Beijing's Olympic makeover runs only skin deep

By Jason Subler

BEIJING (Reuters) - Liu Jielian isn't exactly impressed with the facelift the government recently gave her home in central Beijing as it seeks to spruce up the city for the Olympic Games in August.

The courtyard to the one-storey building where the retired school teacher lives has had a fancy doorway installed and its facade has been encased in a thin layer of dark grey cement, with lines etched to resemble bricks.

Inside, nothing has changed.

"It's all superficial," said, Liu, 53, gesturing to the new outer wall, parts of which were already chipping.

"Behind this, it's all old bricks. It's not sturdy at all -- this can easily be peeled off," she said.

Liu's is just one of the many traditional homes that have been brightened up by an army of workers in recent months as part of a billion-dollar campaign to "beautify" Beijing ahead of the Olympics.

Their efforts, which come on top of the tens of billions being spent on venues and infrastructure, have contributed to a stark contrast of colours in the city's old "hutongs", or lanes.

The "siheyuan", or courtyards, have been painted in clean-cut greys and brick reds, the hues of imperial Beijing.