Actually a flashback...
...it was a little over 13 months ago that I first touched down in Beijing on the evening of the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The authorities had put in place a "No Fly Zone" suspension of all air traffic over Beijing some 2 hours prior to the start of the Games; and I believe mine had to be one of the last flights allowed into Beijing's immaculate new Airport prior to the shutdown of the Capital's airspace to commercial flights. In accord with the anticipated slowing of traffic, the Airport itself had already shut down its air conditioning; leaving disembarking passengers from my Chicago to Beijing flight gasping and sweltering in the late afternoon August heat.
Harried travelers of all types hustled to the Airport's rail system in order to rendezvous with luggage and loved ones; in my case, such reunions a welcome occasion after some 16 hours of travel.
