Small Talk With ...Hip-Hop Granny

70 year-old Wu Ying is the creator and head of Beijing's Hip-Hop Granny Dance Team, which won the 2007 National Fitness and Dance Competition.

How did you get started in hip-hop? Why not tai-chi? A few years ago, I saw youngsters dancing hip-hop on CCTV, and I immediately fell in love with it. I was 66 then. When I went for a class, the trainer refused to teach me because he was worried I'd get hurt. But, I thought if 7-year-old kids can dance the tango, why can't a 70-year-old granny dance hip-hop? So, I started in the back of the gym, just mirroring the younger students. Three months later, I was dancing in front of the teenage dancers. And how did that lead to organizing your own dance team? I walked through Beijing pleading every old person I met to join me. In February 2004, the team was officially set up. Five old ladies all over 55 years old. We took part in CCTV-5 Hip Pop Competition, and people all over the country got to know us. You're now teaching hip-hop in Hosa Fitness Center? I have two classes every week. And the Hip-Hop Grannies are all over TV? Yes, especially during the past Chinese New Year holiday. Who prepares the costumes for you? Myself. I bought our first outfits in Xidan. I keep an eye on the international trends, asking myself what the young hip-hop dancers are wearing. Right now, black and white is hot. So, what's the future look like for the Hip-Hop Granny Dance Team? A number of foreign reporters are now asking for interviews. I want us hip-hop grannies to inspire the older generation in China. We have more choices than just Yangko dance, right? And of course, I want to see us dancing for the Beijing Olympics.

Everyone Is Talking About ...The Terminator

Beijing Airport’s pre-Olympic makeover is nearly complete as Terminal 3 takes off on time Floor sweepers, qipao-clad beauties and party bigwigs were out in force for the opening of Beijing Airport's Terminal 3 on Feb. 29. The iconic, Sir Norman Foster-designed building, with its red pillars and golden roof, is intended to be one of the most modern and passenger-friendly super-hubs in the world. It has taken just under four years from the start of construction work to last month’s public unveiling.

A snip at RMB21 billion, Sir Norman’s brainchild is the world's largest airport building, covering a massive 245 acres (or approximately 188 football fields). Together with its third runway, it will catapult Beijing airport from ninth to third-busiest international air hub in its first year, enabling it to service up to 90 million passengers annually by 2012.

Terminal 3 will also be one of the world’s more environmentally sustainable airport buildings. Serried ranks of skylights in the terminal roof should make the terminal far more energy efficient than conventional buildings.

Five airlines (British Airways, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Shandong Airlines and Sichuan Airlines) are currently using Terminal 3. From March 26, all other international airlines will move to Terminal 3, as will Air China and Shanghai Airlines. A high-speed, driverless subway line will open before the Games, linking Terminals 2 and 3 to downtown Beijing.

With its stylish layout and fast transfer times, officials are hoping Terminal 3 will give a needed boost to Beijing Airport's flagging reputation. Forbes recently rated Beijing airport as the second worst in the world for delayed flights, although Chinese “statistics” apparently prove otherwise. We’re hoping Terminal 3 brings Forbes and the local statisticians into line.

Daniel Allen

News You Can Use

Gongti
Throngs of hip-hop clubbers and diners are soon to be left without a few favorite Gongti hangs. For more than 20 days before and during the Olympic Games, about six venues inside the Workers Stadium compound will be defunktified for security reasons. Prepare to guzzle pre-game pints elsewhere, Olympic football fanatics.

Beijing's Grand Central?
The main construction phase of the largest railway station in Asia has just been completed. August will see the grand opening of Beijing South Railway Station, which will function as the capital’s new hub for public and domestic transportation. The facility promises to make domestic travel more convenient, with automatic ticket selling and high-speed routes direct to Tianjin (30 min.) and Shanghai (5 hours). The environmentally-conscious will be happy to know that station electricity relies on solar cells and-ahem-underground sewage.

Museum Free For All
The Chinese Ministry of Culture recently announced a policy that will eradicate entrance fees for all public museums. Though implementation of the policy is gradual and the affected museums are limited to those under the Administration of Cultural Heritage, a good number of the 150 museums in Beijing will be offering free tickets before 2009.

Trolleys in Qianmen
Workers are now completing construction on a tramway to supplement the Legation Quarter development south of Qianmen with appropriately quaint transportation. The new area aims to recall the Beijing of the 1920s, supplemented with uber-contemporary luxury retailing, contemporary art and 21st century nightlife and dining. The new L.Q. is slated to open in May.