Post-Olympics & Paralympics

Now that the Olympics and Paralympics are over, Beijing can get back to its old ways, right?

According to the Wall Street Journal, while the Olympic guests from all over the world may be gone and construction work in Beijing started up again, other measures are extending the Olympic spirit a bit further into the daily lives of people in the capital of China.

Some of the Olympics security measures are also staying put. Authorities decided that bag screening on the subway system will be retained permanently. A municipal public security official said that over 18,000 contraband items were found in the 72 million bag searches conducted during the Olympics period, and 32 people detained.

And for the National Day holiday (1 st October), some security measures in Beijing are even exceeding the Olympic efforts. Beijing media reports that subway stations near Tiananmen Square are closed from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3 and trains will skip those stops during this period. Olympic-style security checks at parks and tourist sites will be retained during this period, and additional crowd control measures will be put in place at a popular pedestrian shopping street.