Two years ago, Guo Jinlong, who recently stepped down as Beijing mayor following his promotion as the municipality's party chief, basked in praise when he vowed to ensure the capital would become a 'most livable' world-class metropolis in the next decade.
Beijingers have since been regularly bombarded with propaganda as senior city officials put forward their ideas on how the capital can become a 'world city' on a par with the likes of Hong Kong, which has embarked on a spree of infrastructure construction.
But such high hopes - as well as a faith in money's power - have again been cast into doubt by a torrential downpour over the weekend that quickly became one of the deadliest disasters the capital has ever seen. Saturday's rainstorm, which effectively paralysed the city of 20 million and killed at least 37 people, also gave rise to a long list of questions.
While we have seen infrastructure failures, such as inundated low-lying areas along major roads and ineffective sewage systems, more questions have been raised about human error and the government's competence in coping with the disaster.
Most people, it seems, have been asking: have government officials done their jobs?
The rainstorm was correctly forecast on Friday, but the much-hyped early warning system seemed to have failed completely before and during the first few hours of the downpour. The rain did not let up until early Sunday morning.