Beijing Olympics Culture

Kevin German

Luceo Images

Sun Yu Bin and his wife Liu Guo Min watch an Olympic ping pong match from their bedroom, which also serves as their kitchen, in a hutong in Beijing. Hutongs are traditional housing that Beijing was built around. Most lower-class families still live in these structures often times sharing bathrooms and kitchens with several other families. The Chinese government and land developers are trying to push these families out to make room for high-rise apartments.

Kevin German, "Beijing Olympics Culture," in POYi Archive, Item #41909, http://archive.poy.org/items/show/41909 (accessed April 20, 2025).