On Beijing's northeastern outskirts, a major construction project is under way. It's not an Olympic stadium, apartment blocks, or a massive shopping centre. The site is for something much simpler: water.
In Beijing, as in many large cities, it's not safe to drink the tap water. The rule is either buy bottled water, use purifiers or boil. The real danger here, however, is not just unclean water, but no water at all.
Water availability per capita in Beijing is just 1/32 of the international average, according to state media. With a rising population, that situation is only going to get worse. Some predict a water crisis in the city as close as 2010.
The construction is for a 100 million cubic metre groundwater project, with a similar project on the southwestern outskirts. While these are important moves to stem water shortages, they are also causing the city to sink.
Other measures are being taken to try to increase water supply . One is bringing water from neighbouring Hebei province . Another is creating artificial rain by shooting artillery shells with dry ice to seed clouds.
The city has also cut down on irrigation in parks, and at one point closed 1,000 car washes that were not recycling water. To help cut consumption, 2 million water-saving taps were distributed free to residents.
Despite these actions, the message of water shortages is a small whimper in a city abuzz with the Olympics and its own roaring development.