China torch: Voices from Nanjing

Student Clarke Wu talks about life in Nanjing ahead of the arrival of the Olympic torch.

Nanjing is a city with a long history. The wartime Nanjing massacre still has a lot of meaning for the people of Nanjing.

But towards the Japanese - the people responsible for the wartime massacre - there is not a lot of friendliness.

Nanjing is a very beautiful city. It is surrounded by a lake, river and mountain. There are beautiful places to go.

We are very excited about the torch coming here. People want to see it going through their street. I will also go and watch it.

One of the problems of Nanjing is that the air here is not pleasing. The sky is always gloomy. There is a lot of pollution here, especially in the city. Of course when you go to the outskirts of the city to the mountain, it is quite different.

Nanjing is developing at a very fast speed. Every day I see a new building. Not far from where I live, the seventh tallest building in the world will be built.

I walk the streets of Nanjing a lot so I observe a lot of the change. Some people are very rich and have fancy cars such as Porsches. Most people here live in the Western way, a middle class life.

They don't have cars, they have bikes or motorbikes. They can afford one apartment. They can afford to send their kids to school.

But there is still a minority who are very, very, poor, whose civil rights are not protected. They fall through the net.

Qinglong is an environmental scientist from Nanjing. He talks about his city's history and culture.

Nanjing has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture. It has served as the capital of China during a number of historical periods.

Mount Zijin in Nanjing has some of the most beautiful scenery of Nanjing. It has many old trees along the street. This is, at least to my eye, why it was very different from other Chinese cities.

I was born in 1967 in the countryside of Nanjing. I have lived and worked in Nanjing for nearly 33 years. My parents were also born and bred in the countryside of Nanjing.

Nanjing has being changing for the better in the past few decades. But economic growth and a sharp population increase mean that the environmental quality in Nanjing is getting worse.

I am very happy that the Olympic torch is coming to my home town. This will be a great chance for other people to see my hometown. I think many people will come onto the street to witness the torch passing through.

I will join them on the streets.

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