Stephanie Yang: Life inside the Olympics bubble: Limbo between China and the world
BEIJING — Three rows of fencing, two guard patrols and multiple "no crossing" signs mark the ominous border between the 2022 Winter Olympics and the rest of its host city. It feels like a parallel universe of ID-assigned bar codes, throat swabs and room service delivered by swift staff wearing goggles and full protective gear.
Like much else in a rigid China, little here is left to chance. It is a tightly scripted, surreal choreography: skiers, skaters, coaches — in carefully laid out paths — head for slopes and rinks, while outside the bubble life in Beijing hums aloofly along even as Olympic mascots pose in winter chill for photos along the fences. Much of the planet may be loosening coronavirus restrictions, but China,
