Shichahai s spring cleaning of Olympic proportions

Liu Yongfu's new home would not have been built without the Beijing Olympics, an epochal event-in-the-making that promises to leave a lasting legacy on the city of 17.5 million including better housing, more extensive public transport and expanded sporting activities.

"My family has just moved into our new house," said Liu of Beijing's Shichahai community in Xicheng District. "I am over the moon at how our shabby dwelling has been fully renovated within the space of four months. It looks brand new."

Liu lives in Liuhai Hutong, one of the city's preserved neighborhoods of archaic-looking alleyways, among Shichahai's 100,000 residents. The area was earmarked for a cosmetic overhaul ahead of the August 8-24 Games under the Old City Reconstruction Project of the Beijing Municipal Government.

"We will be able to use electricity instead of coal to warm the house, as it is clean and more environmental friendly," added Liu.

The overhaul cost the family next-to-nothing in relative terms and has come at no inconvenience, her husband chimed in.

"It only cost us a few thousand yuan to decorate our new home but it hasn't interfered with our living habits," said Ji Bingzhi. "We even kept the same telephone number."

Ji said he was looking forward to showing his foreign friends around his "new" property, with its traditional courtyard, when they stop by for the Beijing Games.

The government will invest 1 billion yuan ($130 million) this year to renovate four downtown districts: Dongcheng, Xicheng, Xuanwu and Chongwen.

Retired worker Qiu Pumin said the reconstruction work has come as a breath of fresh air, but he doubts it would have happened without the clean-up drive powered by the Olympic juggernaut.

"My house is brighter now as the window lets in much more light than before. The messy courtyards are clean, new and flat - all of which is attributable to the hosting of the Beijing Olympic Games," he said.

The Olympics has also spurred a colorful new calendar of sporting activities in the city. In the case of Xicheng, it has accelerated measures to install bodybuilding facilities in residential areas there that began several years ago, thanks to increased investment.

"We also have dancing, model and chorus teams," said resident Li Yanhong.

At the heart of the neighborhood is a square where residents can play table tennis, China's de facto national sport, for four hours a day for free.（By Cui Xiaohuo and Wang Bo (China Daily)）