London 2012 blog

For me this week has been a tale of two cities – joined together by a very special bond.  As the week ends, I am back in London – but most of the last week I have spent in China, visiting Beijing to check on its final preparations for staging the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games and learn lessons for ours in 2012.

What I found was a city unrecognisable from its popular image of a generation ago and so vibrant and increasingly prosperous that first-time visitors stand back in astonishment.

In the centre of Beijing Chinese people - especially the young - seem increasingly wealthy, with money in their pockets to spend - and driving thousands upon thousands of cars.

But with the boom comes the blur. Visibility can often be seriously limited. Prosperity has brought increased pollution to one of the world's great cities, a problem that our athletes may have to cope with in nine months time.

Read more of “Learning lessons in Beijing”