that’s Beijing takes a look at some of the foreign athletes going for gold in China’s strongest sports

TAUFIK HIDAYAT
Gender: Male
Birthdate: August 10, 1981
Hometown: Bandung, Indonesia
Height: 176cm
Sport: Badminton
With his legendary 200km/h backhand smash, Hidayat has proven to be a mighty force on the badminton court. At the tender age of 17, he secured the number one spot in the world rankings by beating Lin Dan of China in the men’s singles final of the World Championships. Though he faced criticism for his fiery temper and lack of consistency, he remains the current Olympic champion in badminton men’s singles.

PETER GADE
Gender: Male
Birthdate: December 14, 1976
Hometown: Aalborg, Denmark
Height: 183cm
Sport: Badminton
This Dane is one of the most successful badminton players of all time. With 16 Grand Prix titles under his belt, and his declared ambition to win a gold medal at the 2008 Games, he’ll doubtless be one to watch this August.

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Daily 9am-midnight. 13-14, Bldg 19, Wanda Plaza, 93 Jianguo Lu Chaoyang District (5820 5369)

With sleek and modern furnishings that can best be described as upscale Ikea, Neverland Coffee is a comfy three-story cafe that comes with Wi-Fi, two computer terminals, and a branch of the One Way Street bookstore in the basement. The eclectic and relatively short menu is dominated by Chinese-style Western food, but the drinks menu is the main draw. We started with a delicate sweet pea soup (RMB 30) and chili prawns with lemons (RMB 46), and while both were nicely done, neither was particularly memorable. The seafood noodles (RMB 38) tasted suspiciously of ketchup, but the carbonara pasta (RMB 38) was enjoyable. The coffees were more inspiring, in particular the chocolate coffee (RMB 25) and the jasmine latte (RMB 32). Neverland Coffee would not be a first choice for a meal, but it’s certainly a pleasing alternative to Starbucks for an afternoon of coffee and reading. Fiona Lee

Movie Star Rides Beijing Subway! Maggie Cheung spotted in Shin Kong Place! In the Jing For Love! And (my personal favorite) – Maggie Cheung Admits to Enjoying Beijing Subway!

Yes, that’s right – last month the press was awash with sensationalist headlines reporting that the Hong Kong star had relocated to Beijing. The reason? To be with her new beau, architect Ole Scheeren, the man responsible for that funny-looking building opposite Guomao. “I’m quite happy nowadays even when I’ve got no work to do,” the millionaire actress-cum-model told the Beijing Times. Funny that.

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Daily 10am-10pm. 4/F, Joy City, 131A Xidan Beidajie, Xicheng District (5971 6088)

Founded in 2005, Shanghai boutique The Thing has become a “must visit” store for local fashion followers and out-of-towners alike. With its latest location in Joy City, it’s easier for Beijingers to get their hands on these unique, inexpensive graphic design statements. The brand believes that mundane things can often be the most interesting objects around, and should be celebrated accordingly. The emphasis is on street fashion here, and while hats (RMB 70), denim totes (RMB 180), cushions (RMB 60) shoes (RMB 180) and jeans (RMB 350-380) are superb, the real draw is the innovative range of T-shirts (RMB 100). Fiona Zhang

USA coach Jeanette Bolden on air and asthma

by Jennifer Conrad

Air quality was dubbed the Achilles heel of the Beijing Olympics by the Los Angeles Times (March 13). As such, a number of teams will train in locations such as Macau and Dalian prior to the Olympics to avoid Beijing’s pollution, which some worry will trigger allergic asthma.

Asthma is a serious concern for many athletes nowadays – something that Jeanette Bolden, head coach of the US Women’s Track and Field Team, knows only too well. She has suffered from allergic asthma her entire life, but it never prevented her from competing at the highest level: “When I was competing, I always had my inhaler in my sock ... When I traveled, I knew where the ER was and I had my doctor’s numbers with me.”

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In a poll conducted by the World Wildlife Fund a few years back to determine the “World’s Cutest Animal,” online voters chose that symbol of Chinese pride: the panda. Banking on this natural human affinity, the Chinese automaker Geely unveiled its new “Panda” mini-coupe at the Beijing International Autofair held late last month. Painted the snowy white of tufted panda fur, the round-edged headlights of the Panda sink into oversized black “eye” sockets and its grill has the distinct blunt-edged triangle shape of a flat, wet panda nose. Geely promises the auto on display will be available in time for the Olympics. One of 20 models the company showed at the fair, the car is priced as low as RMB 30,000, setting it on track to compete with the ubiquitous CheryQQ.

The first independent auto manufacturer in the PRC, Geely was also the first Chinese manufacturer to display at the North American Auto Show, setting up a booth last year in Detroit. With plans to export cars to the US by 2008 and Europe by 2009, Geely is just one of China’s manufacturers that last year pushed the country’s automotive industry to outpace Germany and become the world’s third largest.

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