Ｂｅｉｊｉｎｇ’ｓ　Ｏｌｙｍｐｉｃ　Ｖｅｎｕｅｓ　Ａｒｅ　Ｅａｒｔｈｑｕａｋｅ　Ｐｒｏｏｆ.docVIP

Ｂｅｉｊｉｎｇ’ｓ　Ｏｌｙｍｐｉｃ　Ｖｅｎｕｅｓ　Ａｒｅ　Ｅａｒｔｈｑｕａｋｅ　Ｐｒｏｏｆ 　　 　　WHEN the Wenchuan earthquake struck on May 12, 2008, Li Jiulin, chief engineer with the Engineer Procurement Construction Department of the National Stadium, popularly known as the Bird’s Nest, was performing a routine inspection of the facility. The workers at the construction site and Li Jiulin did not feel the quake, and no subsequent damage was found. 　　On May 13, Li Zhanjun, director of the Olympic News Center of the Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee, said: “No damage of any sort has been found in the Olympic buildings,” putting to rest any fears concerning the ability of Beijing’s Olympic venues to resist a major shock. 　　 　　Planning Averts Peril 　　 　　In August 2001, one month after China’s successful bid for the 2008 Olympic Games, Xie Lili, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a researcher with the China Earthquake Administration, suggested that seismic fortifications must be taken into consideration when building the Olympic venues, saying: “This issue is as important as solving the problem of environmental pollution.” 　　Based on internationally recognized norms, China has established construction standards for the prevention of damage by earthquakes measuring six to nine on the Richter scale. The standards vary for different areas, depending on their level of seismic intensity. Beijing’s buildings are required to withstand quakes of magnitude eight. 　　Seismic events in neighboring regions are often felt in the capital, the most serious one, as Xie Lili cited, being the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, which killed upward of 240,000 people. In 1990, at the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Asian Games, a minor earthquake shook Beijing. Therefore, he suggested, all venues for the 2008 Games needed to be designed with that imperative in mind. His recommendations were accepted. 　　According to Ding Yanhui, a staff member of the Beijing Municipal Earthquake Administration抯 Engin