BEIJING - The Olympics have been hyped as China's "coming out party" on the world stage, but so far this summer Beijing hasn't been much fun.
Usually, locals spill onto the streets when the weather turns warm and the spring sandstorms end.
Middle-aged couples practice ballroom dancing in public squares and young people eat slices of watermelon or barbecued meat on skewers while sitting at outdoor tables late at night.
Drinking cheap Tsingtao beer on an outdoor patio while listening to a band from the city's newly booming music scene is also another familiar summertime pleasure.
But outdoor tables at bars and restaurants are forbidden on some streets this summer, reportedly for security reasons, as part of a general crackdown that has seen pirated DVD shops close, bars raided and cultural events such as concerts cancelled by nervous officials.
During the Olympics, dubbed the "No Fun Olympics," or the "Killjoy Games," bars must close at 2 a.m. That's common in Canada, but liquor consumption is far more casual in Beijing.
And closing times are rarely enforced, or even known to exist, while smaller bars often close their doors when the patrons decide to head home.
Some popular restaurants and clubs near the Workers' Stadium, a downtown Olympic venue for soccer (and the former site of public executions) are being forced to shut down entirely during late July and August.
And there have been reports - denied by the Public Security Bureau - that other bars in the area have been told not to serve Mongolians and black people during the Olympics.
Even street snack vendors, who serve delicious traditional local treats such as jianbing - buckwheat crepes with egg and spices - have largely vanished from central Beijing except for one sanctioned strip of stalls that serves novelty foods like skewered scorpions to tourists.
Newly introduced security checks mean extra screening before even entering the Capital Airport, as well as lineups at subway stations and the hundreds of checkpoints surrounding the city.
Not to mention the random stops from police officers asking to see your documents.
The Chinese authorities don't want anything happening during the Olympics that may embarrass them, especially after the riots and demonstrations in Tibetan areas this spring and the protests along the Olympic Torch relay route that drew negative international attention to the country.
Presumably out of fears that foreigners might gather and cause problems, many public events -- in particular those involving non-Chinese -- have been cancelled in the past few months.
It has also become more difficult for foreigners to get a visa to China in recent months. Correspondingly, tourist arrivals were down this spring compared to previous years, and hotels in the capital that had expected to be sold out this summer still have rooms available.
Beijing wants to present itself as modern and international, a tidied up version of its bustling-but-comfortable self, and so it has waged innumerable campaigns to rid the city of its usual relaxed public behaviour. The no-spitting campaigns have drawn the most attention, and seem to have been ongoing -- so far unsuccessfully -- since at least the 1970s.
But tourists who visit during the Olympics will have to venture into areas away from official venues to observe the local colour that makes this city so charming and different from other world capitals.
Beijing is promising a "safe and peaceful Olympics." But a fun Olympics doesn't seem to be on the agenda.
Canadian Erin Conway-Smith is a Beijing-based journalist
