticket sellers were everywhere. Some sat on the station’s steps. Others stood in lines. All openly displayed their tickets while hundreds walked the rows. Prospective buyers fingered, inspected, scrutinized and discussed all tickets in the hopes of getting a decent price.
They were out of luck. These sellers didn’t easily budge.
The first day of encountering the lion’s den, I already had my ticket in hand. However, I leisurely toured the lines just to find out how well I had done.
The prices astounded me.
Original 100 yuan ($14.50) tickets such as mine were going for 800 yuan ($116) or higher. Prices only kept climbing, even when events were just a few hours (or even 30 minutes) from starting.
For 1,500 yuan ($217), a $14.50 ticket could be had for athletics.
For 2,000 yuan ($290), a $29 ticket could be bought for wrestling.
For 4,000 yuan ($580), a $72 ticket could be purchased for diving finals in the Cube.
At every mention of price, I gasped in astonishment.
“So expensive!” I said in Chinese. “Who will buy this ticket? Chinese are poor. I’m poor! We all come to experience the Olympics. We have no way to purchase these. What a shame!”
Although the foreigner’s lament in Chinese caused many to smile, they sat smugly in their spots. They shrugged their shoulders. They continued to wait. With a spider’s patience, they knew their webs would eventually catch one of us.
Sure enough, that first day I watched desperate Chinese and foreign visitors pay anywhere from $80 to $500 for tickets officially bought for much less.
I felt sorry for one American university student who wanted gymnastics. She pleaded with those of us milling about if we had one. None of us did.
I only came across one seller with a lone gymnastics ticket. His price? $435. The ticket’s original price? $57.
One deviously sly scalper was offering a ticket almost at face value.
A 200 yuan ($28) Equestrian ticket for 250 ($36).
A real bargain unless you consider where the venue is: Hong Kong. I have no doubt some uninformed visitor, eager to get a bargain, bought it.
A Night to Remember: My First Olympic Venue
The Koreans went nuts! Their flags flew. Their cheers pierced the gymnasium. Their sections waved.
It was a great night for South Korea and women’s heavyweight weightlifting history. Three Olympic and world records set in the 75-plus kg (165 lbs) women’s weightlifting final.
And I witnessed it all.
I arrived early at the weightlifting venue in Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics Gymnasium. There are a number of venues sprinkled throughout Beijing that are not in the Olympic Sports Center. This was one of them. It was a farther three stops from the Olympic Green’s Beituchun station and then a 20-minute walk along busy streets. Volunteers in the subway pointed us in the right direction for exiting. Large signs above ground led us in the right direction.
I ended up following the exuberant South Korean fans. Along with others, we piled through the main university gates and passed through a lovely walkway of trees.
At the security check, our helpful Olympic volunteers carefully directed us through the line. Our tickets were manually checked, scanned by an electronic ticket machine, and handed back to us for entry. All spectators and their belongings went through security screening as well. After that, it was through the fenced-in area to land in front of the gymnasium steps, decked with flowers.
With 45 minutes yet to go, I hung around outside, watching Chinese and foreign visitors alike milling about in anticipation of the competition to come. A snack bar sold ice cream bars, hot dogs and drinks, with popcorn being the favorite munching food of the evening. The small souvenir shop was busy but not too many were buying as prices were high.
Thirty minutes before the competition, out came full, life-sized versions of our Olympic mascots. To entertain the children, they danced and hopped around while the emcees urged them on. A picture-taking session was next with lines of eager families waiting for their turn with their beloved Beijing characters.
Twenty-five minutes to go, I entered the gymnasium.
What an incredible sight! The place was amazing: brightly lit, extremely colorful, everything spiffy, clean and new. The press section was crammed with photographers adjusting their cameras. The judges’ tables were all in place. A special area for other Olympic athletes, visiting venues during the games, was sectioned off in front of the stage area. In the stands, those of us with the cheap tickets were abundant. My row was 27 out of 35, seat 21. Despite being so high up, I had a clear vantage point of the weightlifting arena. Although I only had a side view, the next level lower had a small monitor that allowed me to see what TV viewers were watching.
To keep everyone in high spirits, upbeat music was constantly playing throughout the gym. We also had Chinese dancers, male and female, who flitted about performing vibrant routines in satiny costumes.
The Chinese certainly do know how to put on a show.
Fifteen minutes before the event, our athletes were introduced. I was excited to see an American in the group. My U.S. flag definitely came in handy that evening.
It was the South Koreans, however, who created the most ruckus. Their Jang Mi-ran, weighing in at 105 kg (231.5 lbs), was a favorite to win the gold if she could beat out Ukraine’s Olha Korobka (167 kgs, or 368 lbs).
The atmosphere was electric when the competition began. We were all holding our breaths as each girl hoisted seemingly impossible weights upward. I made sure to cheer on our American, Cheryl Haworth, although she had to bow out after failing her final attempts.
The star of the evening was definitely our Korean girl, Jang Mi-ran. In an incredible display of strength, this young woman outdid everyone. She had us on our feet again and again as she broke Olympic and world records three times, bettering herself with each push for success.
When it came to her final world record lift, 186 kg (410.1 pounds) for the clean and jerk, she sunk to her knees with tears streaming down her cheeks, her hands clasped in prayer and pressed to her face in utter disbelief. It was a moving experience for all of us.
When it came time for the medal ceremony, each Olympian proudly climbed the podium to receive her medal. The three flags were marched out and dramatically prepared for their hoist skyward. As they were slowly raised to South Korean’s national anthem, silence overtook the crowd. Our medal winners stood stoically, their faces beaming.
No matter whose nationality we represented, we spectators were as one. These young women, with so many years of training and sacrifice, had accomplished their dream. We all felt very honored and privileged to have shared in their victory.
For me, seeing my first Olympic competition and medal ceremony was the greatest moment of my three days at the Games.
More Tickets
Strategic skill and plain luck won me two more affordable venue tickets at the Olympics during my stay in Beijing.
An American from Boston was happy to get rid of his ticket for $43.50. Although no American was lifting, the seat was better and I was more informed about the sport, having read about it online that morning.
The funny thing about returning to the same venue was that people knew me. While going through the ticket and security checks, and even when inside the gymnasium, quite a few volunteers welcomed me back. For some reason, they had remembered me from the night before. It probably wasn’t too difficult. I was so excited, I think I talked to everyone.
Hard to forget an overly enthusiastic foreigner who speaks Chinese.
The last ticket I managed at the Olympics was the men’s water polo preliminaries on Monday afternoon with team USA vs Germany.
This ticket I won in the lion’s den by playing the sympathy card: I’m a foreign teacher from Chengdu. I’m in the earthquake zone. It was so terrible, so frightening, so disastrous. Please, can you give me a cheaper price?
My pitiful Chinese plea was irresistible.
The scalper’s 800 yuan ($115) asking price halved to 400 ($58).
I took it in a hurry.
Therefore my last day at the Olympics, I was able to join groups of Americans cheering on our men’s water polo team to an exciting victory. They’re now in the running for a medal.
I admit, it would have been more exciting to have been in The Cube for these but the water polo venue was in the Ying Dong Natatorium. It’s a beautiful swimming pool complex but certainly nothing compared to Phelps’ victory waters nearby the Bird’s Nest.
At least America’s win over Germany now places the men’s water polo team in the running for a medal. Seeing as how the women’s water polo team took the silver, surely the men can’t be far behind.
An Unusual Encounter
Although seeing the events was great, it’s the many people I met who made my Olympic trip worthwhile — the Olympic volunteers, the hotel staff, the spectators I sat next to and numerous others.
My most amazing encounter, however, took place my last day at the Olympics near the lion’s den.
A suspicious Chinese man was gazing at me, moving closer to where I was standing.
“My teacher,” he finally said, “do you remember me?”
It took me a few seconds to recognize this person.
It was “Robin” Tang, my adult English language student from Nanchang, the capital city of Jiangxi Province. Nanchang was where I’d spent my first years teaching English in China. That was 17 years ago. Here was Robin, age 52, once again at my side as he’d been in my classroom so long ago.
It was an emotional moment for both of us. I disregarded all Chinese “no-touch” etiquette and gave him a big hug, much to his embarrassment. Robin’s wife was nearby, a lovely slender woman. She was an English teacher at a junior high school in their small town. Robin had completed his studies after our Nanchang language course to gain his teaching certificate for high school.
The two had flown to Beijing for a three-day trip to see the Olympics, like me. Due to money constraints, they’d be returning home by train the next day. Because they’re Chinese, they’d fared much better as far as price for their accommodations.
“We’re at an underground hotel,” Robin whispered to me, meaning a hotel that has no official city permits. “Very cheap. Only 50 yuan ($7.25) a night.”
I didn’t dare tell him I was paying $125 for mine.
After a photo session and exchanging contact information, it was time for us to part.
Robin and his wife were still trying to get tickets to see at least one event before they went home. Teachers’ salaries in China are very low, especially in countryside areas where he and his wife lived. I expected they were getting 1,500 yuan ($217) per month. This trip to Beijing must have cost them three months’ salary. Even a “cheap” venue ticket such as mine would be out of their price range.
My last image of these two was as they began their search along the scalpers’ rows. It made me feel a little angry. The Olympics shouldn’t be about the rich, but about everyone, money or no money, sharing together in the spirit of the games.
Well, then again, I guess that’s what TV and the Internet are for.
I can honestly say I left the Beijing Olympics with no regrets. I did everything I wanted to do. I saw three Olympic events, enjoyed two medal ceremonies, cheered on our U.S. athletes, one even to victory, met some amazing individuals and had the experience of a lifetime. This trip will definitely make my “Top 10 best things I’ve done in my lifetime” list, no doubt about it.
Connie Wieck’s Web site has more stories and pictures of her time in Beijing. You can find it www.chinawieck.spaces.live.com
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