Four years after hosting the 2008 Summer Games, Beijing's Olympic legacy appears to be a lasting one. "Beijingers are still steeped in the Olympic spirit," noted my daughter Michelle, 21, who is visiting Beijing for the summer. She grew up here and saw the city host the sporting showpiece. As a 17-year-old high school student, she took part in the Olympic torch relay a few days before the Games opened spectacularly in the National Stadium, an iconic structure fashioned after a bird's nest. "The sports facilities seem a bit run down now but the space is still being used," she reported after a recent trip to the Olympic village. "The Bird's Nest is now a tourist spot and holds sports and entertainment events.
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Analyst: Beijing has many expensive white elephant facilities from 2008 Olympic Games
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The summer games' legacy has also been positive with more people playing sport
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FlorCruz: Many Beijingers remain proud of having hosted the sporting showpiece
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Evidence of strong support in China for the 2012 Olympic Games in London
London
Michelle says the Chinese are supportive of @placeholder, which will host the 2012 Games this summer.
Beijing
Beijing
Beijing
Beijingers
@placeholder are proud to have pulled it off despite earlier skepticism and criticism.
China
The Games gave @placeholder a chance to use its cultural and historical legacy to attract people who would normally not travel to China.
Beijing
Beijing
Beijing
Beijingers
But @placeholder's modernization drive, hastened by the Olympics, has come at a price.
Beijing
Beijing
Beijing
Beijingers
The city has allocated billions of dollars to tackle environmental issues, hoping to cut back coal-burning pollution, prevent sandstorms through reforestation, and create a greener and cleaner @placeholder.
Beijing
Beijing
Beijing
Beijingers
But four years after the Games, @placeholder's pollution indexes are still hitting record highs.
China
In 2007, a year before the Games, @placeholder also promised greater press freedom for foreign journalists covering China, saying they would be allowed to travel freely across most of the country and interview people with getting official approval.