Building across the street III

It's the one year anniversary of the start of construction of the building across the street and still the end is not in sight. They worked day and night starting last February. They ruined our sleep with the noise of cement mixers arriving throughout the night.

Then in July they stopped as part of the Olympic preparations - all building works across Beijng were halted and the skies cleared and noise disappeared.

They resumed after the October national holiday, but by now the persistent complaints of the neighbours had resulted in a ban on night-time work. We watched as every day the building grew taller. We speculated as to the final height. Originally we had been told 5 floors but when this was passed we were told 28! Now, in fact, it looks like a dozen or so..but who knows.

What will it be? Who will move in? No-one seems to know for sure. Building in Beijing is shrouded in mystery and speculation. What we do know - for sure - is that our view from the 12th floor is seriously impaired - the line of site to the mountains, on a clear day, is now obstructed by Beijing's rising skyline.

Building across the street II

Mid March

Mid May
Two months on and work progresses. The foundations are now dug and the concrete poured. Fleets of trucks line up at sunset to fill up with earth and take it off to some place where, presumably, they need earth.. The generators run through the night emitting a low buzz that is just loud enough to disturb your sleep. Rumour is that all building works will stop mid July for two months to reduce pollution during the Olympics which should bring some relief.