Pre-Olympic hassles
 

I am traveling to Bejing approximately six months before the summer olympics on business and am wondering how much of a mess the city is going to be in at that time? Public transport, travel from airport to downtown, etc. Thanks for any info. Cheers.

Public transport in Beijing is getting better as the Olympics near. The new subway line to the airport is supposed to open in early 2008, for example, which will be a nice improvement. The city is also in the process of building several new traffic spurs to relieve congestion, and many of those should be open by 2008 as well.

I wouldnt worry about public transport. I would stick to taxis in Beijing they are cheap and convenient.

I would suggest the City will be a "mess" (traffic-wise at least), at any time you wish to visit in the forseeable future. I'll defer to those who see it first hand every day, but I would think the Olympic-related construction will do far more good than harm.