Beijing 2022 brings new life to old 'Steel City'

Dreams come true

"I was on top of the world when Shougang was relocated," Huang, the barbershop owner, said. Although four of her family members were working at the steel mill, she was still "very happy" to hear the news.

After the relocation, she decided to return to Casting Village, where the residents are all either Shougang employees or relatives. Compared with when she first arrived in 2000, the smokestacks, warehouses and factory buildings look no different, but everything else has changed.

"I had my child in 2002. When thick smoke spewed from the smokestacks, it smelled awful. It was dirty, even though I swept the floor three times a day," she said.

"The environment was unhealthy. I did not like to walk outside. I usually took my child to Pingguoyuan, more than an hour's walk from Casting Village," she said.

In 2003, she moved to Pingguoyuan, where she took over a barbershop. Her family lived in the shop.

In 2011, the steel mill was relocated, and she was happy to move her family back to Casting Village. She found the pungent odor had gone and the floor stayed clean for three days without being swept.

By 2011, the number of blue sky days in Beijing had risen to 286, from 100 in 1998, according to data from the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau. In the same year, Beijing's energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP fell by 6.95 percent, electricity consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP fell by 6.1 percent, and indicators of concentrations of various air pollutants fell dramatically.

The 108 smokestacks of Shougang are still there, but smoke no longer issues from them.

In October, four world cultural heritage experts from UNESCO, the International Council of Ancient Ruins and the University of London visited Shougang Industrial Park.

They were amazed by the rebirth of the site, saying Shougang has set a good example to the world. Michael Turner, a UNESCO professor of urban design and conservation studies, said Shougang's new idea of renewal and renovation is worth promoting "from the old factory building to the future Winter Olympics Stadium".

IOC president Bach has encouraged the world to visit Shougang. "If you are interested in urban renewal, if you want to know how the Olympic Games drive urban development, and if you want to know how it helps in planning the development of a city, a region, or even a country, then please look around. Looking at this exemplary Shougang Park, you will get all the answers," he said.

Shen Nan, Ding Wenxian, Xiao Shiyao, Wang Yong and Li Bowen contributed to this story.