For the first anniversary of the Olympic Games, which opened on Aug. 8, 2008, people were able to reflect on its effect.Kevin Gosper who is on the Olympic committee and returned for the anniversary, said, "The city has changed. It has changed from since it gained the right to stage the Games. It has been changing dramatically in the past 30 years." Kevin Gosper first came to China in 1979.
The Chinese capital appears to have made much use of its Olympic legacies — the experience of being an Olympic host city and what is left behind, education, new infrastructure, environmental improvement and much else.
Hein Verbruggen, chairman of IOC Coordination Commission for the Beijing Games said, "The ambitious culture and education program implemented by the organizers will remain as one of the strongest legacies from Beijing 2008."
During the seven years of preparation, Beijing built three new subway lines with a total length of 58 kilometers, let alone numerous renovation of streets and houses as well as a number of state-of-art stadiums including the national stadium Bird’s Nest and acquatic center, or Water Cube.
One year after the Games, Beijing citizens have became increasingly used to relying on the public transportation, enjoying the lowest bus and subway fare in China.
And the serious investment in clearing the air, removing polluting factories, encouraging clean energy use and set strict emission standard for its over 3 million cars, has led to more clear days this year.
China View reports that in the first five months of 2009, Beijing had 129 clear days, 22 more than the same period last year.