Workers build one of the two 5,500 cu m blast furnances that will be operational at the new Shougang plant by the end of 2008.

On a desolate plot of reclaimed land in Caofeidian, Shougang is building a state-of-the-art steel plant that would replace the one in Beijing, where three of its four blast furnaces have been extinguished or suspended for the sake of clean air during the Olympics. Shutting down the furnaces would reduce Shougang's steel output this year by half, while emission of sulphur dioxide, soot and dust would drop by as much as 70 per cent, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

However, this drastic measure will reduce Shougang's profits by at least 2 billion yuan this year, according to group president Zhu Jimin. It also means a lot of adjustment to the working lives of ordinary Shougang employees like Mr Chen. For 20 days each month, he would work at the new mill's coking plant and live out of a hostel that is at least an hour's drive from the nearest town. The only consolation is that he would be able to return to Beijing and rest for the remaining 10 days.

But like many Shougang employees interviewed by The Straits Times for this story, Mr Chen spoke stoically when asked how he felt about the personal sacrifices he had to make for the Olympics. "It's no big deal. I missed my family at first, but I feel okay now." Added Mr Lu Shihao, 40, an engineer at Shougang: "What sacrifice? This (relocation) should have been done years ago. A polluted Beijing is bad for China's image."

But observers say the nonchalance of the Shougang workers likely masked their wounded pride: Beijingers have always considered themselves a privileged lot with little need to join the millions of migrant workers who crisscross the country each year in search of jobs - until now. And it is not without irony that the capital city's biggest coming-out party - the 2008 Games - is behind the reversal of fortunes for many of its natives.

But Mr Chen maintained: "The old plant is simply too polluting. Considering the overall situation, we Shougang workers should do our part for the capital." Not every one agrees. A Shougang worker in his 20s, who wanted to be identified only by his surname Liu, said: "This does not benefit me personally at all. Yes, the new plant in Caofeidian offers slightly higher pay, but look at how miserable this place is."

For retired Shougang workers, many who still live near the old steel mill and have fond memories of its glory days, the ignominious end of the industrial giant stirs both anger and disbelief. "It pains me to see the whole place so empty and deserted,'' said Madam Zhang Lan, who retired in 1990 after working at the steel plant for 33 years.

In the past, she added, the rush-hour traffic at Shougang's sprawling 12 sq km compound was an "elbow-to-elbow, bicycle wheel-to-bicycle wheel affair". But no one minded as Shougang was like a parent to its workers, and took care of all their needs, said Madam Zhang. Such scenes are long gone, replaced by an uncharacteristic silence that hangs over the deserted old Shougang.

"This is the same feeling I had when Chairman Mao died, as if I've lost and that there's no longer anyone around to take care of me," said a visibly upset Madam Zhang. "I'll rather put up with the pollution than see Shougang end up like this." Her neighbour and former Shougang colleague, Madam Wei Shiqun, said she sometimes consoled herself by imagining that all this hoopla is a bluff.

She added: "I still can't believe they are going to move such a big factory just for the Olympics. Until now, I still think that perhaps this is all a show. Maybe after the Olympics, they would announce that old Shougang would stay and continue production." [Published in The Straits Times, July12 2008]