Traffic back to Normal
Millions of Beijing commuters found themselves stuck in peak hour traffic again yesterday morning as the ring roads clogged up on the first work day after the odd-even car restriction were lifted. But, according to both officials and a random taxi driver, the traffic still isn’t as bad as it was before the games. Indeed, despite the raising of the restrictions, the number of passengers taking public transport remained the same, leading city authorities to conclude that some commuters have picked up some public transport habits during the games. Although it’s still too early to tell, figures released by the Beijing Environmental Monitoring Center showed that yesterday's air quality was still at a “fairly good” level. A reporter from the Beijing News decided to apply the second ring road test as a measure of the level of traffic congestion. It took them 1hr and 53 min to do a lap of the ring road on the number 800 bus during yesterday morning’s peak hour. Compare this to the 13 minutes that it takes the more legendary of Beijing’s drag racing aficionados to complete a lap of erhuan (see video below).

Water Water Everywhere: South-to-North Water Diversion Project

Beijing has started to receive water from its next-door neighbor Hebei. According to the official website of the ambitious South-to-North water diversion project, the first batch of water from Hebei began to arrive in Beijing this week. The huge water diversion project has been undertaken to ensure the capital’s water supply. The 300 million cubic meters of water will be taken from 3 big reservoirs in Hebei and channeled through to Beijing’s Tuancheng Lake. The process began on Sep 18 and should take about 170 days to complete. The Beijing government also launched a series of measures to protect the quality of the water and ensure its efficient use. For more background on Beijing’s lack of water, see Dai Qing’s Thirsty Dragon at the Olympics article from last years New York Review of Books.

Milk Update

The number of children diagnosed with kidney stones in Beijing’s hospitals has risen to 1008 yesterday, 499 of them have a Beijing hukou. Hospitals across the city have been inundated with worried parents who want to make sure that their children are ok. Hospitals have reacted by increasing the number of medical staff on duty, extending work hours and designating special areas for kidney examination. Premier Wen Jiabao visited hospitals, communities and supermarkets in Beijing over the weekend. He promised that the government would put more effort into ensuring food safety.

Who's in Town this Week

Venezuelan President Chavez arrives in China today. During his two-day visit, he’ll talk with President Hu Jintao and meet with other Chinese leaders.　

In other news:

The city’s fire safety authorities have announced that, starting from today, they’ll be targeting Beijing’s nightlife and entertainment venues for any fire safety irregularities after a fire in a Shenzhen club claimed 43 lives on the weekend. Look out for possible closures over at Tongli Studio.

Bush and Hu chat on the phone.

You can already get to Tianjin in 30 min, by 2010 you should be able to get to Shanghai in 4 hours. Railway authorities are now considering linking the mainland to Taipei by high speed train. The plan is to link Fuzhou to Taipei by tunnel.

Finally, Tiananmen square is busy primping itself for the National Day holidays. The centerpiece of the decorations is a huge palace latern.

Links and Sources
The Beijing News: 首个工作日解禁遇拥堵 (image)
Beijing Wanbao: image of Wen Jiabao