Harbin and Shanghai envious of Beijing’s fame

The appetite comes with eating: after winning the right for organization of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008, China handed in an application for organization of both Olympics in 2010. Winter Olympic Games and International EXPO (that has also got a reputation of economic Olympics) are meant here.

Harbin, the city built by the Russians a hundred years ago and where the numerous Russian colony used to live, has won the reputation of the center for winter sports in China. Three Asiatic winter games were held there in 1996. These are going to be Harbin’s pluses in the struggle for the right to host Olympic Games in 2010 with such cities as Salzburg, Sarajevo, Vancouver and others.

China Daily newspaper considers, the fact that China hosts two Olympic Games in 2008 will prevent it from hosting the Olympics in 2010. The International Olympic Committee, as it is known, tries to avoid such repetitions and organizes Olympic Games in different countries and sometimes even on different continents.

But the applications of Chairman of Chinese People’s Republic Jiang Zemin and Prime Minister of the Chinese State Council Zhu Ronji for hosting EXPO-2010 in Shanghai are so much likely to be allowed.

Shanghai is one of the leading industrial centers in China, that may also leave Hong Kong behind some day. The tradition of EXPO originates from the year of 1881; it is held once in five years since 1980. Other strong candidates for hosting EXPO-2010 are Buenos Aires, Wroclaw, Moscow.

Andrey Krushinsky PRAVDA.Ru Beijing

Translated by Maria Gousseva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/02/05/36616.html